A typical conversation with a client this time of year may go like this: The client says, “I’ll be out of state for the holidays, so I’ll have to meet with you virtually while I’m away.” I then have to reply, “Sorry, if that’s the case I’m not allowed to meet with you but I'll help you find local resources.”

Clients are usually baffled by this, and they should be. It’s a travesty of consumer protection that clients in need are cut off from treatment by licensed providers simply because of their current location. In the post-pandemic 21st century, the technological barriers for distance treatment have been eliminated but the political ones remain firmly in place, preventing often essential patient care at a time of year that is extremely stressful.

The problem is that generally health care providers are licensed on a state-by-state basis to practice with clients contained within that state’s borders. This state-based regulation arose to meet the needs of the industrial era of the 19th and early 20th centuries, when it was impossible to receive health care remotely. Each state looked out for its own residents, a system which worked for that time and place, before worldwide instantaneous communication was a thing.

However, even today a client’s physical presence in a state at the moment of treatment often means a therapist........

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