Protecting the future of counseling starts with being informed
A three-part series for Michigan counselors on Chiles v. Salazar, professional advocacy, and the future of counseling practice.
Why this series matters
Three conversations about what happened, what it means, and what counselors can do.
On March 31, 2026, the United States Supreme Court decided Chiles v. Salazar. In an 8 to 1 opinion, the Court held that Colorado’s law restricting conversion therapy with minors, as applied to one counselor’s talk therapy, regulates speech based on viewpoint. The Court reversed the Tenth Circuit and returned the case to be reviewed under strict scrutiny. The Colorado law was not struck down, and the Court did not rule on whether the practice at issue is effective or harmful.
MiLPCs’ assessment is that the reasoning in this decision raises serious questions for every profession that practices psychotherapy, including how states may regulate clinical practice and where the boundary now sits between professional conduct and protected speech. Michigan counselors have reason to pay close attention.
MiLPCs is working with AMHCA and other national partners on these questions. This series is designed to help Michigan counselors understand what happened, why it matters for their practice, and how to contribute to the advocacy that follows.
The three sessions
All sessions run Friday, noon to 1:30 pm Eastern. Access details are sent by email after registration.
Chiles v. Salazar: Why This Case Matters for Counselors
How Chiles v. Salazar may create a serious threat for the profession of counseling and for mental health care more broadly.
Advocacy: How Counselors Can Protect the Profession
Andrea Cascarelli, the lobbyist who was instrumental in helping pass Michigan’s 2019 counselor licensure law, on how professional advocacy actually works and how every counselor can contribute.
Entrepreneurship in Counseling
Positioning yourself and your practice to navigate the challenges now facing the counseling profession.
Choose how you attend
Four ways to join. One of them costs less than the series and gives you more.
Booked one at a time, all three sessions cost $150.
Become a member
- All three webinars, free
- Costs $40 less than the series
- Supports advocacy in Lansing
- Advocacy alerts and member updates
Member registration
For current MiLPCs members. We verify membership before sending access details.
About MiLPCs
MichiganLPCs (MiLPCs) is the Michigan state chapter of the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA). MiLPCs advocates for licensed professional counselors in Michigan and works with state and national partners to protect the counseling profession and the clients counselors serve.
MiLPCs is led by Dr. Sara Sue Schaeffer and James Blundo, who together have spent more than fifty years advocating for Michigan counselors. That work included the 2019 effort to protect counselor scope of practice, which produced House Bill 4325, signed into law as Public Act 96 of 2019. The law preserved the ability of Michigan counselors to diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders.
Counselors stepped up before. We need to step up again.
Michigan counselors organized in 2019 and protected the right to diagnose and practice. Today the profession faces new national questions that call for informed, organized advocacy. Join the series, become a member, and help support the future of counseling.