Senator Johnson wants to re-think Tennessee's counselor ethics

by Emily West
Nolensville Home Page
Originally posted December 6, 2016

Here is an excerpt:

“I don’t think it’s appropriate that we delegate that responsibility to a special interest group from Washington,” Johnson said. “There are other organizations that represent them. I think it’s worth having our own conversation … Tennesseans are best suited to determine what our state licensure requirements for our professional counselors should be rather than subrogating that right to a private organization.

“I believe our State Board of Professional Counselors is capable of this responsibility and that all Tennesseans seeking counseling will benefit as a result.”

Having the conversation could come come at a price, at least from the American Counseling Association’s perspective.

Right now, the ACA sees the potential for this type of legislation to become dangerous.

“I think what you do is run the risk of a couple of things,” ACA’s‎ Director of Government Affairs Art Terrazas said. “The insurance companies – who underwrite the liability – are going to take a second look if they want to insure the counselor outside of the code of ethics. There could be an impact if they stay or remained employed in the state of Tennessee.

“If they are meeting the industry standard, they may not want to practice there. Those who need to seek mental health clinicians could find there will be less of them. We are talking about folks suffering from depression, to those under 18, military families and also our veterans.”

The article is here.