BHEC Council Statement by Kathleen Mills LPC-S
My name is Kathleen Mills. I am an LPC-S and co-creator of AMHP, which is a professional organization for those who have been minoritized, by those who fail to recognize, “Conscience Protection Rights".
Our members have told us they join our professional association due to feeling dismissed by their values from their previous organizations. We are blessed by our membership. They are good people, love what they do, and want to be the best therapist they can be to the clientele they selected and serve.
Highly Competent to Serve My Target Populations
I am a highly competent therapist, and I resent anyone telling me otherwise or redefining the term based on ideology of the day. I don’t hate anyone, and I am tired of being publicly libeled, defamed and slandered on various social media groups for having different (science-based?) views about my profession for more than 34 years. These counselors have no idea who I see, what I do, and how I serve, yet, they just assume I am ignorant and INCOMPETENT.
On Professionals Acting Unprofessionally
I want to talk about professional decorum. I understand people have a First Amendment right to say whatever they want. I understand it’s not this COUNCIL nor any board’s duty to regulate free speech. I get that. But there is a line you do not want to cross and there is a penalty to pay for doing so.
There is a large FB group, that viewed both our October conference and our January petition regarding the CE rule language change. In both instances, the group thread went nuts. What ensued, both times, were the most childish, mean girl posts you can imagine. Our conference was threatened in every way, so much so, that we had to hire additional security (and it wasn’t cheap) to host this wonderful event to protect attendees, sponsors and speakers. WHY? Because these FB GROUPS didn't like our speaker selection.
Fortunately our members, my Associates, and colleagues recognize, “emotionally unregulated” and a lack of tolerance when they see it.
Defamation, Slander, Libel and Professionalism
Let’s talk about defamation. Defamation, libel and slander are related concepts in the legal realm. Defamation refers to the act of damaging someone’s reputation by making false statements about them. It includes “libel” (written, which includes Social Media) and "slander", which is the counterpart to libel, which anyone can look up. Legal remedies can lead to legal action where defamed professionals (and there are many) may seek damages, retractions or apologies.
I certainly can tell you I have enough to render a claim.
Council, is this what you want for your 80,000 licensees? To be in fear of “group think”?
These Counselor FB Groups do allot of intentional damage to other licensees in the name of social justice. This includes, being put on blacklists or collectively boycotting counselors regarding referrals not to mention a real fear of physical harm. There is countless documentation by many therapists across the country and in this state that this is happening.
Just Do The Right Thing
I am asking this COUNCIL to vote unanimously for the language change, today. Remember all four boards voted unanimously for it just weeks ago. And let this COUNCIL think seriously about how you can hold licensees to a much higher standard level of “professionalism” on Social Media platforms, and act on it.
Thank you for your time and all that you do.
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About the Author
Kathleen Mills is a fire-breathing, 33+ year veteran of the counseling world. People react in one of two ways when evil touches their lives: some retreat in fear, and some advance without pause to engage it. Kathleen falls firmly in the latter group. She owns and operates Life Tree Counseling in Frisco, TX, possesses a tireless work-ethic, and eagerly awaits your arrival into her growing army of warriors.
