The Senate Health Committee voted Friday, once again, to table legislation that would have brought all mental health professionals under the control of a single licensing board.
Appearing before the committee, testifiers from both the National Association of Social Workers and the Association of V.I. Psychologists opposed being regulated along with family, school, rehabilitation and addiction counselors.
The representatives told the committee that their educational and training standards far exceed the requirements for other counselor groups. Additionally, psychologists and social workers are already regulated by a licensing board.
Another concern was that merging the entities under one licensing board would not be cost-effective.
Testifying against the proposal were UVI Professor of Psychology Patricia Rhymer Todman, Dr. Rita Dudley-Grant of the Association of V.I. Psychologists, Kimberly Causey-Gomez, president of the National Association of Social Workers, and Jane Christiansen, chairperson of the Social Work Licensure Board.
Sen. Lorraine Berry, the bill's sponsor, said the Legislature "has become at the center of a turf war with both sides."
She moved to hold the legislation in committee "until a compromise bill pleasing to both sides" can be drafted.