Tennessee Association for Counselor Education and Supervision

03/30/2026

Reminder! This Wednesday at 6pm CST we will have our next webinar presented by Dr. Marisa White. For more information and to register, click on this link: https://www.tcacounselors.org/monthly-trainings . Hope to see you there!

03/15/2026

Make your voice heard! The House hears this bill on Wednesday, March 18th. Contact the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee before Wednesday (see post below)!

🚨Proposed Legislation Update: SB 2227 / HB 2539🚨

The Tennessee Counseling Association (TCA) would like our members to be aware of legislature (SB 2227/ HB 2539) currently being considered in the Tennessee General Assembly. Language being considered in Section 7(d) would dissolve the Tennessee Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists and move oversight of these professions to a commission-run regulatory structure rather than maintaining a counseling-specific licensure board.

Currently, counselors in Tennessee are regulated by a profession-specific licensure board composed primarily of licensed counselors and related professionals who have expertise in counseling practice, ethics, supervision, and training standards. This board reviews licensure applications, develops rules governing practice, and participates in disciplinary decision-making to help ensure public protection and professional accountability.

Under a commission-run structure, the profession would no longer have its own dedicated regulatory board. Instead, licensing and disciplinary decisions would be administered through a centralized commission or state regulatory body that may oversee multiple professions. In this model, regulatory decisions affecting counseling practice could be made by individuals who are not members of the counseling profession and may not have direct expertise in counseling practice, training, or supervision.

Changes proposed in this legislation raise several concerns for the counseling profession and the communities we serve, including:

Loss of counseling-specific expertise in regulation. The current board ensures that regulatory decisions are informed by professionals who understand counseling practice, ethics, and supervision requirements.

Reduced professional representation in decision-making. A commission-run model may shift authority to individuals outside the counseling profession.

Potential imbalance across behavioral health professions. At this time, similar changes do not appear to be proposed for other helping profession boards (such as psychology, social work, or alcohol and drug counseling).

Impacts on professional standards and public protection. The board plays an important role in maintaining counseling-specific ethical guidelines, supervision standards, and disciplinary review processes.

Uncertainty around licensure pathways. The board currently helps maintain clear processes for counselor licensure, supervision, and entry into the workforce for new professionals.

Possible implications for interstate practice initiatives. The board also supports Tennessee’s participation in efforts such as the Counseling Compact, which expands provider mobility and telehealth access.

The Tennessee Counseling Association will continue to monitor developments related to SB 2227 / HB 2539 and will provide updates as more information becomes available.

Members who wish to share their perspectives are encouraged to respectfully contact their legislators, particularly members of the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee, to emphasize the importance of maintaining counseling-specific regulatory expertise in Tennessee’s licensure system.

Tennessee Senate Commerce and Labor Committee

Chairman

Sen. Paul Bailey (Chair) – [email protected]

Sen. Shane Reeves – [email protected]

Sen. Bo Watson – [email protected]

Sen. Raumesh Akbari – [email protected]

Sen. Ken Yager – [email protected]

Sen. Brent Taylor – [email protected]

Sen. Steve Southerland – [email protected]

Sen. John Stevens – [email protected]

Sen. Jack Johnson (Majority Leader) – [email protected]🚨🚨🚨🚨

03/10/2026

Another great CE opportunity! See below for more details!

✨April CE Opportunity✨

Let’s face it, supervision paperwork isn’t exactly the most thrilling part of our work. But contracts, evaluations, and notes are far more than dotted i’s, crossed t’s, and required signatures. Participants of this session will explore the benefits of thorough documentation, learn best practices for maintaining clear and compliant records, and develop strategies for addressing documentation deficits with supervisees. Attendees will leave with practical tools to enhance the quality of their supervision documentation and improve supervisees’ documentation skills.

We hope you will join us, registration link in bio!

02/26/2026

Call on the Department of Education to formally recognize Counseling Programs as Professional Programs

The Department of Education (ED) is considering significant reductions to federal student loan limits. Under these new limits, counseling students would only be able to borrow $20,500 annually, potentially pushing students toward expensive private lending or discouraging them from entering the profession.

We have submitted a comment to ED urging them to reclassify counseling programs as professional programs. This would give counseling students access to higher student loan limits ($50,000) and recognizes counselors’ enormous contributions to society and their professional expertise. Join us in telling ED that counseling programs are professional programs!

Our comments: https://bit.ly/4c1LJP7
Act Now: https://bit.ly/473f48j

02/19/2026

Join us tomorrow for this exciting training opportunity! For more information and to register, go to https://www.tcacounselors.org/monthly-trainings .

Hope to see you there!

Training ✨ - 1 CE - February 20th at 12:30PM EST on Zoom

During the rapidly changing cultural landscape in which we live, the supervisory relationship becomes an essential space for modeling and cultivating cultural responsiveness. This one-hour training explores the intersection of cultural humility and broaching in clinical supervision. Supervisors often encounter supervisees who struggle to recognize or initiate cultural dialogue with clients; these moments provide powerful opportunities to model the same openness, reflection, and courage supervisors hope to see in clinical work.

Participants will examine how supervisory dynamics can mirror those that arise in counseling relationships, and how attending to parallel process can strengthen both supervision and client care. Through case examples and guided reflection, this training highlights practical strategies for fostering supervisee growth in cultural awareness and broaching competence—even amid the uncertainty and stress of “unusual times.”

02/03/2026

Join the Tennessee Counseling Association and TACES for an exciting webinar on 2/20/26! Dr. Kristel Headley will present on Cultural Humility and Broaching in Clinical Supervision During Unusual Times.

The cost is $5 for TCA members and $10 for non-TCA members and includes 1 CE.

For more information and to register, please go to https://www.tcacounselors.org/monthly-trainings

Hope to see you there!

11/19/2025

11/16/2025

We had ELEVEN amazing posters for the graduate student poster contest at the Tennessee Counseling Association conference. Great job to all the graduate students and congrats to the winners!

Doctoral:
1st Place: Marcus Watson: Conditional Inclusion: Counseling, Supervision, and School Responses for Black Males

2nd Place: Shay Daniels, Cherilyn Padget: Who Gets to Laugh? Humor, Power, and Belonging in Military Culture

3rd Place: Sibo Zhoa: Beyond the Algorithm: Helping Foreign-born Young Students Move Past AI’s Face Value Responses

Master's:
1st Place: Paige Ring: Psychodrama for Transracial Adoptees: An Experiential Approach to Identity and Grief

2nd Place: Phebe Rajan Jelesa: Does AI as a therapist cause risk to humans?

3rd Place: Ressie Carr: Going Against the Grain: A Literature Review Challenging the Stigma Surrounding Borderline Personality Disorder

10/21/2025

If you are going to be at the TCA conference, make sure to sign up for the TACES pre-con! We will be diving into the emerging trends in clinical supervision to help supervisors effectively empower supervisees. Hope to see you there!

✨Join us for our Pre-Conference!✨

November 13th from 2-5PM - we will have 4 different workshops you can choose from for 3 CE hours. Link to register is in our bio! Here is our 3rd workshop option.

Emerging Trends in Clinical Supervision: Technology, Wellness, and Best Practices

Summary: Clinical supervision is often a complex process that includes a unique balance between protecting clients and fostering supervisee development. As the counseling profession continues to evolve, there has been emerging trends in the area of clinical supervision which can make the process more complex. However, it is important that clinical supervisors learn about, and adapt to, these trends. By embracing these trends, supervisors can effectively empower their supervisees and increase innovative practices to promote excellence in the field. During this pre-conference session, we will explore the emerging trends in clinical supervision relating to technology, wellness, and other best practices to help supervisors promote effective development and practices for their supervisees.

09/30/2025

This is a reminder for all our graduate students to submit your application for the poster contest by tomorrow, 10/1! Here is the link to the application: https://forms.gle/cxg7A6A1yKMBec498.

We look forward to hearing about all the wonderful research from our graduate students at this year’s TCA conference!

Calling all graduate students! Counselor educators, please pass along to your students! This is a great way to plug into the conference and TCA! Submit your poster application by 10/1. Link to the application is available in the comments.

09/11/2025

Calling all graduate students! This is a great opportunity to showcase your research at this year’s TCA conference!

Here is the link to the application: https://forms.gle/cxg7A6A1yKMBec498

Graduate students, this is your chance to showcase your research, literature review, or counseling intervention/technique! The Tennessee Counseling Association is accepting poster submissions through October 1. Selected presenters will display their poster at the conference, giving you the opportunity to share your work with peers and professionals across Tennessee. The winning presenter will receive a $100 prize and special recognition. Don’t miss this opportunity to highlight your scholarship and strengthen your professional network!

The link to the application is in the comments!