As many Wyomingites continue to struggle with mental health and thoughts of self-harm, a new agreement allows counselors from out of state to practice in person or via telehealth here.
According to the American Counseling Association (ACA), the Counseling Compact works much like a driver’s license, allowing providers in participating states to practice in person or via telehealth across state lines.
Wyoming lawmakers passed the Interstate Compact for Licensed Professional Counselors in 2023.
“Everybody passes an identical piece of legislation, so they have to agree to play by all the same rules,” said ACA Chief of Professional Practice Lynn Linde in an explanatory video about the program. “What's really important about the compact is it's based on your home state license.”
The program is just now getting up and running because ACA had to build a database for it.
Wyoming retains licensure for providers in Wyoming who can practice out of state through the program. Only counselors from other compact states can obtain the interstate privileges.
The program is up and running in eight other states, including Arizona. That number is expected to grow as the 38 states that’ve signed the agreement begin to actually grant interstate privileges.
The compact’s aim is to ease difficulties that counselors face when trying to transfer their licenses to another state because of independent jurisdictional licensing rules and regulations.
Linde said the biggest hurdle was merging each state’s varied systems for maintaining licensing records.
“We had to create a database that would take into account all of the information that was needed and that every state could use, because every state has their own data system,” she said. “We had to be able to have a database that would merge all of that data so that nobody would be left out and states would be able to utilize that. And that takes time and money and energy.”
The ACA said it’s invested close to $2 million in the initiative.
Wyoming lawmakers have considered but not enacted similar interstate agreements for physical therapists and teachers in recent years.
