[DATE]
NAME
New York State Assembly
[Find district office address:
OR
NAME
New York State Senate
[Find district office address:
Dear Senator or Assembly member NAME:
I am a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC), and member of the New York Mental Health Counselors Association (NYMHCA). I am writing to make you aware of a recent bulletin issued by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs dated October 27th that effectively prohibits NYS LMHCs from working in VA facilities.
The bulletin enclosed states that effective immediately “HRO’s must remove LPMHCs [licensed mental health counselors are the NYS title] who only have a New York license from their positions”. Veteran’s Affairs (VA) asserts “diagnosis is a primary role of the occupation” and concludes that “the VHA cannot employ an LPMHC whose only licensure is from New York.,” as New York’s license does not authorize LMHCs to diagnose.While this bulletin only mentions mental health counselors by name, all Article 163 licensed mental health professionals, including those in internships and working under a limited permit would be impacted.
Chapter 676 of the Laws of 2002 created four individually licensed masters level mental health professions: mental health counselors (LMHC), marriage and family therapists (LMFT), psychoanalysts (LP) and creative arts therapists (LCATS). Each profession is authorized to practice psychotherapy as defined in paragraph two of section eight thousand and one of the education law. In addition, the scope of practice of mental health counselors includes the authority to “identify, evaluate, and treat dysfunctions and disorders”. Each profession is authorized to use “accepted classifications signs, symptoms, dysfunctions and disorders, as approved in accordance with regulations promulgated by the department, in the practice of such licensed profession”. Subsequently, section 79-9.6 of Commissioner’s regulations accepts the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) as being an accepted classification system. The American Psychiatric Association states that the DSM-V is “[u]sed by clinicians and researchers to diagnose and classify mental disorders, the criteria are concise and explicit, intended to facilitate an objective assessment of symptom presentations in a variety of clinical settings—inpatient, outpatient, partial hospital, consultation-liaison, clinical, private practice, and primary care.”
While there exists strong indication in both statute and regulations that the professions licensed under Article 163 of the Education law are authorized to diagnose the aforementioned bulletin highlights the gravity of the lack of the actual term “diagnose”.
I bring this to your attention to ask you to contact Governor Andrew Cuomo and urge him to address this issue. Earlier this month, Under Secretary for Health Dr. David J. Shulkin asserted that “licensed Professional Mental Health Counselors contribute substantially to VA’s ability to deliver high-quality patient care for Veterans.” The VA launched a new education and training initiative to create a pipeline to hire mental health counselors. It would be a shame if New York fell behind in providing mental health counseling to veterans due a misunderstanding of our practice.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME, YOUR TITLE
YOUR ADDRESS
4847-5719-7098, v. 1