The Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC) is the state agency that oversees licensing and disciplinary proceedings for several licensed professions. These professions include various mental health professionals, including professional counselors and marriage and family therapists.
Mental health professionals are subject to continuing education requirements like most other professions. BHEC recently revised the continuing education requirements for mental health professionals. Failure to meet the continuing education requirements can lead to BHEC disciplinary action. Your Texas counseling license defense attorneys are here to help you devise the best strategy to defend yourself in any disciplinary proceedings that you may face.
BHEC Votes to Eliminate Diversity Education Requirement
After about an hour’s testimony from supporters and opponents, BHEC recently voted to remove language requiring cultural competency as part of continuing education requirements for the professions it regulates and oversees. The unanimous vote represents only a preliminary approval. The proposed rule change will go to the four boards that operate under BHEC’s umbrella for approval. These boards include the Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists, the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors, the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, and the Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners. If approved, the measure will return to BHEC for final approval.
Support for the change has come from those generally opposed to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. However, some mental health providers say that eliminating mandatory cultural competency education will hurt patients, especially those of color. Nonetheless, BHEC maintains that the change had nothing to do with the current political fury about DEI; according to one commission member, the change simply represents a measure to make the existing rule “clear and practical” for mental health providers.
The Current BHEC Continuing Education Policy vs. the New Policy
Currently, the mental health providers whom BHEC oversees must complete 24 hours of continuing education for license renewal. Successful renewal requires completion of at least six hours of ethics and three of “cultural diversity or competency.” The goal of diversity competency education for mental health providers is designed to allow providers to effectively serve clients from diverse backgrounds. The hope is that providers will better understand and respect their unique needs and experiences.
BHEC will replace the second requirement with three hours of continuing education designed to “ensure competency when providing services to a distinct population, defined as a group of people who share a common attribute, trait, or defining characteristic of the licensee’s choice.” BHEC characterizes the change to the continuing education rule as a reflection of the needs of Texas patients and the expectations of BHEC for each profession.
As currently written, BHEC says that the requirement’s wording indicates that mental health providers must be competent in all backgrounds and cultures. BHEC also has no mechanism for tracking or enforcing competence other than ensuring that members of the affected professions complete the continuing education requirement.
Understanding Opposition to the Education Requirement Change
One psychologist who opposed the decision characterizes the change as “watering down” the cultural diversity education requirement. As a result, she argues that almost any continuing education course would satisfy the requirement, thus undermining its intent. She sees cultural competency as critical to providing ethical and responsible mental health care to patients from marginalized communities.
Some providers also point out that the need for cultural competency is particularly important in Texas. According to statistics from 2023, more than 80% of mental health providers in the state are white, and less than 20% offer services in a language other than English. In contrast, 60% of the state’s population are people of color.
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Understanding Support of the Rule Change
Nonetheless, Phillip Crum, co-founder of the conservative Association for Mental Health, supported the rule change. He claims that emotion and ideology have “taken over” the profession for far too long. He sees the rule change as a step in the right direction to restore “sanity” and emphasized that if BHEC didn’t change the rule, the governor would.
Crum referred to Governor Greg Abbott’s January 2025 executive order directing all Texas state agencies to eliminate all DEI programs and policies. The executive order ostensibly aims to ensure that Texas rejects race-based discrimination and supports merit-based advancement.
Along with the executive order, the Texas legislature passed a law in 2023 that prohibited all public universities from having DEI programs and policies. Abbott has commented that he wishes to extend that prohibition to public schools at all levels.
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Get the Advice You Need About Your Therapist or Counseling License
When you face a disciplinary complaint concerning your therapist or counseling license, including continuing education violations, you risk significant sanctions that could adversely affect your career. Don’t try to handle such a critical situation on your own. The marriage and family therapist license defense lawyers at Bertolino LLP can examine your circumstances and help you determine the most effective means of protecting your license. Call us today at (512) 980-3751 or get more information about us online.
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