Fall 2024 Update
Mission with a Purpose
The Missouri Mental Health Counseling Association (MMHCA) is designed to represent licensed mental health counselors across the State of Missouri through legislative work, continuing education opportunities, and the empowerment of research and education exploration. Together, as the board and members, we are truly empowering change within our Missouri counseling community, and we would like to thank you for your investment and belief around our mission. In 2024, the MMHCA board set a path for growth and set a mission for program development over the next 24 months. Within this growth, we wanted to share pieces of our vision with you, our friends and peers in the Missouri Counseling Community.
Let’s talk Professional Issues & Public Policy.
· In 2024, the Student Legislative Day attracted over 20 attendees from across the state. At this event we used a flyer to help guide our advocacy and left each legislative member with a tangible document about specific bills to reference on our behalf. The feedback from staffers encouraged us to repeat this useful step and we had feedback from legislative representatives after the event was over!
· In 2024, MMHCA officially joined the Mental Health Coalition. This Coalition works with the psychologists and social worker organizations in Missouri. As part of this coalition, we will begin working collaboratively as a united voice to advocate for or against legislature within the House of Representatives.
· Future Goals. Our hope is to create a more persistent legislative footprint. The MMHCA Board is working to create a line item that starts earmarking monies toward legislative development and representation. Ideas around this development include a secondary mailer or contact with legislative representatives at the opening of the legislative sessions and to build or develop a lobbyist opportunity.
Let’s talk about Professional Development.
· In 2024, MMHCA continued to expand and polish core components of our annual conference. Our goal is to continue to create an integrated and interactive community of counseling peers that can connect with local communities both inside the conference itself and throughout the year.
· In 2024, MMHCA partnered with the Telehealth Certification Institute to offer telehealth certifications by an approved NBCC provider at a discounted rate. This partnership opportunity is available to members only and will be found in your members only portal of the new website.
· In 2025, MMHCA is launching online CEU opportunities that focus on unique and empowering topics. The online CEU trainings will feature some of our favorite conference speakers. This service will be offered to both members and non-members; prices will be set accordingly.
· In 2024, we agreed to assist with research and development around an expanded supervision training for Missouri supervisors and to host and endorse this training within MMHCA platforms. The research process is in development.
· In 2024, we launched the wellness initiative and brought therapist-centered wellness activities to the MMHCA conference.
Let’s talk about Public Awareness & Membership.
You spoke and we listened. We have updated our website and are actively building new areas and spaces to make it a comprehensive space that reflects our work and captures the resources you may need as a member of the counseling community. For 2025 you can expect a special membership portal to be developed with member specific resources, an expansion page of our Research and Knowledge Committee’s work, and a working area to register for upcoming CEU and online training opportunities.
Before I close…
As a board, we want you to know that what drives the work we do is our investment in both the counseling community. It is for the members that we continue to look toward the future and work to empower strong mental health systems, counselors, and services. Together we make a difference, together we empower a strong mental health community.
