PsyPact Explainers

There is no actual opposition to PSYPACT -- our only barrier is legislative inertia.  Committee members need to hear how important this law is to their voters.  Everyone who lives in their districts who might need to access high-quality mental health care (that is, everyone!) is being harmed.

Here are four one-page legislative briefs, designed to be handed to your favorite legislators and legislative staffers:  Feel free to download and share widely, especially if your state Senator is on Ways and Means or if your Representative is on Health Care Financing. 

Why PsyPact Matters:

• The current system of state-based mental health licensure is massively outdated: it doesn't address the very real needs of today's highly-mobile population and the increasing reliance upon the convenience of telehealth.  The temporary practice laws passed as a stopgap during the pandemic have largely expired, with most states saying, "Just use PSYPACT."  PSYPACT was first introduced in 2015.  To date, 43 other states have already enacted this law (and more are on the way).

• Therapy is legally considered to take place in the state where the client is physically located at the time of the session.  If a client moves out of state, or even travels temporarily (college, jobs, family relocation, internships, vacations, family emergencies, joint custody arrangements), they lose their access to therapy, often at the times when they need it the most.

• As psychologists, we know that therapists are not interchangeable widgets.  The trusting relationship between client and therapist is not just how we help clients be willing to be vulnerable -- for many clients, it is a key part of how healing takes place.

• Clients who most need culturally-sensitive care, especially those who come from vulnerable populations (members of racial, ethnic, and language minorities; trauma survivors; members of the LGBTQ+ community, autistic folks, residents of rural communities; etc.) often struggle to find connection with a therapist in the first place; forcing them to interrupt therapy, find a new specialist, and start all over with someone who doesn't know their history, is highly countertherapeutic.  It is cruel to ask those who might be in neighboring states to drive across the border and have their therapy sessions while they sit in a Massachusetts parking lot, just to satisfy the arbitrary demands of the law.

• It is not practical to suggest that psychologists simply seek licensure in the new state.  This process typically takes 6 months or longer, even when it goes smoothly, and may take much longer or not be possible at all, because of minor legal technicalities.  Even if successful, this approach places ever-growing short-term and long-term financial and paperwork burdens on the therapist, as every client moving to a new state adds yet another professional license which must then be maintained indefinitely.

• PSYPACT presents very little cost to the Commonwealth.  The direct cost is trivial -- just $10 per MA psychologist who seeks PSYPACT credentials, capped at a maximum of $6000, per year.  And the PSYPACT Commission is actually in the process of reducing that cost, shifting the burden more fully to the psychologists who choose to participate (ooh, scary, they just doubled our renewal fees from $20 per year to $40 per year! I think we can take it, eh?)   In fact, joining PSYPACT will likely reduce the administrative burdens on the Board of Registration, freeing up their time to focus on their important work of protecting the public.

• PSYPACT does not create any loopholes for out-of-state psychologists to circumvent Massachusetts law.   Because therapy is considered to take place in the state where the client is located, clients located in Masschusetts are still fully protected by Massachusetts mental health law.

• Failing to pass PSYPACT does nothing to address the problem of "life coaches" or even AI-based chatbots conducting unlicensed and unregulated therapy with Massachusetts clients.  The only people being harmed by the legislature having not yet gotten around to passing PSYPACT are the psychologists who follow the law, and our clients.  In fact, the present system creates a perverse incentive for Massachusetts psychologists to themselves relocate to other states, further reducing access to quality mental health care for Massachusetts residents.

• No psychologist is required to seek PSYPACT credentials. It is always your choice.

• There is no opposition to PSYPACT in Massachusetts.  This is a no-brainer.

And here are more FAQs on various topics.

Lots more clear and useful information can be found all over the PSYPACT website.  Some good places to start:

PSYPACT Legislative FAQs

PSYPACT Legislative Resources