TPC-Journal-V3-Issue3

153 The Professional Counselor \Volume 3, Issue 3 professions, (b) recognition of the uniqueness of the profession, and (c) representation of the profession of counseling (American Mental Health Counselors Association [AMHCA], 1978). In fact, within their mission, the formal purposes of professional associations center on professional identity by establishing a platform for common professional interests, encouraging professional development through research, acting as a unified voice that represents the profession, providing a forum for enhancing counselor skills and knowledge, and serving as a place to improve professional performance (American Counseling Association [ACA], 2009). National associations (AMHCA, ACA, NBCC) make efforts on behalf of counseling professionals to address employment obstacles, which improves public and professional awareness of counseling and counselors. Several recent examples include enhancing role distinction for counselors in private practice who experienced unfair consideration by insurance companies (Myers et al., 2002), advocating successfully for professional recognition of insurance reimbursement with TRICARE (AMHCA, 2010b), and continuing to do the same with Medicare (AMHCA, 2010a). In addition, a historic step in the federal recognition of professional counselors occurred with the successful establishment of qualification standards formally recognizing licensed professional counselors as mental health specialists within the Veterans Health Administration (AMHCA, 2010c). Representing professional counseling as worthy of fiscal support on par with other mental health providers is pivotal to promoting the counseling discipline (Hawley & Calley, 2009). These efforts highlight counselor expertise in mental health assessment and treatment, placing them on par with other equally qualified mental health professionals in the helping field. An Exploratory Study of a State Professional Association The topic of advocacy has surfaced on the local level with mental health counselors in the state professional associations that are striving to be well-informed representatives of their profession at important state-level meetings. These efforts have been stymied by a waning membership, lack of presence at state level mental health–focused meetings, and lack of knowledge regarding regulatory issues surrounding mental health. In order to improve the capacity of one state association, a research subcommittee was formed to conduct a study to explore the characteristics of professional capacity, and to express the needs of counselors in order to enhance the representation of counselors in the state. Two counseling faculty members worked with other association members on a subcommittee that surveyed all LMHCs in the state. The intent was to investigate the current status of all LMHCs, make recommendations about association mission revisions, and suggest professional development activities. Several important questions guided the development of an exploratory survey for distribution among licensed mental health counselors (LMHCs) in the state. First, what is the nature of the work of LMHCs; what types of employment do counselors have; is that employment satisfying; and do counselors feel supported in their work? Second, what do LMHCs want from a professional association, and what services do the counselors value from the professional association? Additionally, in what areas do LMHCs feel competent within their profession? These questions were posed with the underlying assumption that there are ways the professional association can improve its efforts to support and advance the professional capacity and identity of the state’s counselors. Method Participants All active licensed mental health counselors in one New England state ( N = 358) were included in the survey distribution. Surveys were completed by 55 licensed mental health counselors representing a 15% return rate. The respondents included 45 females (82%) and 10 males (18%). The age ranges and frequencies