The AMHP Blog Post Archive
I was cancelled by assumption recently by the CURALINC EAP. I’ve been a credentialed contractor with them for almost ten years and last October I received an email from them. No phone call, just an email informing me that I was “under review for cancellation” because they think I might treat someone unfairly in the future. Blind-sided by Individual Perception 10 years. Never declined a referral, not one. Never had any complaints. Zero. Always got along beautifully with their staff and never received any notice of any problem, until October. No one would talk to me on the phone including the young lady who seems to be behind all of this. After multiple emails to the CEO went unanswered I…
Systems and processes vs smoky backroom deals. That’s the current chatter, primarily in the self-educating Facebook counseling groups, about why the professional board members don’t have the same sway in complaint decisions in the BHEC era as they did during the DSHS days. Several of our members have asked recently about my thoughts and the following was my reply to them and I thought I’d share my fact-based perspective with you. The background is most important. WHY We Left DSHS In 2017 the Texas Sunset Commission (TSC) determined and publicly declared that DSHS was an administrative nightmare and excoriated all four DSHS boards for “not doing anything right”. There was not one thing they did well, not one. I have…
Let’s talk about reclaiming competency. Twenty-five years ago all 50 states did away with oral exams required to display competency prior to licensure as a mental health counselor. 60% of examinees failed those oral exams. That’s more a statement about how well their academic institutions prepared them for their career than anything having to do with cultural background, gender, or (insert your favorite virtue signal here), than it is about anyone’s ability to test fairly. Social activists have cried for so long about “fair” and “feelings”, that logical, common sense barriers to competent, competitive superiority (merit-based work) were removed. So we limited the licensing requirement to passing a standardized written test and opened the door to professional incompetency. So much…
Before I share this HIPAA Nightmare with you let me make a couple statements that Kathleen and I have been preaching for almost 10 years now: HIPAA compliance for mental health counselors is a Federal level requirement (with Federal level fines) and is NOT optional. The reason why your State Licensing Board doesn’t require it is because it’s a FEDERAL level requirement. Like the TX licensing boards rulebooks, your state’s rulebook probably states something to the effect that you need to be compliant with all Federal level code as well as your State’s requirements. 2. “HIPAA Compliant” doesn’t mean YOU are covered. When an online service platform you may use (think EHR, virtual service, email provider, etc) tells you that…
Let’s talk about how to recognize and take advantage of your economic opportunity for more traffic as a licensed, conservative mental health counselor. In a perfect model, you would be the only competent mental health provider in the world and all potential patients would have to come to you. If they can find you. A competency scarcity works in your favor if you’re a conservative counselor (see below) or if you prefer, a counselor who operates from science and not a social agenda. How Does That Apply to You? I believe the following two points are fairly accurate: Only about 20-30% of all licensed counselors consider themselves conservative, or non-woke. I firmly believe that the vast majority of the public,…
These are Kathleens LPC Board Comments 9-19-25. Read Phillip’s comments here. I’m Kathleen Mills, LPC-S and co-founder of AMHP. When a segment of our licensee base believes that they have the moral obligation to annihilate the rights of another group, to cancel, blacklist, and bully other licensees for voicing differing opinions through verbal and physical threats, then our profession has a terminal problem. That evil has escalated and crossed a line. A Bridge Too Far Last week’s murder of a moderate civil rights activist who specialized in open public debate and free speech is focusing a spotlight on a national, spiritual problem. We are divided as a nation into two groups, one of whom believes their moral superiority justifies the…
These re Phillips LPC Board Comments 9-19-25. Read Kathleen’s comments here. I’m Phillip Crum, co-founder with Kathleen Mills of the AMHP organization. I am here in my capacity as a citizen of the great State of Texas, not to ask you to do anything but simply to share my thoughts. I am very proud of the work the BHEC organization has done in the past 5 years and thrilled at the direction the boards and the Council have taken. Houston, We Have a PR Problem The healthcare professions, which include mental health providers, currently have well-deserved public relations problems which are raising very real questions of competence. Including this discipline. We’ve lowered the bar for entrance into this profession…
Sometimes fervent prayer is all we can do. Most of the time action on our part is the other variable in the equation and it’s often put aside in favor on waiting on God to deliver the desired outcome. Spoiler Alert: He’s good with you having what you want but He’s also waiting on you to get off your knees and go get it. Here’s The Real Problem No one wants to say it out loud but there is a chasmic divide in the mental health profession. There are those who were trained to help people using tools based on evidence-based science and accountability. The other group has been trained in recent years to provide something passing as care based…
Prior Blog Posts
Our previous blog posts will remain on PracticeMentors.us for now. Find them here.