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Board proposes narrowing pastoral‑counseling exemption to faith‑based services and clarifying limits
Summary
The board’s policy committee voted July 31 to clarify statutory exemptions for faith‑based counseling: counseling provided under a legally recognized religious entity’s auspices and without separate client fees would remain exempt, while services resembling clinical practice—billing clients separately, using clinical titles or offering diagnosis/treatment—would not be exempt.
The Policy and Advocacy Committee on July 31 directed staff to refine statutory language clarifying when religious leaders’ counseling is exempt from state licensing and when it crosses into regulated clinical practice. Staff presented research on how other states handle pastoral or faith‑based counseling exemptions and proposed language (attachments A1–A3) that would limit the exemption to counseling provided under the auspices of a legally recognized faith‑based organization, within the organization’s customary duties, without separate fees charged to clients, and without holding oneself out to the public…
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