Several faculty members from the Indiana Wesleyan University Division of Graduate Counseling provided testimony before the Indiana House of Representatives on Jan. 23 in favor of Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFTs), Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHCs), Licensed Clinical Additions Counselors (LCACs) and Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) to be included as providers under Medicaid.
Participating IWU faculty members included:
- Dr. Don Osborn, director of graduate addictions counseling, who attended on behalf of Indiana Addictions Counselors and Indiana Association of Addiction Professionals (IAAP)
- Dr. Nenetzin Stoeckle, director of marriage and family therapy program, who attended on behalf of Indiana’s MFTs and MHCs
- Dr. Carla Gaff-Clark, adjunct professor of graduate counseling, who attended on behalf of Mental Health America of Indiana Board as chairman of their public policy committee.
After testimony was provided, the bill passed the first reading 12-0, a rare occurrence.
“The bill passed the first reading, making this step a great success for us,” said Stoeckle. “The journey is still not done, but we remain hopeful.”
There are several more steps the bill must go through, but it is likely the bill will make it to the Indiana Senate where it will undergo another series of readings and possible revisions.
“I am passionate about this bill as it would rectify the omission of four behavioral health professions in the current Medicaid law, and promotes the interests of Indiana’s MFTs,” said Stoeckle. “As the IWU marriage and family therapy program director, I want to ensure that our students succeed while they are in our courses and into their careers. This is one reason why many of our graduate counseling faculty are involved in our state and national professional associations.”
For more information on IWU’s Division of Graduate Counseling, visit www.indwes.edu/adult-graduate/programs/ma-counseling/.