The RISE Rule Is Here: And It’s Quietly Shrinking the Mental Health Workforce

What Just Happened — and Why It Matters to Every Clinician

On April 30, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education finalized a sweeping new student loan rule called the Reimagining and Improving Student Education rule — the RISE rule — and buried in its pages is a decision that will directly shape who can afford to become a mental health professional in America. The rule takes effect July 1, 2026.

The RISE rule creates a two-tier system for federal student borrowing. Students in programs the Department designates as “professional degrees” — including law, medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, optometry, and clinical psychology — may borrow up to $50,000 per year with a $200,000 aggregate cap. Students in programs classified as “graduate degrees” — including counseling, marriage and family therapy (MFT), and social work — are capped at $20,500 per year with a $100,000 aggregate cap. The Grad PLUS loan program is also being eliminated.

That is a gap of nearly $30,000 per year — to fund programs that both require years of full-time training, supervised clinical hours, licensing exams, and ongoing continuing education before licensure.

Why This Exclusion Is Arbitrary — and Consequential

The National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) has pointed out that counseling, MFT, and social work programs meet the very criteria the Department uses to define professional training — the same markers that define programs in law and medicine. NBCC has described the exclusion as “arbitrary.” AAMFT’s official statement noted the final rule made no substantive changes from the proposed version despite widespread public comment opposition. NASW has been holding direct meetings with Congressional offices to build legislative support for a correction.

Reducing loan access concentrates who can afford to enter graduate-level mental health training. Students without family wealth will face an increasingly difficult calculus: $20,500 per year may not cover tuition, let alone living expenses. The result is a workforce that skews toward those who can self-fund — at precisely the moment the country faces a deepening mental health access crisis. Communities that most need culturally competent therapists stand to lose the most.

A lesser-known provision is also worth flagging: students enrolled in the new Tiered Standard repayment plan may not be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Many counselors, social workers, and MFTs build careers in community mental health centers, school settings, and nonprofits — exactly the settings PSLF was designed to support. This provision could make those career paths financially untenable for the next generation of clinicians.

What National Organizations Are Doing

NBCC, AAMFT, and NASW all submitted formal comments arguing for inclusion in the professional degree category. The Department declined to make changes, shifting the fight to Congress. Three bills are now active: the Professional Student Degree Act (H.R. 6718), a bipartisan bill to add social work and allied fields to the professional degree list; the Loan Equity for Advanced Professionals Act (H.R. 6574), which would establish uniform loan limits across all graduate programs; and the Professional Degree Access Restoration Act (S. 4039 / H.R. 6677), which would reverse the restrictions entirely and reinstate the Grad PLUS program.

NASW staff are actively meeting with Congressional offices to build co-sponsor support. AAMFT has committed to supporting any legislation that removes the loan caps for aspiring MFTs. NBCC has opened a grassroots advocacy campaign through which any licensed clinician can contact their representatives in under five minutes.

The Information Gap Is Part of the Problem

Policy changes of this magnitude often move quietly through regulatory processes while clinicians are heads-down in their caseloads. Listservs and peer networks — like those on Sana Network — exist precisely for moments like this. When a colleague sends a well-sourced email about a policy issue, it lands. It gets forwarded. It creates the kind of peer-to-peer awareness that no association newsletter can replicate on its own. Many clinicians in private practice are not receiving updates from their national organizations — whether because their membership has lapsed, emails get buried, or they never joined. Listservs close that gap.

If you learned about the RISE rule for the first time here, you are not alone. If you have colleagues in counseling, MFT, or social work — students, supervisees, newer practitioners — the most useful thing you can do is share this directly. Local listservs, peer consultation groups, and supervision networks are where professional information actually spreads in the real world.

What You Can Do Right Now

1. Contact your Congressional representatives. NBCC, AAMFT, and NASW have all set up advocacy campaigns taking less than five minutes: NBCC portal for counselors (votervoice.net/NBCCGrassroots/Campaigns/131783/Respond), AAMFT action center for MFTs (aamft.org/Action-Advocacy/Federal-Advocacy/Take-Action.aspx), NASW portal for social workers (votervoice.net/iframes/NASW/Campaigns/137176/Respond). Personalized messages from constituents carry real weight.
2. Forward this to colleagues who may not have heard. If you supervise pre-licensed clinicians, run a group practice, or participate in peer consultation, share it explicitly. Students who started programs this spring are directly affected by the July 1 effective date.
3. Ask your representatives to co-sponsor H.R. 6718, H.R. 6574, or S. 4039/H.R. 6677. You can reach any member of Congress at 202-224-3121 (the Capitol switchboard). A two-minute call from a constituent is more effective than most people assume.
4. Talk with the students you supervise or mentor. Trainees in counseling, MFT, and social work may not be tracking this. Help them understand what is happening and point them to the advocacy resources above.
5. Stay engaged with professional associations even if you are in private practice. The RISE rule fight is a reminder that policy decisions in Washington shape who enters the profession and who serves clients a decade from now.

The Stakes Are Not Abstract

Those of us already licensed can sometimes hold this news at a comfortable distance — our training is behind us. But every clinician reading this got through graduate school with some combination of loans, grants, institutional support, and for many, the Grad PLUS program that is now being eliminated.

The mental health workforce shortage is not a future problem. It is the present condition in most of the country. Restricting loan access for the programs that train the bulk of outpatient mental health providers is not a neutral administrative choice. It will shape who can afford to pursue this work — and who won’t be in the room when the clients of 2030 need care. This is worth five minutes of your time to act.

Ready to connect with colleagues and stay informed on issues that matter to your practice? Join Sana Network for free and access listservs in your city. https://sananetwork.com/join/

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

Written by AI & Reviewed by Clinical Psychologist: Yoendry Torres, Psy.D.

Disclaimer: Some blog posts may contain affiliate links, earning Sana Network a commission at no additional cost to you. These recommendations reflect our honest opinions about products or services we find helpful and trustworthy. This content is informational and not legal nor medical advice; consult a an attorney or healthcare provider for personalized guidance.

Yoendry Torres