From the Interim CEO / ED
By Beverly Smith , PhD , LPC , NCC , CCMHC , ACS , NCSC , CFT , HS-BCP , BCC , MAC , CPCS , BC-TMH , CCTP , BCPCC AMHCA Past President , 2022 – 2023 , and Interim CEO / ED
We Surpassed Our Goals and Our Standards !
During my year as AMHCA president , 2021 – 2022 , we had one overarching theme : Reimaging AMHCA , which had three tenets : leadership and advocacy , multiculturalism and social justice , and membership services recruitment and retention . I am proud to report that in all categories , we met our goals and surpassed our own standards . For that , I want to say thank you .
We passionately advocated for the Counseling Compact — thanks to all the state chapter leaders who worked diligently to see that it passed . To those still working for passage of the Counseling Compact legislation in their states — please be encouraged and continue the work . A special acknowledgment to the 16 states that have enacted and passed the Counseling Compact . See : counselingcompact . org / letters-of-support and click on “ American Mental Health Counselors Association ” to read AMHCA ’ s letter .
Thank you for passionately helping us to advocate for S . 828 and H . R . 432 — The Mental Health Access improvement Act — which would cover Clinical Mental Health Counselors under Medicare and expand access to mental health services for many people . Thank you for allowing us to host the first AMHCA Annual 5K to raise mental health awareness . Thank you for allowing us to host the first AMHCA Trauma and Neuroscience Symposium .
We had an awesome year advocating and leading the profession . I know that you are as excited as I am that we started an AMHCA Multiculturalism and Social Justice Committee , and that we also are launching a new Multiculturalism & Social Justice Fellow credential . Once it is launched , we encourage you to apply for the M & SJ Fellow credential ( see www . amhca . org / members / career / credential / apply / fellowmsj ).
We had a record increase in new members — 1,788 — this past year . Thank you to those who have advocated for AMHCA and who have encouraged others to join AMHCA . To our new members , I welcome you again and thank you for joining the only organization in the nation exclusively advocating for and representing Clinical Mental Health Counselors . During the 2021 – 2022 fiscal year , our gross profit increased 12 percent . Our merchandise sales increased 46 percent . Again , we have done great work this year . So thank you all for your hard work . Thank you for your service . And thank you to our partners , our sponsors , and to our dedicated staff , leaders , and our board of directors .
It has been my honor to serve . It has been my honor to be the president and interim CEO for the 2021 – 2022 year . Thank you for the journey . You can watch a video of my summary of the year ’ s accomplishments and my thank you to all those who contributed to it at youtu . be / 8wcR _ -MTrx8 . In the second half of the video , see photos from the 2022 Annual Conference in Las Vegas , as well as slides displaying information on Reimaging AMHCA and on other AMHCA activities related to the association ’ s mission :
• To advance the profession , including : The Counseling Compact ; pending Medicare legislation ; requirements to earn the MSJ Fellow credential ; a new vodcast featuring Dr . Smith ; and AMHCA lobbyists and public policy efforts ,
• To meet the healthcare needs of those whom counselors serve , including : support for the 988 suicide hotline , which went live July 16 , 2022 ; information on Sound the Alarm for Kids ( an organization that advocates for legislation and increased funding on behalf of child and adolescent mental health ); and a reminder of The Clinical Mental Health Counselor Declaration , the profession ’ s Hippocratic pledge , which AMHCA created in 2019 and that you can download , free , at www . amhca . org / events / publications / declaration .
AMHCA Board of Directors
President , 2022 – 2023 Fredrick Dombrowski president @ amhca . org
President-Elect Deirdra Sanders-Burnett presidentelect @ amhca . org
Past President & Interim CEO / ED Beverly Smith pastpresident @ amhca . org
Secretary Marianne Marlow secretary @ amhca . org
Treasurer G . Michael Pilcher treasurer @ amhca . org
Director-at-Large Luis Charles Hines directoratlarge @ amhca . org
North Atlantic Region Director Cynthia L . Jamison northatlanticregiondirector @ amhca . org
Southern Region Director Aaron Norton southernregiondirector @ amhca . org
Midwest Region Director Jim Blundo midwestregiondirector @ amhca . org
Western Region Director Karen Langer westernregiondirector @ amhca . org
Graduate Student Representative Daun Kwag dkwag1 @ student . gsu . edu
AASCB Rep . ( ex-officio ) Joseph Weeks josephrweeks @ yahoo . com
AMHCA Staff
• Chief Strategic Officer , Director of Communications & Chapter Relations Whitney Meyerhoeffer wmeyerhoeffer @ amhca . org
• Director of Finance , Operations , & Membership Management Melissa McShepard mmcshepard @ amhca . org
• Director , Office of Credentialing and Continuing Education , Director of Events Rebecca Woodson rwoodson @ amhca . org
The Advocate Magazine 2022 , Issue # 2 American Mental Health Counselors Association ( AMHCA ) www . amhca . org 55