Ohio Counseling Conversations

Couch to Capitol: August Legislative Updates

• Ohio Counseling Association

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The policy landscape shaping mental health services is shifting dramatically, with counselors and clients caught at the intersection of progress and concerning rollbacks. The Counseling Compact's expansion to 39 states signals a breakthrough for interstate practice, promising new professional mobility by fall 2025. This advancement stands in stark contrast to troubling federal decisions that threaten vulnerable populations.

SAMHSA's termination of specialized LGBTQ+ youth support through the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline undermines a service that has provided affirming care to 1.3 million young people. Simultaneously, the FTC is contemplating whether to classify gender-affirming care as fraudulent—directly contradicting the consensus of medical and mental health associations and potentially criminalizing evidence-based practices. These federal actions come as youth mental health statistics grow increasingly alarming, with 40% of students reporting persistent sadness and 20% considering suicide.

Ohio counselors should closely monitor two equal rights amendments advancing through the ballot initiative process that would prohibit discrimination and update marriage definitions in the state constitution. The bipartisan CROWN Act would protect students from discrimination based on hair texture, addressing an important aspect of racial equity in schools. Meanwhile, the reintroduction of the Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act in Congress and the Supreme Court's upcoming hearing on conversion therapy bans underscore ongoing battles against harmful practices.

As counselors, our ethical responsibility extends beyond the therapy room. These policy developments directly impact our ability to provide competent, affirming care to all clients. Take action using the links in our show notes, contact your legislators about these issues, and join us next month as we continue tracking how decisions from the Capitol shape every counseling conversation.

Resources:

  • https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/status-reports
  • https://ohiocounseling.org/legislative-advocacy
  • https://thebuckeyeflame.com/2025/08/11/ohio-ag-certifies-equal-rights-amendment-and-right-to-marry-amendment/
  • https://www.counseling.org/advocacy/take-action
  • https://counselingcompact.gov/

OCA Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/ohiocounseling

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Created by the OCA's Media, Public Relations, and Membership (MPRM) Committee & its Podcast Subcommittee

·Hosted by Marisa Cargill & Victoria Frazier

·Pre-Production & Coordination by Marisa Cargill, Victoria Frazier, and Leah Wood

·Editing by Marisa Cargill


Speaker 1:

Welcome to Ohio Counseling Conversations Couch to Capital, your quick connection from the Counseling Office to where laws meet lives. In this segment we break down the latest legislative and judicial updates, policy changes and advocacy efforts that impact counselors across Ohio. Whether you're licensed in training or just passionate about the field of counseling, we've got what you need to stay informed and empowered. Welcome back to Couch to Capital on Ohio Counseling Conversations, where we bridge the gap between your clinical couch and the legislation that impacts counselors and the people we serve. I'm Marissa.

Speaker 2:

Cargill. I'm Marissa Cargill and I'm Victoria Frazier, and each month, it's our goal to bring you the most relevant legislative updates impacting counselors, clients and the mental health profession across our state. In this episode, we'd first like to share with you that momentum continues to grow for the Counseling Compact. 39 states and the District of Columbia have now passed compact legislation. The Counseling Compact Commission anticipates beginning to grant privileges for clinicians to practice in other states participating in the compact by fall of 2025. This is a major step forward in improving clients' access to care and expanding professional mobility for counselors across state lines.

Speaker 1:

Speaking of access to care, another development has raised real concern about whether LGBTQ plus youth will continue to have access to care. Another development has raised real concern about whether LGBTQ plus youth will continue to have access to the support they need in crisis moments. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, also known as SAMHSA, has announced it will end the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline specialized support for LGBTQ plus youth. This program, which has been available for nearly three years, allowed LGBTQ Plus Youth and young people to connect with specialized crisis counselors when they dialed 988. In that time, it has supported more than 1.3 million youth with affirming, compassionate care. The stakes are high. A 2024 Trevor Project report found that 39% of LGBTQ plus youth seriously considered suicide in the past year, including 46% of transgender and non-binary youth. Cutting this lifeline means cutting off essential life-saving access. Counselors are encouraged to advocate for continued funding to ensure LGBTQ plus youth have trusted crisis services when they need them most.

Speaker 2:

LGBTQ plus youth have trusted crisis services when they need them most, and while that program is being cut, another federal agency is considering a move that could have devastating consequences for gender affirming care nationwide. At the federal level, the Federal Trade Commission is considering whether to label gender affirming care as an unfair and deceptive practice, effectively calling it fraud. This proposal contradicts decades of evidence showing gender-affirming care is effective and life-saving. Every major medical and mental health association, including the American Counseling Association, recognizes affirming care as best practice. If adopted, this action would endanger access to essential services, stigmatize transgender and gender diverse clients and place counselors in an impossible ethical position. The FTC is accepting public comments on this issue until Friday, September 26, 2025. We encourage counselors to make their verses heard at the link in the show notes.

Speaker 1:

Shifting back to Ohio, there's also big news on the ballot initiative front, with organizers advancing not one but two equal rights amendments. Here in Ohio, two new equal rights amendments have cleared their first hurdle. On July 3rd, the Ohio Attorney General's Office certified two proposed constitutional amendments after organizers secured the 1,000 signatures required to advance. The amendments would number one, prohibit the Ohio legislator and municipalities from enacting or enforcing discriminatory laws based on race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy status, disability, age, veteran status and more. Number two, it would repeal the state's current constitutional language that defines marriage as only a union between one man and one woman.

Speaker 2:

On July 9th, the state ballot board split the proposals into two separate measures, meaning organizers must now collect signatures for both To appear on a future ballot. Each petition must receive 442,958 signatures from voters across at least 44 countries, a total of nearly 886,000 signatures. 886,000 signatures. Organizers say they're launching a phased campaign throughout 2025 to build infrastructure, refine systems and deepen coalition partnerships. For counselors, this is especially relevant. Non-discrimination protections ensure our clients can access safe affirming care and that our profession remains aligned with ethical principles of equality and justice.

Speaker 1:

And Ohio lawmakers are also taking steps on another front, one that directly addresses how students show up authentically in schools. Representatives Brent and Colander have introduced House Bill 415, known as the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Crown Act. With bipartisan support, this bill would prohibit public schools from discriminating against students based on hair texture or protective hair styles For counselors. This legislation is important because school climate directly affects students' mental health, sense of belonging and academic success. Passing the Crown Act would affirm students' identities and protect against discriminatory practices that cause harm and perpetuate racial trauma.

Speaker 2:

While Ohio is considering protections for students, congress is weighing a new bill that could reshape how we all engage with technology, including in the counseling field. The Artificial Intelligence Literacy and Inclusion Act would expand AI training and digital equity by providing grants to schools, libraries, colleges and nonprofits. It aims to prepare the workforce for AI-driven changes, while promoting digital safety, why it matters to counselors as AI tools increasingly appear in mental health practice.

Speaker 1:

This legislation could provide training funds to ensure counselors integrate AI ethically, while preserving the human connection central to our work and while AI is shaping the future of counseling, another federal decision is disrupting the present, with major funding cuts to school-based mental health programs. The Department of Education has canceled $1 billion in school mental health funding that was allocated under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. This comes at a time when CDC data shows 40% of students report persistent sadness or hopelessness, 20% have seriously considered suicide and 9% have attempted suicide. Counselors are urged to contact legislators to restore BSCA funding and ensure our profession is included in solutions to this ongoing youth mental health crisis.

Speaker 2:

And finally, a story that continues to resurface the dangerous practice of conversion therapy and what's happening now at the federal level and in the courts. The Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act has been reintroduced in Congress. This bill would classify charging for conversion therapy as fraudulent. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will hear Chiles v Salazar, challenging Colorado's ban on conversion therapy in its 2025-2026 term. Here at Ohio Counseling Conversations, we are planning in-depth episodes to discuss the case prior to and following the Supreme Court hearing. Conversion therapy has been unequivocally discredited by every major medical and mental health association and is linked to depression, anxiety and suicide. Counselors are called to continue advocating against this harmful practice and in support of legislation that protects our clients from it.

Speaker 1:

That's this month's Couch to Capital update. From advances in the Counseling Compact to equal rights amendments here in Ohio, from the Crown Act to the FTC's attack on gender-affirming care, these issues all shape the lives of our clients and the work we do as counselors.

Speaker 2:

As always, advocacy is part of our ethical responsibility. Stay engaged, stay vocal and be sure to check our show notes for links to take action on each of these updates. We'll see you next month on Couch to Capital.

Speaker 1:

That's it for this edition of Couch to Capital, brought to you by the Ohio Counseling Association and Ohio Counseling Conversations. In the meantime, stay tuned, stay engaged and keep advocating for the future of counseling in Ohio, because what happens at the Capitol doesn't stay at the Capitol. It impacts every counseling conversation.