Tennessee Therapists, Counselors, Can Now Refuse to Treat Patients Based on 'Sincerely Held Principles'
In a move the American Counseling Association has described as hateful towards gay and transgender people, Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam signed a controversial bill into law Wednesday that allows a licensed counselor or therapist to refuse service to clients whose "goals, outcomes or behaviors" conflict with their "sincerely held principles."
"No counselor or therapist providing counseling or therapy services shall be required to counsel or serve a client as to goals, outcomes, or behaviors that conflict with the sincerely held principles of the counselor or therapist; provided, that the counselor or therapist coordinates a referral of the client to another counselor or therapist who will provide the counseling or therapy," notes Senate Bill 1556.
The bill which went into effect immediately, according to The Tennessean, also protects professionals who refuse service under the bill from civil lawsuits, criminal prosecution and sanctions by the state licensing board as long as they coordinate a referral of the client to another counselor who would serve them.
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The provisions of the bill will not apply to a counselor or therapist "when an individual seeking or undergoing counseling is in imminent danger of harming themselves or others."
Haslam explained in The Tennessean report that his decision to sign the bill came after careful discussions with counselors on both sides of the issue.
"There are two key provisions of this legislation that addressed concerns I had about clients not receiving care. First, the bill clearly states that it 'shall not apply to a counselor or therapist when an individual seeking or undergoing counseling is in imminent danger of harming themselves or others.' Secondly, the bill requires that any counselor or therapist who feels they cannot serve a client due to the counselor's sincerely held principles must coordinate a referral of the client to another counselor or therapist who will provide the counseling or therapy," said Haslam.
"The substance of this bill doesn't address a group, issue or belief system. Rather, it allows counselors — just as we allow other professionals like doctors and lawyers — to refer a client to another counselor when the goals or behaviors would violate a sincerely held principle. I believe it is reasonable to allow these professionals to determine if and when an individual would be better served by another counselor better suited to meet his or her needs," Haslam added.
The American Counseling Association which describes itself as the "world's largest association exclusively representing professional counselors in various practice settings," believes the bill is discriminatory in nature.
"Hate Bill 1840 is nothing but a way for hateful legislators to codify their prejudicial beliefs. The fact that they chose to change the bill from permitting counselors to deny services based on their own 'strongly held religious beliefs' to permitting counselors to deny services based on their own 'strongly held personal beliefs,' proves that they want to allow for even greater levels of discrimination," said ACA's director of government affairs, Art Terrazas, in an earlier statement.
"In other words, everything would be fair game. A counselor doesn't agree with someone's sexual identity… turned away. A counselor is offended by someone's hijab… turned away. A counselor doesn't agree with someone's feminist stances… turned away. The list could go on and on. This bill is extremely dangerous for Tennesseans of all walks of life," the statement added.
The Tennessean noted that bill was the latest in a series of "religious freedom" measures considered by state lawmakers. The Senate approved the counseling bill 27-5 in February and the House did the same with a 68-22 vote April 6. A week later, the Senate concurred with a House amendment that changed the bill's original wording from "sincerely held religious belief" to "sincerely held principles" of the counselor.
The measure became necessary due to a 2014 change in the American Counseling Association's code of ethics aimed at preventing discrimination against people in need of counseling services. The state licensing board for professional counselors and marital and family therapists incorporates the ACA's ethics code into its rules and regulations — a violation of which subjects licensees to sanctions according to the report.
David Fowler, president of Family Action Council of Tennessee, said Gov. Haslam made the right decision.
"Thankfully, the governor and our legislature, through this legislation, have said that there is still room in Tennessee for counselors who have a belief system that informs everything they do, including the kind of counsel they believe they can in good conscience provide to their clients," he said.
