ACA News

National Suicide Hotline Designation Act (S. 2661) approved by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

Your voices have been heard and the American Counseling Association’s (ACA) Government Relations Team would like to thank the dedicated counselors and advocates that continue to work on behalf of suicide prevention. Today, ACA is happy to report ...

Urgent: Contact the Iowa Licensure Board About New Regulations

The Iowa Board of Behavioral Health is considering changes to its Educational Qualifications for Mental Health Counselors. In the Professional Orientation curriculum, the Board proposes to replace the American Counseling Association with the American ...

Join 700 of Your Colleagues On Capitol Hill in September

Here’s your chance to advocate for counseling, mental health, and Medicare reimbursement in Washington, DC!  The American Counseling Association is teaming up with the National Council for Behavioral Health for their Hill Day – which ...

Advocating for Medicare Reimbursement: Professional Counselors Take on DC

More than 100 members of the American Counseling Association scaled Capitol Hill last week in 96-degree heat to advocate for legislation that would enable licensed professional counselors to be reimbursed by Medicare. The counselor advocates came from ...

Apply Now: Mental Health Demonstration Grant Program

Our nation’s schools should be safe and secure settings where children can learn and grow to their full potential. However, over the last few years, violent acts inside and outside our schools—as well as a growing rate of student ...

LICENSED PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS

TIME IS RUNNING OUT: LICENSED PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS Application Process Announced: New SUD Student-Loan-Forgiveness Program for Rural Opioid Response Workers The Health Resources and Services Administration ...

DEMAND A SEAT AT THE MEDICARE TABLE

If you haven’t taken action, your legislators are waiting to hear your story. Don’t delay! Contact your Members of Congress today and ask them to support the: MENTAL HEALTH ACCESS IMPROVEMENT ACT Tell them YOUR STORY: “140,000 ...

House Bill Would Remedy Mental Health Workforce Shortage

The American Counseling Association needs your help!                                                        ...

Apply Now: Funding available for SUD training programs

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is offering two types of mental and behavioral health education and training grants to education and training organizations, both with an application deadline of May 7. The grant programs offer a ...

The School-Focused Debate: Safety Technology v. Mental Health

Nearly a quarter of a million students have experienced gun violence at their schools since the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, according to a Washington Post analysis. And 2018 had the highest number of school shootings since at ...

ACA Needs Your Help: You can illustrate the urgent need for Medicare reimbursement for LPCs

Every mental health professional knows that it’s vital that Congress approve Medicare reimbursement for licensed professional counselors (LPCs). All of you know more than one heart-rending story about the difficulties and potential harm facing ...

Application Deadlines Extended For Student Loan Forgiveness Programs Benefitting LPCs

February 21st, 2019  The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has extended the deadline for accepting applications for a new student-loan-forgiveness program for behavioral health clinicians working in drug-treatment programs in ...

Help Support the Mental Health Services for Students Act

We need your help! The American Counseling Association (ACA) needs your help to encourage members of Congress to support H.R 1109 the Mental Health for Student Act.  On February 8, 2019 Congressional Mental Health Caucus Co-Chairs, Reps. Grace F. ...

Suicides in VA parking lots spotlight veterans? mental health care

A total of 19 suicides occurred at Veterans Administration facilities, including seven in VA hospital parking lots, from October 2017 to November 2018. The Washington Post examined the unfolding tragedy in a feature article titled “The Parking ...

Application Process Announced: New SUD Student-Loan-Forgiveness Program, Existing Student Loan-Forgiveness Program for Health-Care Workers

UPDATE: The deadline for applying to this program has been changed from February 21, 2019 to February 28, 2019. More information here . The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is accepting applications through Feb. 21 for a new ...

Federal Report on School Safety Released

The Federal Commission on School Safety, established after the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., released a 180-page final report on Dec. 18 containing 93 recommendations for improving school safety nationwide, ...

ACA Takes Action Toward Interstate Licensure Portability

This fall, the American Counseling Association took a major step in the direction of interstate licensure portability.  On Oct. 17, the ACA Governing Council approved the initial endorsement and funding of a professional occupation ...

The Costs of Mental Illness In Treating Physical Illness

The effects of mental health on physical health are well known. An Oxford University review of the literature shows that the average reduction in life expectancy is between seven to eleven years for someone with recurrent depression, nine to twenty ...

Should We Have a Three Digit Suicide Prevention Hotline? Have Your Say.

The National Hotline Improvement Act was signed into law August 2018.  The law requires the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the Federal Communications ...

No Threat of Government Shutdown for Agencies that Oversee Counseling Initiatives

Many agencies in the federal government will run out of money on Dec. 21 if Congress and the president can’t agree on a new budget—but the agencies that fund and oversee counseling initiatives are not among them. Earlier, in the fall, ...