[Counselor_Educ] FW: ACA UPDATE -- TRICARE Contractors Start Certifying Counselors; DoD Rule Amendments Possible

Tue Sep 25 16:20:26 EDT 2012

Tracy Leinbaugh, PhD, NCC, PCC-S
Associate Professor
Department of Counseling and Higher Education
Ohio University
The Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education and Human Services
370 McCracken Hall
Athens, OH 45701

Phone: 740-593-0846
E-mail: leinbaug at ohio.edu<mailto:leinbaug at ohio.edu>

Show, by your actions, that you choose peace over war, freedom over oppression, voice over silence, service over self-interest, respect over advantage, cooperation over competition, action over passivity, diversity over uniformity, and justice over all.

From: ACA Public Policy Listserv [mailto:ACA-GR at LISTSERV.COUNSELING.ORG] On Behalf Of Scott Barstow
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2012 4:18 PM
To: ACA-GR at LISTSERV.COUNSELING.ORG
Subject: ACA UPDATE -- TRICARE Contractors Start Certifying Counselors; DoD Rule Amendments Possible

TRICARE contractors are beginning to certify licensed professional counselors as "mental health counselors" eligible for independent practice.  Certification is happening pursuant to the requirements established by the Department of Defense (DoD) in a rulemaking that was issued in December of last year.  DoD staff indicate that a "final final" version of the rule is being considered, but they have declined to say when this will be released, or what it will look like.  In the meantime, the current requirements are being used.

Licensed counselors applying for TRICARE certification in 2015 or later will only be recognized if they have graduated from a program accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), have passed the National Clinical Mental Health Counselor Exam (NCMHCE), and have completed 2 years/3,000 hours of post-master's supervision.

Between now and 2015 counselors can apply for certification under transition period rules, during which degrees from regionally-accredited institutions will be recognized.  Counselors applying for certification during the transition period with a regionally-accredited degree must pass the NCMHCE exam.  During the transition period, counselors with a degree from a CACREP-accredited program can meet the exam requirement by passing either the NCMHCE or the National Counselor Exam.  ACA applauded the inclusion of a transition period, and we strongly encourage all members to seek recognition as soon as possible, especially those who did not graduate from a CACREP-accredited program.

One of the most potentially problematic of the requirements pertains to supervision hours.  Many counselors have accumulated supervision hours required for licensure under the supervision of a psychiatrist, psychologist, or clinical social worker.  However, the DoD requirements stipulate that all 3,000 hours of supervision must be provided by a licensed professional mental health counselor.  Additionally, the DoD requirements state that supervision hours "must be conducted in a manner that is consistent with the guidelines for supervision of the American Mental Health Counselors Association"; unfortunately, the closest thing to a "guideline" like this is AMHCA's recommendation that supervision include a ratio of 1 hour of supervision for every 20 hours of on-site work hours, with a combination of individual, triadic, and group supervision.  To our knowledge, no licensure board in the country has kept track of such detailed information regarding supervision hours.  ACA asked the DoD to simply recognize all supervision hours recognized by counselors' state licensure board.

We're working to minimize counselors' difficulties in becoming certified as mental health counselors within TRICARE, but we can't respond to problems we don't know about.  Please contact me-at the email address and phone number below-if you have questions regarding the TRICARE certification requirements, or are having problems becoming certified.

We've heard from several counselors about how TRICARE contractors are implementing the requirements, but the more information we have, the better we can advocate on this issue.  At least one TRICARE contractor is telling counselors that even if they become certified under the transition period rules, they won't be able to see TRICARE clients beginning in 2015 unless they have a CACREP degree.  This is NOT our interpretation of the DoD rule, and we're working to get this resolved.

Thank you for your work, and for your membership in ACA.

[cid:image001.gif at 01CD9B39.14ABD8A0]
Scott Barstow  |  Director, Public Policy and Legislation

ph  703-823-9800 x234  |  800-347-6647 x234
fx  703-823-0252  |  web  counseling.org<http://www.counseling.org/>

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