Phillips Public Comments LPC Board Meeting
On June 7 of 2024, The Austin BBQ Club from the AMHP organization, made the trek to Austin in the wee hours of the morning to make our public comments in person. The post below is the message delivered by Phillip Crum and may be viewed in its entirety in this video. The public comments begin at approximately the 1 hour and 54 minute mark. Kathleen’s comments are also in the same video and may be read in this post.
Phillips Public Comments LPC Board Meeting
My name is Phillip Crum, co-founder of the Association for Mental Health Professionals.
Over-Regulation and the Quadrennial Review
We've just entered Phase 2 of the Quadrennial Review process. I would like to urge the board to give this process the weight it deserves and carefully consider each and every item submitted to you. This profession is highly over-regulated and even rules passed in the last two years, especially those having to do with social-agenda driven, "counselor improvement" measures aimed at drastically altering the standards of care need to be seriously considered for repeal.
The Council and the Rulemaking Process
My thoughts on the rule-making process need to be directed to The Council but since the Council is made up of board members I will say this: The Council is broken. It only works as a checks and balances measure when members from one board hold members from the other boards accountable, and seriously question the need for any proposed rule. What we're seeing is the "you pass mine and I'll pass yours" way of doing business. I would think it good practice that no one from the board that proposes a rule be allowed to make a motion to pass or second that motion at The Council level. Other Council members should have to do that. I'm not sure of the procedure to make that happen or where it needs to happen but I'd like to request that whomever has the authority to initiate that change discussion please do so. Bring that type of accountability to the process.
Cultural Marxism is The Cancer in Our Profession
Now I'm speaking on behalf of myself, Kathleen Mills, and our entire association membership. Cultural Marxism, a topic which I cannot properly unpack in less than 2 minutes, has infiltrated our American society especially our universities, accrediting institutions, and our professional organizations and has not spared the counseling profession. Well-funded institutions like WPATH have aligned themselves with these groups to alter the Generally Accepted Standards of Care systemically. It's a brilliant strategy actually, if only it weren't so destructive in its objectives.
It would turn what should be a noble profession intent on helping people critically think through their problems and hold them accountable, to a spineless trade in which the therapist affirms whatever malady or version of truth a client brings in through our front doors. Our boards should be ashamed for allowing it to permeate our code of ethics and standards of care, and we should all be embarrassed for allowing it to happen.
Academia is right now turning out unprepared students who truly believe they're worth $200/hr before the ink is dry on their associate license, and Supervisors are having to spend time and resources teaching these newcomers what university should have taught them. The cognitive disconnect between what they're taught and what they encounter after graduation is crippling to their individual careers, to the profession and its future, and is confusing the living hell out of Joe Citizen. This remedial mode of supervision is a problem which doesn't have to exist. But at least they understand their pronouns.
Summary
BHEC has cleaned up the Legal House, but the ship of counseling is still in grave danger. It's listing badly to port because the moral and ethical keel that has kept us afloat and on course is badly damaged. We can pretend that nothing's wrong and call it progress but what we're doing is not working and it's our kids and my grandkids who will have to clean up the mess we're still in the process of creating. And it's going to cost them everything.
I know what WE'RE going to do about it. What are YOU going to do?
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About the Author
Phillip's background has blessed him with a variety of interests, skills, and tools to get things done. He spent 25 years in the printing and marketing industry before meeting Kathleen Mills in 2015. They quickly figured out that they made a pretty good business team and, owing to Kathleen's story, embarked upon a mission that would see the creation of PracticeMentors.us and eventually the Association for Mental Health Professionals.
I could not agree more with everything you said! I went back to school to become a therapist in 2017 at Northwestern University. Within 3 weeks, I was on the phone with the director of the program. By the 2nd quarter, I was transferring to Amberton University, and got 10x the education I was getting from a school that was ranked #12. Since becoming a therapist, I have been appalled hearing therapists/counselors cheering each other on to continue raising their already outrageous pricing. They seem to only want to service the rich, and focus on how much money they make. In my opinion, money is the last thing you should be focused on as a therapist. When you focus on helping people, you will always make plenty of money.