AMHCA Advocacy Call to Action Federal Loan Caps and the Exclusion of Counseling and Therapy Programs from "Professional" Status by the Department of Education  Summary of Issue: The American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) is deeply concerned by the Department of Education’s preliminary implementation guidance for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), which establishes new federal student loan caps for graduate and professional students beginning July 1, 2026 and issues the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) to replace existing loan repayment programs, including the Grad PLUS Program and much of the Parent PLUS program. Under these changes, counseling and therapy programs—including Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy, and related master’s and doctoral degrees—are (1) not included among the eleven “professional degree” programs though this degree meets a professional and licensure standard and (2) therefore will be restricted to the lower graduate-level cap of $20,500 per year for student loans rather than the $50,000 per year for professional degrees. Why it matters: Excluding counseling programs from the professional-degree designation creates a harmful and artificial distinction between Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHCs) and other health-care professions such as physicians, dentists, pharmacists, and—even more concerning—clinical psychologists, who were included on the professional list. This reinforces outdated stigma suggesting that mental health providers are not true health professionals, contradicting parity laws and decades of advocacy to ensure equitable care and coverage. Classification issues and loan caps will create barriers and directly undermine AMHCA’s decades of work to establish LMHCs as highly trained, independently licensed mental health professionals essential to meeting the nation’s growing behavioral-health needs. Action We are looking for two courses of action: Public comment period is open on the DOE rules. Make your own comments to the proposed rules on the public comment page by Mar 2, 2026, at 11:59 PM EST. Use our templates below: template for counselors, template for counselor educators, or template for students. Write to your legislator. Voice your support for the Loan Equity for Advanced Professionals (LEAP) Act (H.R. 6574). Request that they sign on to this bill or thank them for supporting by drafting an email to your legislator using the template below. Find your Congressional Representatives using this tool to let them know you support the LEAP Act: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member. Find your senators to ask for a "companion bill": U.S. Senate: Contacting U.S. Senators   Template to use when contacting your Members of Congress: 1. Request for Support Congressman/Congresswoman [Insert Name], I would like to urge you to support the Loan Equity for Advanced Professionals (LEAP) Act (H.R.6574). The LEAP Act would raise federal student loan limits for graduate programs to be equal with professional programs. So, both students in graduate and professional programs would be able to borrow $50,000 annually ($200,000 aggregate limit). Counselors are professionals. Our training and degree programs prepare us for the hard work of healing and supporting Americans. Our programs need financial support to ensure our workforce does not suffer from this rulemaking. There are alternative routes to managing student loan limits and the cost of education. This request of support is in response to the DOE proposed rules on federal student loans and changes to the student lending process. The Loan Equity for Advanced Professionals Act Increases counselors’ access to federal student loans Recognizes and supports the valuable contributions of counselors and other professionals with master’s degrees - Invests in the counseling workforce Thank you for your attention, [your signature here]   2. Thank you for your support Congressman/Congresswoman [Insert Name], I would like to thank you for signing on to support the Loan Equity for Advanced Professionals (LEAP) Act (H.R.6574). The LEAP Act would raise federal student loan limits for graduate programs to be equal with professional programs. So, both students in graduate and professional programs would be able to borrow $50,000 annually ($200,000 aggregate limit). Counselors are professionals. Our training and degree programs prepare us for the hard work of healing and supporting Americans. Our programs need financial support to ensure our workforce does not suffer from this rulemaking. The Loan Equity for Advanced Professionals Act Increases counselors’ access to federal student loans Recognizes and supports the valuable contributions of counselors and other professionals with master’s degrees Invests in the counseling workforce Thank you for your support and dedicated work, [your signature here]

https://www.amhca.org/conference/registration?fbclid=IwY2xjawP5v4VleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBOUnV2anlVTDdaTE5BbmtSc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHmMXgntJk9GjXD2YipmjlcpTnnbUW20CEqbzNs7bgOiWmrQLg10vfaWODSac_aem_jpUK69_ZfWLcnig4d6TM4g

Hello NHMHCA members,

Are you interested in working on building community in NH?  I am the new Social Media, PR and Technology Chair and we need your support!  Please contact me and join the committee as we build and grow our numbers.  It would be really nice to get to know some more NHMHCA members, organize and work towards a common goal.  Please reach out with the email address below if you're interested in joining this committee.  I look forward to working with you and fostering connection and membership amongst our NH Mental Health counselors.

NHMHCAmedia@gmail.com

Sincerely,

Serena Duckrow, LCMHC