June 16, 2020 BHEC Meeting

LPC Associate Rule Change Continues to Advance

The Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), at its virtual meeting on June 16th, approved the majority of the rule changes proposed by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors (TSBEPC), including the title change from LPC Intern to LPC Associate. The proposed rules will be published for public comment by late summer. While we need to continue to advocate in support of this rule, LPC Interns and LPC Supervisors should plan for this title change to take effect in early fall 2020.

The TSBEPC had also proposed a rule change to allow licensees from other states to secure a Texas license with fewer than 3,000 hours of supervision. Because supervision hours are set in statute and can’t be changed by rule, this item was pulled and sent back to the TSBEPC for further consideration.

TCA members Harmony Stewart and Aaron Robb both provided public comment, as did TCA’s Executive Director, Jan Friese.

BHEC also approved the rules proposed by the Psychology, Social Work, and Marriage and Family Therapists boards. They pulled one LMFT rule regarding sanctions and returned it to the LMFT board for further consideration.

In other business, BHEC adopted its operating rules pretty much as published in April, clearing the path to its official launch on September 1, 2020.  Licensing board staff are transitioning to BHEC which, fortunately, was given an exemption from the 5% budget cut other state agencies are required to implement this biennium.

Information on BHEC can be found on the TSBEP News and Updates page until the BHEC website goes live later this summer.