The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy Is the Counseling Compact Good for Therapists?
Is the Counseling Compact Good for Therapists?
Curt and Katie chat about the brand-new Counseling Compact and what therapists may not know or understand about these interstate agreements. We explore the proposed benefits as well as the potential risks and complications like regulatory discrepancies and a lack of consumer protections. We also look at how big tech can benefit while individual clinicians may be left unable to compete in a larger market.
In this podcast episode we talk about the new Counseling Compact and Psypact
The counselors got their 10th state and officially have Counseling Compact to practice in other states. We thought it would be a good idea to talk about what that means (and what we might want to pay attention to).
What is the Counseling Compact?
- Opportunities for practicing privileges (not licensure) in other states
- The complexity of putting together these interstate compacts
- Implementation and regulation hurdles
- Scope of practice discrepancies and concerns
- Law and Ethics practices across states
Benefits of Interstate Compacts for Mental Health Providers
- Continuity of care
- Ease of meeting with clients who are moving around the country
- Bringing clinicians to areas where there is a workforce shortage
Potential Problems with the Counseling Compact
- Not bringing more clinicians, if only states with workforce shortages join
- Doesn’t solve the infrastructure problems (i.e., stable Wi-Fi) for rural areas that typically don’t have local therapists
- The people who most benefit: the big tech companies like Better Help
- The FBI is opposing this legislation due to lack of federal background checks
- Lack of consumer protection or consistency in what consumers can expect from their therapist
- Costs for the therapists to get practicing privileges
- Large gigantic group practices and tech solutions will contract with insurance and leave smaller practices unable to compete and required to be private pay
Solving the Problems with the Counseling Compact
- Overarching regulation and expectations at a national level
- Federal bodies to oversee background checks and consumer protections
- Expensive, time-intensive
- We don’t have universal healthcare, so insurance parity will need to be addressed (and not just by big tech)
Resources for Modern Therapists mentioned in this Podcast Episode:
We’ve pulled together resources mentioned in this episode and put together some handy-dandy links. Please note that some of the links below may be affiliate links, so if you purchase after clicking below, we may get a little bit of cash in our pockets. We thank you in advance!
Relevant Episodes of MTSG Podcast:
Special Series: Fixing Mental Healthcare in America
Why You Shouldn’t Sell Out to Better Help