COVID-19 Resources

CTAMFT Community, 

As we continue to adjust to changes daily, the Board would like to provide you with updates and resources to help you navigate the current public health crisis. The Board will continue to update this page as soon as possible with additional updates/resources. 

Connecticut Specific Updates/Resource:

  • 03.27.2020. CTAMFT has written a letter to Governor Lamont requesting adjustments which will continue to support our MFT's in providing the much needed mental health services to our clients. This letter has asked Governor Lamont to allow exceptions for CEU's, allow for teletherapy/telesupervision contact hours to count towards licensure, as well as for insurance reimbursement parity for teletherapy services. A copy of the letter can be found here: COVID-2020-Gov-Letter_2020-03-27-2.pdf
  • Connecticut continues to have various changes at the state level daily. You may find the latest updates on the state portal, found here. 
  • Mental Health Specific resources in Connecticut, which may be helpful for clients and/or others who are struggling at this time, can be found here. 
  • Governor Lamont issued Executive Order 7DD suspending the continuing education requirements for marital and family therapists.  Licensees with expiration dates between March 10, 2020 and February 28, 2021 are not required to complete the continuing education required for license renewal. 
  • 04.28.2020. CTAMFT has sent a second letter to the Insurance Commissioner regarding difficulties MFTs have been experiencing with reimbursement and processing of claims. You may find the letter here: COVID-19-FOLLOW-UP-4-28-2020.pdf
  • CTAMFT is currently working with DPH to allow teletherapy and telesupervision hours to count towards licensure. UPDATE 12/21/2020: CT DPH has confirmed their interpretation of supervision & client contact hours to accept teletherapy and tele supervision hours, provided the therapist is directly accessing clients or supervisors through a virtual face-to-face method.
  • 05.20.2020. CTAMFT has Issued a follow up letter to the Insurance Commissioner, Governor, and Commissioner of Public Health requesting them to extend current teletherapy coverage. Our lobbyist is also involved in a team of various mental health professions working on extending this coverage. You may find CTAMFT's letter here.
  • 06.22.2020. CTAMFT has partnered with other Mental Health Associations across the state to begin legislative efforts in teletherapy parity. For the collaborative letter, please click here. 
  • 11.04.2020. CTAMFT followed up with Governor Lamont and the Insurance Department, urging an extension of current Executive orders to help keep teletherapy access open. This letter also addressed ongoing Insurance concerns from providers. For the full letter, please click here. 
  • 11.2020. CTAMFT Chair, Rebecca Ruitto, has collaborated with the Department of Insurance to provide specific challenges clinicians are facing. The Department has begun to look specifically into Anthem, and will update CTAMFT when they have more information collected.
  • CTAMFT urged DPH to consider adjusting Licensure requirements to reflect changes made by COAMFTE. DPH has agreed, and is working on proposing legislative changes to be voted on in the upcoming legislative session. These changes would help current language more accurately reflect the standards of COAMFTE moving forward. 
  • 02.11.2021. CTAMFT wrote to Governor Lamont as well as the Public Health Committee Chairs, The Insurance & Real Estate Committee Chairs, and The Human Services Committee Chairs urging them to take action to extend or make permanent telehealth provisions in HB 6001, which if no action is taken will expire on March 15th, 2021. 
  • 04.20.2021. Governor Lamont signed executive order extending telehealth provisions until May 20th, 2021. The executive order can be found here. 


General COVID-19 Updates:

  • Wondering how AAMFT is responding to COVID-19? AAMFT has a webpage dedicated to updates regarding COVID-19, which can be found here. This page provides relevant information, including resources on teletherapy. 
  • For information provided from the CDC regarding COVID-19, please visit this link. 


Teletherapy Resources:

  • AAMFT has compiled a list of recommendations and resources related to teletherapy. These can be found here. 
  • The US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has provided information regarding HIPAA and teletherapy during the current crisis. You can find more information on ways to remain in compliance with these adjusted HIPAA rules here. 
  • Motivo is providing 2 months free tele-supervision, click here for more information. 


CEUs:

  • CTAMFT is keeping all early 2021events virtual, and a majority of these will be FREE for current CTAMFT members. Keep an eye on our Calendar page for specifics and to register!