The American Mental Health Counselors Association (abbreviated AMHCA) is an organization of licensed
mental health counselor
A mental health counselor (MHC), or counselor (counsellor in British English), is a person who works with individuals and groups to promote optimum mental and emotional health. Such persons may help individuals deal with issues associated with ad ...
s in
the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Its activities include setting and enforcing standards for education, licensing, and ethics for American mental health counselors.
[ It also publishes the ''Journal of Mental Health Counseling'' (formerly the ''American Mental Health Counselors Association Journal'').][
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History
The American Mental Health Counselors Association was founded in 1976 by Jim Messina and Nancy Spisso of the Escambia County Mental Health Center in Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. At the time, mental health counselors lacked a clearly defined identity or an organization to represent their distinctive interests.[ The American Mental Health Counselors Association became a division of the ]American Personnel and Guidance Association
The American Counseling Association (ACA) is a membership organization representing licensed professional counselors (LPCs), counseling students, and other counseling professionals in the United States. It is the world's largest association exclus ...
(now the American Counseling Association) in 1978. Before separating from the ACA in 2019, the AMHCA was one of the American Counseling Association's largest divisions. The American Counseling Association's ''Encyclopedia of Counseling'' credits the AMHCA's activities with significantly impacting "...the development of mental health counseling as a distinct and nationally recognized profession on several levels."
Membership
In 1987, the AMHCA had about 12,000 members, and as of 2015, its membership was just under 7,000. To become a member of the AMHCA, it is necessary to follow the organization's clinical practice
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practice ...
standards, and to have a master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in counseling or a related field.
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Organizations based in Alexandria, Virginia
Mental health organizations in Virginia
Organizations established in 1976
Counseling organizations
1976 establishments in the United States