California encourages provider training on menopause and mental health

On September 27, 2024, California passed Assembly Bill 2270, a new law that tells several state licensing boards — including those that oversee doctors, nurses, therapists, and psychologists — to consider adding menopause and mental-health training to the continuing-education courses providers take to keep their licenses.

In other words, when boards set their ongoing-education standards, they now have to look at whether courses on menopause and related mental-health issues should count toward required training hours. The legislation doesn’t force providers to take these classes yet — but it makes menopause and mental-health education part of the conversation for every health-care profession in the state.

Why it Matters

By encouraging boards to include this training, California is giving doctors, therapists, and nurses more tools to understand what’s happening in midlife women’s bodies and minds — and how to respond with evidence-based care. For patients, it’s a small but meaningful shift: it means more providers could soon have better knowledge to connect symptoms, ask better questions, and take women’s midlife experiences seriously.

Background

California already requires health professionals to complete continuing education (CE) hours to maintain their licenses. What A.B. 2270 does is add menopause and mental-health topics to the list of areas boards are expected to consider. Each board — whether it oversees physicians, psychologists, nurses, or counselors — will decide how to include it.

This change builds on other recent state laws that aim to fill major gaps in women’s health training. In 2023, lawmakers voted to expand provider education on maternal mental health, and now they’re extending that focus to menopause — a stage that affects nearly every woman but has historically received little attention in medical training.

Resources

Board of Behavioral Sciences - CALIFORNIA STATE BOARD OF BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES BILL ANALYSIS