Visit to MO Capitol: Student Legislative Day Advocacy
March 25, 2025
Students from Webster鈥檚 Department of Professional Counseling lobbied state legislatures
at the Missouri capitol on several bills that could impact counselors throughout the
state.
The students, who are all enrolled in the Professional Orientation and Ethical Practice course, were joined by leaders of the Chi Sigma Iota WEBG chapter Omicron Zeta and Counseling Professor Hasmik Chakaryan. They visited the Missouri State Capitol on Student Legislative Day on Feb. 24. The event was organized by the Missouri Mental Health Counseling Association (MMHCA).
Bills addressed by the students included Senate Bills (SB) 441 and 285 and House Bills (HB) 822/825; 38 and 227. Those bills would allow for a faster counselor licensure processing timeline, would caution against disclosing applicants鈥� personal addresses for safety reasons, and would ban a damaging and ineffective practice called conversation therapy, which is aimed at LGBTQIA+ individuals.
鈥淭he event was enriching and eye opening. Most of the representatives and senators were welcoming of our ideas and reasons as to why we did or didn鈥檛 want to support a certain bill,鈥� Chakaryan said. 鈥淢any of the legal aids we met took careful notes and assured us they would pass this information to the voting politicians on our behalf.鈥�
The students said that the trip helped them better understand how laws that impact their fields are created and debated.
鈥淚t was impactful to see and participate in the process of helping improve the legislature that surrounds our profession,鈥� Webster student Abby Ashrafzadeh said.
鈥淚 felt like I was in the right place to be able to use my voice to advocate for my profession,鈥� Webster student Kia Wyatt added. 鈥淭he main takeaway that I got from this experience is that advocacy is at the tip of our fingers and not as intimidating as it may seem.鈥�
Mia Martinez, another Webster student, wrote, 鈥淚t was very interesting to see how different bills are passed and vetoed and how important it is to make your voice heard. I learned a lot about advocacy and how to approach conversations with state representatives and senators. I was also able to learn about all of the critical things that MMHCA does for mental health and the counseling profession.鈥�