At the American Counseling Association’s third annual Institute for Leadership Training, nearly 140 branch, division and region leaders from across the country met to discuss the current issues affecting counselors and the profession today, ranging from the cohesion of the counseling profession to having counselors included as providers under Medicare through a proposed Senate bill.  The following is a summary of some of the issues ACA is most involved in:

• Economic woes could affect counselors, too: Budget cuts on federal and state levels could impact the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Program, Medicaid and Medicare, as well as the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. For more information, visit: http://capwiz.com/counseling/issues/alert/?alertid=31957511 and http://www.counseling.org/PublicPolicy/PositionPapers.aspx

• Counselors are pushing for more federal coverage: ACA members are asking their elected officials to support S. 604, the Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2011, which covers counselors under Medicare. For more information about this bill, visit: http://capwiz.com/counseling/issues/alert/?alertid=26473516

• Potential changes to TRICARE and the ability to independently counsel active military, veterans and their families: ACA is asking that that the Department of Defense does not adopt the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation, which would prevent a large number of licensed counselors from practicing independently under TRICARE, despite having authorization by the state to do so. Read ACA’s letter of recommendation.

• ACA members are providing feedback for the DSM-5: ACA is recommending the newest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders be applicable across all mental health professions, take gender and culture into account, provide specific information of the reorganization of Axes I, II and III and allow for further comment, that dimensional measures be “thoroughly tested and show strong psychometric properties” and ensure that boundaries between mental disorders and normal psychological functioning are clear as diagnostic thresholds are lowered and diagnoses are combined. Read the ACA task force’s recommendation.

• ACA Members are helping to revise Standards for Education and Psychological Testing: Members of an ACA task force are recommending the newest issue focus on “pay[ing] greater attention to fairness in testing, especially as it relates to diversity, multiculturalism, computer generated interpretation, and reading capabilities … better integrat[ing] case examples… includ[ing] professional counselors when providing examples of qualified test professionals.” Read ACA’s feedback letter.

• A new accreditation council has been established: Master’s in Counseling Accreditation Counsel (MCAC) is an expansion of the Master’s in Psychology Accreditation Council (MPAC).

• 20/20: A Vision for the Future of Counseling initiative: An ACA-backed set of principles that aims to unite the counseling profession and identify where the profession wants to be in the year 2020. For updates on 20/20, visit http://www.counseling.org/20-20/index.aspx

• As part of the 20/20 initiative, 29 major counseling associations have developed and endorsed a definition of counseling: Counseling is “a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals.”

• Conscience Clause Initiatives: ACA is supporting a Michigan ruling that states that a counselor cannot refuse a client based on the counselor’s religious beliefs.  Read the court’s ruling.

Heather Rudow is a staff writer for CT Online and Counseling Today. Contact her at hrudow@counseling.org.