One of my coworkers has been battling a terrible predicament the last two weeks; it is quite alarming. She is wanting to move back to her home state of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has been tirelessly working on getting mental health licensure in the state of Pennsylvania. She thought everything was taken care of, until she was informed that PA would NOT accept the credits she obtained from her Master's degree at S.U. (can you believe it?!?!)....thus, she currently doesn't qualify for a Mental Health Counselor license in PA. Did I mention she found this out after she had already put in her notice to resign from our employer?! Her job has already been officially offered to someone internally, so there's no way she can keep her current job here.
She just found out a few days ago, however, that there may be a bill in the works to challenge this archaic and ridiculous policy. Please, if you feel so inclined, read below what she wrote and contact Pennsylvania senators on her behalf. Contact before 9/27/11. The Senate Standing Committee will be having a meeting to vote on this House Bill on 9/27/11, and again on 10/18/11. http://www.legis.state.pa.
I have included the letter I wrote to a Senator near Scranton, PA at the bottom as well. If this can/is happening in one state, you can bet it's a licensing requirement that may be affecting mental health therapists' ability to get licenses/be able to work in other states in the U.S. as well. It's hard enough trying to figure out reciprocity state by state for our profession, but let's all at LEAST get on the same page about recognizing Master's degrees from accredited universities. The mental health counseling profession as a national system needs to give deserved respect and equal opportunity for licensure to individuals from ANY state in the United States of America who have put their blood, sweat, and tears into meeting the rigorous and often far-reaching standards the profession demands from its clinicians.
Here's what coworker/friend wrote:
CALLING ALL PA RESIDENTS (and even you non-PA residents can help out)!!! I NEED YOUR HELP!!! As some of you know I am hitting a serious roadblock in trying to be licensed as a Professional Counselor in Pennsylvania. Basically, the state will not recognize my Master's Degree in Counseling from S.U. because it is 4 credits short of the PA requirement. As the law is written right now, I would have to go back to school for a whole new Master's degree or pursue a doctorate in order to be licensed in PA. HOWEVER, there is a House bill, which if passed by the Senate, will modify the licensure requirements in PA. I would be allowed to go back to school and get the additional credits I need to supplement my existing degree...yay!!
It is House Bill 816. I am asking you to PLEASE take a few minutes out of your busy day and contact your local Senator. Just go to the link below (http://www.legis.state.pa.us/) and in the upper right-hand corner, you can enter your address and find out who your local Senator is. You can also enter HB 816 to see the details of the bill. It doesn't really matter who you contact, as long as we make it LOUD and CLEAR to several different Senators to vote YES on HB #816. Feel free to contact more than one because we need as many Senators as possible to vote YES on HB #816. Please pass this on to as many of your family and friends as possible!! We have to get this bill passed!!!
Thank you all.... this means a lot to the R & I families!!! It will allow C. and I to move home to Pittsburgh and be near the ones we love. It will also allow me to work and make a living in my chosen profession of counseling.
The Pennsylvania General Assembly www.legis.state.pa.us
Here's my letter:
Senator Blake,
Although I am not a resident of your state, Pennsylvania is my colleague SRI's home state. She and I have worked together for the last 3 years. I have had the opportunity to work very closely with her during this time and I can say with absolute certainty she stands out to me as an intelligent, competent, compassionate, and tenacious clinician. She had recently made plans to move back to Pennsylvania, however, she is unable to obtain licensure there as the current law stands. The state of Pennsylvania would be suffering a great loss by not allowing her to obtain licensure, particularly the mentally ill clients she could provide much needed services to throughout her career.
As Chapter 49 of the Pennsylvania Code is currently written, individuals who received master's degrees from institutions that did not require 72, quarter-hour semester credits have been denied license reciprocity by the Pennsylvania Department of Health regardless of the fact that these individuals have degrees from accredited institutions and, in most cases, have been practicing in the field of mental health counseling for many years.
Unfortunately, the only recourse for these individuals who desire to move to this Commonwealth is to either abandon their chosen profession and education that they have worked so hard to achieve, or to start from scratch to obtain yet another master's degree in this Commonwealth. The current law does not even permit these individuals to enroll in academic institutions to obtain the additional credits needed to achieve the requisite 72, quarter-hour semester credits for license reciprocity. Typically, only four (4), additional quarter-semester credits would be needed.
House Bill # 816 will remedy this situation, which is why I am urging you to vote "YES" on House Bill # 816. The passing of this Bill will not only help rejuvenate an aging workforce, but it will also bring to this Commonwealth the type of individuals whose education and skill can benefit our society as a whole.
I thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.
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