The Colorado Counseling Association is made up of more than 1,400 members throughout the state of Colorado. We are so grateful to serve each member! The mission of the CCA is to serve its membership by promoting legislative advocacy efforts, education resources, and professional resources offered to its members. May is Military Appreciation Month. Colorado has a large military presence as it’s home to both Army and Air Force/Space Command bases as well as the Air Force Academy. This issue of the CCA newsletter focuses on how we, as professional counselors, serve our active duty and veterans and their families. We also salute and thank our veterans who are now counselors. What's in this newsletter: - 2024 Legislative Session is Over – Recap of Bills that Impact the Counseling Profession
- Effectively working with military clients: Understanding the Hero's Journey by Joshua Kreimeyer PhD, LPC, LMFT
- TriCare and TriWest - Answers to Your Questions by Jane McGill, MA, LPC, NCC, ACS
- Helpful Resources
- Volunteer Opportunities
- Conference Proposals Reached a Record High.
- So You Opted Out of Medicare: Will Insurance Networks Drop You?
Thank you from all of us here! |
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Colorado Counseling Association |
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www.coloradocounselingassociation.org |
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The 2024 Legislative Session ended May 8 and the CCA was active in representing its members’ interest for each of the three bills that were passed that impact counselors. Following is a brief summary of each bill. A more detailed summary will be published in the June newsletter as DORA needs to act on each of the bills. CCA is committed to keeping its members informed of how these legislative changes and DORA’s rule implementation of these bills impact you. SB115 - Cleans up vague and misleading language regarding LPCC/LPC licensure to include specifying that a minimum of 100 hours of supervision is needed for LPC licensure. It also requires that graduates take the jurisprudence exam as part of the LPCC license application and take the jurisprudence again for LPC licensure. The bill allows LPCCs to renew their LPCC license indefinitely while working toward their LPC. SB141 - Expands telehealth services in Colorado to out-of-state providers which we acknowledge is a controversial topic. It does not negate the Interstate Compact as counselors in Colorado who want to see clients in other states will still need to be a part of the Interstate Compact when it becomes active. DORA will be promulgating oversight rules for this bill to ensure high quality of care is not compromised. HB 1045 - Addressed LAC/LPC supervision as part of a bill resulting from the Governor’s Task Force on Opioid Addiction. This bill allows LACs to supervise LPCC/LPCs if the LACs have the proper training. LPCs can supervise addiction technicians and addiction specialists if the LPC has the proper training in addiction. The text of each of these bills can be found here: |
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Effectively working with military clients: Understanding the Hero’s Journey ~ Heroic: Very imposing or impressive; surpassing the ordinary. It has been said that those who serve in the military sign a blank check for their country, up to and including the cost of their life. While all who serve do not bear the burden of war, service in and transition out of the military culture proves to be significantly problematic for many. Military is a separate culture-within-other-cultures. Indeed, those who serve have their own unique language, customs and traditions. To effectively help cross-culturally does not require one to completely immerse in the “other” culture, however it is paramount to effectively navigate the necessary cultural processes of and views on motivation, problem formation, change and wellness. From a heart to serve those who’ve served, one who wishes to gain proficiency in helping military clients must necessarily cultivate some basic insights into the culture they seek to support. From the most unlikely of places, emerged some of the most fitting insights into the struggle that military service members can face. In 1990 Joseph Campbell relentlessly studied the common template used across narratives, across the ages, from war epics such as the Iliad and Odessey to modern Hollywood movies and everything in between. What he discovered was that there has been one primary story told from the beginning of stories being told around ancient campfires to today’s blockbusters. That theme Campbell dubbed The Hero’s Journey. What resonates in the minds and hearts of consumers across the ages, also parallels the transition military members face from civilian to service and back to civilian status. The Hero's Journey moves through a transformative process that is fraught with the cognitive and emotional themes we see in our clinical spaces working with military members: • The Calling (The pull towards adventure; the move towards “the more”) • Submission (Moving in to the unknown; breakdown of barriers in basic training) • Crossing the Threshold (Initiation) • Enactment (Joining the tribe) • Gaining Elder Wisdom • Transformation (Tests, allies, and enemies) • Mourning and grieving (The ordeal) • Reintegration and reward (Freedom to live) • Return (or refusal to return) to the known world • Returns with power and wisdom to serve others (Master of two worlds) From this foundational understanding of the depths of existential process that military members face in their service, contemporary practices have formed around effective counseling practices and protocols. Connecting past and present, the American Counseling Association established a task force that created such a guide in their Exemplary Practices for Military Populations (Prosek, et al., 2018). This resource details the importance of: understanding military culture, the process of identity development and unique aspects to this culture in effectively dealing with assessment, treatment and ethical practices. These modern clinical foci are undergirded and informed by the depths of The Hero’s Journey. While a heart to serve those who’ve served is a good starting point, culturally-informed perspectives should be studied and implemented in practice to ensure adequate connection and necessary effectiveness in working with this well deserving sub-culture. References: Campbell, Joseph, et al. The Hero's Journey: The World of Joseph Campbell : Joseph Campbell On His Life and Work. San Francisco, Harper & Row, 1990 Prosek, E. et al. (2018). Exemplary Practices for Military Populations. American Counseling Association Exemplary Practices. Retrieved from: https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/competencies/exemplary-practices-for-military-populations.pdf?sfvrsn=6ca8252c_12 |
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Q. What is the difference between TriCare and TriWest? A. The difference is the population that each serves. TriCare is the insurance for all active duty military. Retirees, including those who are medically retired, and Guard and Reserve members can chose to be covered under TriCare. Family members of each can be covered by TriCare. For active duty military, there is no copay or deductible when using TriCare, though there is a copy and deductible for their family members. TriCare has different plans for retirees and those who are in the Guard and Reserve all of which have deductibles and copays. TriWest is the administrator for the VA’s Community Care Network (CCN) for regions 4 & 5, which includes Colorado. This is for veterans who are using the VA for their healthcare and cannot be seen in a timely manner. Q. Do you have to be paneled with TriCare or TriWest to see military veterans or active duty members? A. To see veterans through TriWest/VA Community Care, you must be paneled with them. TriCare may pay for an out-of-network provider, but the client would want to verify this before starting therapy. If you are wanting to see veterans or active duty military on a regular basis, it’s advisable to be paneled with TriCare. Q. Is there anything special I have to do to see an active duty member through TriCare? A. Yes. Active duty members, not Guard or Reserve members unless they are considered active duty and on orders, have to get authorization from the behavioral health office at the military base or post to which they are assigned in order to be seen by a civilian mental health counselor. This authorization is generally for six months and will need to be renewed if more therapy is needed. Also note that the military often requires civilian therapists to complete a member evaluation form, usually quarterly, that addresses diagnosis, how the member is doing in therapy, prognosis, and any concerns. Q. Do veterans using TriWest/VA Community Care need prior authorization? A. Yes, the veteran must go through the VA Community Care office to get prior authorization for care. Without this authorization, you will not be paid. Q. Do family members or Guard/Reserve need prior authorization through TriCare? A. Generally family members or Guard and Reserve members do not need authorization for mental health counseling as long as the provider is in network. When in doubt, you can call TriCare to verify. If you are already a TriCare provider, you can verify authorization by going to the TriCare website. The exception to this is if the Guard or Reserve member is on active orders, meaning they are on orders for full-time military status. In these cases, their status with TriCare and DEERS (Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System) changes and authorization is now needed through the nearest base’s Behavioral Health office. Q. How do I get credentialed through TriCare or TriWest? Q. Do I have to take Medicare to take TriCare? A. Yes, you have to sign up with Medicare to take TriCare, though you can take Medicare on a claim-by-claim basis. For retirees who are on Medicare and TriCare, Medicare is the first payee. Q. I want to learn more about serving our military community, but I am not familiar with this population. Are there resources available to help me learn more about the military? |
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For those of you wanting to understand the military mindset in even greater detail, Lt. Col. (ret) Dave Grossman has written many books/articles on the warrior mindset. These include: On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace; On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society; and Warrior Mindset: Mental Toughness Skills for a Nation’s Peacekeepers.
One well-known Grossman article is the difference between wolves, sheepdogs, and sheep, with the true warrior mindset being a sheepdog. He said, “If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero’s path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.” This, according to Grossman, is at the heart of the warrior. If you’d like to read more of Lt. Col. Grossman’s essay about wolves, sheepdogs, and sheep, this is an excellent commentary. https://netwar.wordpress.com/2007/08/30/sheep-wolves-and-sheepdogs/ |
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If you are looking for volunteer hours as part of your Professional Development Plan or are willing to provide pro bono counseling to increase your hours for your LPC license, check out Give an Hour. GAH is a nonprofit organization that provides free counseling to military members, among other groups. If you are an LPCC, you can sign up to provide counseling as long as you are actively under supervision. GAH does allow you to bill a client’s insurance if they have insurance, under this provision: "providers must be available to support one current pro bono client in order to accept paid referrals in the network”. You do not have to accept every referral that you receive from GAH. This allows you to accept potential clients based on your areas of expertise and availability. For more information about becoming a GAH provider, visit https://giveanhour.org |
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CCA received more than 90 presentation proposals for both the Foundations Student Conference and Annual Conference! This is a record number and will ensure that the conferences have the very best presentations. Look for more about the conference schedule and presentations in the June newsletter. As a reminder, the Annual Conference will be held on August 22nd – 23rd, 2024, at the Keystone Resort. This two-day conference is open to all mental professionals to attend and includes admittance to our keynote event, featuring Khara Croswaite Brindle as our 2024 Keynote Speaker. You can register now for the conference. |
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If you’ve opted out of Medicare and take insurance, you may be hearing from the insurance carriers that you have to opt into Medicare in order to keep your insurance contracts. (TriCare is requiring this.) This requirement is resulting in confusion and questions, especially for counselors who are not wanting to take Medicare, but want to keep their insurance contracts. Barbara Griswold, LMFT, and author of Navigating the Insurance Maze, addresses this question on her website in an interview with Susan Frager, Medicare expert/diva and owner of PsychBillingCoach.com. You can read this important interview here. https://theinsurancemaze.com/droppedafteroptout/ |
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