The Advocate Website : www . amhca . org
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Advancing AMHCA ’ s Vision & Mission — With CAREE
The
The Advocate Website : www . amhca . org
Phone Magazine
: 703 / 548 – 6002 or
2023 : VOLUME 800 / 326 – 46 2642 , Issue # 2 Fax : 703 / 548 – 4775 Website : www . amhca . org Phone : 703 / 548 – 6002
The Advocate Magazine is published quarterly , by the American Mental Health Counselors Association ( AMHCA ). Issues are posted at www . amhca . org / advocatemag , where they can be downloaded as PDFs .
47 th AMHCA President , 2023 – 2024 Deirdra Sanders-Burnett , PhD , LMHC , QS
Publisher Beverly Smith , PhD , LPC , NCC , CCMHC , ACS , NCSC , CFT , HS-BCP , BCC , MAC , BC-TMH , CCTP , BCPCC , AMHCA President 2021 – 2022 , and Interim CEO / ED
Consulting Editors
Angele Moss – Baker , LPC , LMFT , MAC , DCMHS- COD 44 th AMHCA President , 2020 – 2021
Aaron Norton , PhD , LMHC , LMFT , MCAP , CCMHC , CRC , CFMHE AMHCA Southern Region Director
Editor in Chief Whitney Meyerhoeffer
Editor Kathleen McCarthy
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© 2023 , American Mental Health Counselors Association . All rights reserved . No portion of this publication may be reproduced by any means without the written consent of The Advocate Magazine editor or AMHCA ’ s executive director & CEO .
Cover illustration : AntonMatyukha
The President ’ s Perspective
Deirdra Sanders-Burnett , PhD , LMHC , QS 47 th AMHCA President , 2023 – 2024
Advancing AMHCA ’ s Vision & Mission — With CAREE
Greetings ! Let us celebrate AMHCA ’ s successes and accomplishments :
• AMHCA ’ s membership increased over the previous year .
• AMHCA ’ s 2023 Leadership and Annual Conference , which was held in New Orleans , June 26 – 29 , was sold out ! ( See pages 10 – 23 for conference tributes , a keynote summary , and two conference presentations — on VR and neurosensitives .)
• Thirty states have joined the Counseling Compact , which will enable LCMHCs to have parity across state lines .
• The Medicare Mental Health Access Improvement Act passed , which facilitates the implementation of Medicare Part B coverage of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors ( LCMHCs ) and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists ( see page 6 ).
Though COVID-19 is no longer a public health emergency , the need for mental health counseling — and clinical mental health professionals — continues to increase . Let us position AMHCA to be the “ go to ” organization in the mental health counseling profession .
As AMHCA ’ s new president , I am strategically focused and committed to working collaboratively with AMHCA ’ s board of directors , staff , and members to advance AMHCA ’ s vision and mission to meet the needs of AMHCA ’ s members and those we serve through CAREE — Collaboration ; Advocacy ; Research ; Ethical Practice ; and Education , Training , and Professional Development . As president , I strive to increase AMHCA ’ s visibility , build relationships , and keep AMHCA ’ s original slogan alive : “ AMHCA Works Hard Because You Do .” I believe that “ Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it .” ( Marian Anderson ) Therefore , I am working collaboratively to implement AMHCA ’ s strategic plan , which captures the present and projected needs of the mental health profession . Specifically , I am strategically focused , forward thinking , action-oriented , and result-driven on accomplishing the following goals :
• Build Capacity to Do the Work of AMHCA : I will focus on strengthening the internal systems of AMHCA by upgrading infrastructure and expanding the capacity of staff and committees while ensuring internal collaboration between all stakeholders . I will build relationships with allied professional organizations and associations , and I will expand our visibility , partnerships , and social media presence .
• Boost Membership Recruitment , Retention , and Reclamation : I will actualize a membership committee to recruit , retain , and reclaim members as we focus on increasing AMHCA ’ s membership by 10 percent . The committee will connect with institutions of higher education to increase awareness of AMHCA and what we offer .
• Grow Leadership Development and Succession Planning : “ The potential for greatness lives within each one of us .” ( Wilma Rudolph ) “ Dwell in possibilities .” ( Oprah Winfrey ) I will enhance leadership development and succession planning by launching a Leadership Institute , with quarterly training sessions for emerging AMHCA leaders , that equips current members and emerging clinical mental health professionals to serve in AMHCA ’ s leadership positions .
I am honored to serve you as AMHCA ’ s 47th president . I am grateful to AMHCA ’ s founders , past presidents , leaders , and members , who continue to advance AMHCA , even in turbulent times . I am grateful to previous University of South Florida Professor Dr . Carlos P . Zalaquett , who introduced me to the SunCoast Mental Health Counselors Association and the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association . I am grateful to AMHCA Interim CEO / ED Dr . Beverly Smith , Past President Dr . Frederick Dombrowski , and new President-Elect Dr . Yoon Suh Moh , for their dedication to AMHCA , the only national counseling organization working exclusively on behalf of mental health counselors .
4 The Advocate Magazine 2023 , Issue # 2 American Mental Health Counselors Association ( AMHCA ) www . amhca . org