Praxis II Fee Waiver Request for School Counseling Students
Professional School Counseling Students can visit ETS Fee Waiver Information(opens in a new tab) to learn more about the eligibility requirements and application process to request a fee waiver. It is crucial that students read through all the information provided, as there are several requirements for eligibility.
Eligibility Criteria:
- Students must be receiving financial aid.
- They should be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program and able to provide a current Enrollment Verification Certificate (note that those with a master’s or doctoral degree are ineligible).
- Students need to provide the 2025-2026 FAFSA Submission Summary showing an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of $3,000 or less.
- They must be required to take a Praxis test by an authorized score recipient.
How to Apply for a Fee Waiver:
- Complete the Fee Waiver Request Form (PDF) (see the attached flyer).
- Obtain a current Enrollment Verification Certificate (contact the UNCP registrar’s office). It must include a school seal, National Student Clearinghouse watermark, or the signature of the registrar.
- Obtain the 2025-2026 FAFSA Submission Summary.
- Submit your request by email: scan all documents, attach them to your email, and send to .
Students are eligible for a fee waiver only once during a testing year, and there are a limited number of waivers available per test date and institution. All requests are processed on a first-come, first-served basis ETS-Fee-Waiver-Request
Mental Health Access and Provider Support Act (S.B. 4202 / H.R. 8081)
Mental health counselors are essential providers for Medicare beneficiaries, but current reimbursement rates limit access to care for older adults and individuals with disabilities.
We’re asking you to take a minute to make your voice heard.
The Mental Health Access and Provider Support Act (S.B. 4202 / H.R. 8081) would improve reimbursement rates and expand access to mental health services for underrepresented communities. Your outreach can help move this forward.
Thank you for advocating for the profession and the clients we serve,
NBCC Government Affairs Team
Rule Finalized Reducing Access to Federal Student Loans
Rule Finalized Reducing Access to Federal Student Loans
The Trump Administration has finalized its rule reducing counseling students’ access to federal student loans. Starting July 1, 2026, new borrowers for graduate programs will only be able to borrow $20,500 annually ($100,000 aggregate) in federal student loans.
ACA is deeply disappointed with this decision. We are concerned that students who cannot cover the cost of tuition with federal loans may be pushed towards expensive private lenders or discouraged from pursuing counseling altogether.
Practice Forward by Dr. Monica P. Band
Each piece tries to hold both the practical and the harder-to-name parts of the work: the stuff that rarely makes it into a syllabus or a supervision hour, but lives quietly in our heads anyway!
Provisional Aspirations with Thomas W. Moore
Provisional Aspirations with Thomas W. Moore
Mainly psychodynamic and neurophilosophical discussion with a clinical edge.
Radical Attunement By Denise Takakjy PhD
International Institute for the Advancement of Counseling Theory
Consider joining the International Institute for the Advancement of Counseling Theory (IIACT). Everything on IIACT’s website is FREE and includes such things as their quarterly newsletter, videos, research they’ve conducted, podcasts, access to books and videos, a theoretical orientation survey, and much more.
It’s all free and underwritten by my endowment. Please join and let others know about our institute.
AMCD Stands Firm Against Social Injustice and Human Rights Violations
The Social Injustice Crisis
The current sociopolitical climate in the United States continues to threaten the psychological and physical safety of People of The Global Majority (PGM) and marginalized communities who do not conform to White supremacist ideologies—a pervasive state of crisis since the inception of this nation. The terror witnessed and experienced by marginalized communities and People of the Global Majority has only been exacerbated over the past year due to the Trump administration and continues to leave impenetrable wounds that will have adverse, lasting effects on future generations.
The criticality of the current moment lies in the shift from a state of structural violence to one resembling authoritarian governance that terrorizes communities. The absence of clear rules or predictability within this chaos leaves many communities living in a persistent state of fear. For example, when explicitly focusing on ICE and immigration-related violence—the kidnapping and detention of civilians regardless of immigration status without due process, and the gassing of unarmed protestors—the imprints on families and communities will be long-lasting.
Children are in detention centers writing letters to the public, some without their parents; they are alone. Medical neglect and sexual abuse of detainees are rampant (ACLU, 2026). One recent case of medical neglect of a minor includes a 2-month-old baby, Juan Nicolás, in a San Antonio, Texas detention center. He is now being deported with the rest of his family (San Antonio Current). Another recent case involves the medical neglect of Emmanuel Damas, a 53-year-old Haitian asylum seeker who died of a tooth infection in an Arizona detention center (CBS News).
Individuals continue to be murdered as a result of ICE violence, including the high-profile murders of Alex Pretti and Renée Nicole Good, the tragic death of Dr. Linda Davis (WTOC), and many others within just the first two months of 2026 (The Guardian). These are the latest examples of state-sponsored violence and murder and serve as a reminder that no one is truly immune to these atrocities and social injustices. Witnessing and experiencing these horrific realities constitute the foundation for immediate and long-term psychological harm, contributing to interpersonal and community trauma, vicarious trauma, and complex trauma later in life.
Call to Action
Lamenting on the ongoing situation without taking action can only deepen the helplessness felt by many. Thus, this social injustice crisis offers a call to respond and lead with care, courage, and fearlessness. As Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee says, “You can never leave footprints that last if you are always walking on tiptoe.”
The message to counselors is that we cannot and must not remain silent. This must include a commitment to resisting injustice from counselors within majority-identity communities; these injustices affect all of us. We call on other ACA counseling divisions to use their platforms to take a clear stance against the harm being done by the current administration. Neutrality, silence, and ambivalence are dangerous and only stoke the oppression being experienced.
Engaging Our Crisis Counseling Skills as Counselor Activists
In this unforeseen space we are living in, AMCD proposes to ground our actions in the work of those who have fought similar battles against racism, white supremacy, and ethnic cleansing before us—our ancestors. One lesson they left us with is that no one goes it alone in a crisis, and what we seed or plant today may flourish in the years ahead.
Several endeavors of care are proposed. These include:
- Creating safety planning with clients, students, peers, and ourselves.
- Finding creative ways to educate about current realities and help others release hard emotions (e.g., art therapy, poetry, spoken word, tai chi).
- Being intentional about creating safe moments in or out of the classroom for students to share their feelings.
- Maximizing the power of group work to create culturally affirming and counter-spaces for clients (i.e., using approaches that honor healing informed by Indigenous practices).
- Staying present.
- Not going it alone—finding allies and doing the work collectively and interdependently.
- Inviting like-minded individuals and groups who may be left out so they do not feel isolated.
- Being more intentional about including those often left at the margins—people with unique disabilities, the elderly, and the youth.
- Applying crisis counseling skills to respond to a sense of loss and distress and provide resources for healing and safety.
- Lobbying state representatives to ensure they understand the direct impact of these atrocities on the mental wellness of communities. These advocacy efforts can include sharing research data, meeting with legislators to address structural violence inherent in current and new policies, and resisting funding cuts targeting diverse marginalized communities.
Counselor Wellness
While supporting and caring for others during these hard times, we must also recognize that counselors do not live in vacuums. We feel and experience distress, tiredness, and vicarious trauma ourselves. Our feelings may range from exhaustion, rage, depression, anxiety, and apathy to an obsession with social media—or maintaining that sense of fire that pushes us to help and intervene.
Therefore, we must create communities of care within AMCD and with our peers and colleagues in the workplace. To continue to show up with fortitude and clarity of thought, counselors must recognize their limits and seek support when needed.
In Solidarity,
The Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD)
Tiphanie Gonzalez, Ph.D., President
Integrating Artificial Intelligence into Psychological Counseling: A Narrative Review and Governance Framework
Abstract
Practical Steps for a Successful Private Counseling Practice
Starting a private practice can feel a lot like your first day as a new counselor — exciting, terrifying and full of possibilities. However, it requires careful planning and consideration because there’s no syllabus, no professor guiding your steps and no road map. Yet with thoughtful planning, clear boundaries and consideration, you can create a counseling practice that’s ethical, helpful and successful.
NBCC Government Affairs Announcement
Attorneys general in 25 states and the District of Columbia recently joined litigation challenging the Department of Education’s RISE final rule and related federal student loan changes.
While the lawsuit broadly addresses the impact of these policies on students and states, we have an opportunity to help the attorneys general better understand the specific impact these changes may have on the Counseling profession, Counseling students, and access to behavioral health care in their states.
We are asking you to contact your corresponding attorney general’s office to:
- Thank them for joining the lawsuit
- Introduce yourself as Counseling professionals, students, or educators in the state
- Share personal experiences and perspectives from the Counseling field
- Help elevate the unique workforce and access-to-care concerns facing the Counseling profession
Thank Your Attorney General for Joining the Injunction Against the US Depart. of Ed's Reimaging and Improving Student Education (RISE) Final Rule
Attorneys general in 25 states and the District of Columbia recently joined litigation challenging the Department of Education’s RISE final rule and related federal student loan changes.(To find out if your state’s attorney general signed on, you will find a complete listing of the states signing on to the litigation at this link.
While the lawsuit broadly addresses the impact of these policies on students and states, we have an opportunity to help the attorneys general better understand the specific impact these changes may have on the Counseling profession, Counseling students, and access to behavioral health care in their states.
In cooperation with NBCC, ACES is asking you to contact your attorney general if they signed on to the litigation to:
- Thank them for joining the litigation
- Introduce yourself as a Professional Counselor, student or educator in their state
- Share personal experiences and perspectives from the Counseling field
- Help elevate the unique workforce and access-to-care concerns facing the Counseling profession
We strongly encourage you to personalize your message. Sharing your own experiences as a Counselor, Counseling student, educator or advocate can help your attorney general better understand how these policies impact the future Counseling workforce and the communities you serve.
You can utilize the NBCC VoterVoice system to easily send your message. You can access the VoterVoice at this link: