In
Oregon, licensed professional counselors (LPC’s)
and licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFT’s)
provide essential mental health care to people of all ages
and all walks of life. LPC’s and LMFT’s are
not social workers!
LPC’s
and LMFT’s are especially trained to provide therapeutic
counseling in a variety of settings. This
counseling includes the identification of symptoms and the
defining and treatment of various mental conditions. In addition,
LPC’s and LMFT’s do preventative work in the areas
of stress reduction, depression management, bereavement, effective
expression of emotion, conflict resolution, family issues
such as strengthening marriages, promoting positive parenting
skills, reducing domestic violence and child and elder abuse.
Finally, LPCs and LMFTs provide counseling in the field of
chemical dependency/abuse
LPC’s
and LMFT’s are two of six categories that comprise the
field of licensed mental health professionals in the state
of Oregon. The others are psychiatrists, licensed
psychologists, licensed clinical social workers (LCSW’s),
and nurse practitioners (NP’s). With the exception
of psychiatrists and licensed psychologists who hold doctoral
degrees, these mental health professionals have earned at
least a masters degree in their field and have completed requirements
for state licensure or certification. LPC’s and LMFT’s
have received degrees from an accredited institution, completed
internships under supervision, passed national examinations,
and fulfilled the requirements of their respective Boards.
In addition, we are mandated to take continuing education
courses and regularly pay a licensing fee.
LPC’s
and LMFT’s provide mental health services under the
auspices of the regulatory Oregon
Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists.
Each client must be given a Public Disclosure Statement that
conveys the provider’s background, training, Code of
Ethics, and contact information for the Board. This provides
not only a system of accountability for providers, but also
protects both client (consumer) and provider.
Statutory Limitations and Insurance Company Restrictions
on LPC’s and LMFT’s
Currently,
insurance companies are not mandated by Oregon law to reimburse
LPC’s and LMFT’s. While they are allowed to reimburse
these mental health professionals, many companies opt to pay
only State-mandated providers such as LCSW’s and NP’s.
As such, Oregonians cannot receive care from a large segment
of the qualified, licensed professionals available to them
without incurring prohibitive out-of-pocket expenses. In the
end, these restrictions on free choice allow the insurance
companies to trump the State, resulting in greater overall
health care costs to the State of Oregon and its citizens.
What
are some of the impacts of artificially restricting Oregonians’
access to qualified, licensed mental health care professionals?
For one, other medical or public healthcare professionals
may not be able to refer their patients to the licensed mental
health professionals in whom they have the most confidence.
This problem is particularly acute in Oregon’s rural
areas where there are very few licensed providers –
or none at all – whom the insurance companies will reimburse.
By
changing these statutory limits and restrictive insurance
company practices, access by Oregonians to quality, cost-effective
mental health care can be increased dramatically, offsetting
overall health care costs in several ways:
-
Employer costs - Reductions in employee absenteeism
due to reactive depression or anxiety, chemical dependency,
stress, and other conditions would reduce costs to employers.
-
Insurer costs
– Reduced administrative overhead, for example, the
costs associated with establishing and maintaining restrictive
provider networks. In addition, increased access to outpatient
treatment lowers the risk of hospitalization costs to insurers.
For example, individuals who have panic attacks (symptoms
often mistaken for a heart attack) or those experiencing
domestic abuse may decrease their use of hospital emergency
rooms if adequate outpatient treatment is available.
-
Consumer costs - Increased competition among licensed
providers lowers overall costs for everyone. Moreover, increased
access to mental health providers means earlier interventions
and, therefore, lower overall costs for treatment. People
who cannot afford to see the licensed mental health professional
in whom they have confidence may delay treatment.
LPC and LMFT Qualifications Compared
Although
some major insurance companies unnecessarily restrict LPC’s
and LMFT’s in the practice of their professions, their
education and clinical training are comparable to or exceed
that of LCSW’s and NP’s (see Comparison
of Mental Health Providers).
For instance, all four must have master’s degrees from
programs of comparable quality and duration. To become an
LMFT or LPC, applicants for licensure must obtain thousands
of hours of post-degree, supervised clinical experience, as
do those who seek to become a LCSW. Similarly, a rigorous
national exam is required for licensure in each of these three
professions (LPC, LMFT, and LCSW).
“We are…”
Who
are LPC’s and LMFT’s? We are qualified mental
health providers licensed by, and accountable to, the State
of Oregon, who seek to change statutory law to better serve
the citizens of Oregon. These laws currently allow insurance
companies to trump the State by restricting our ability to
serve the people of our communities.
