Phillips Public Comments LMFT Board Meeting 7-19-24
Below are Phillip's public comments he made before the LMFT Board on 7-19-24. You'll find the video version of it here and it begins at about the 26:00 mark. Find Kathleen's written remarks here.
My name is Phillip Crum, and I am here in my dual capacities as Joe Citizen and co-founder of the Association for Mental Health Professionals. I have 4 major points to make today.
1) The System is Broken
The system of systems we have in place to produce our licensed mental health professionals is badly broken. The system includes the accrediting institutions, WPATH, our legacy professional organizations, Big Pharma and Big Food. It includes our universities and our licensing boards all working together to implement a social and moral way of life devoid of our natural rights and freedoms that the vast majority of Americans do not want. Today the traditional Greek style of discussion and debate on our campuses, tasked with getting at the absolute truth, is no longer the campus default if it’s allowed to exist at all. An environment of censorship and shame has replaced the pursuit of truth and the moral fabric of our society.
2) The Graduates and Supervisors Are Broken
The system is threatening any student with opposing views and driving them into other careers. If they have the stamina to weather the shame then the system is producing a poorly prepared grad student ready only for a remedial stint with a supervisor willing and able to put up with them if they can find one. That’s not what your supervisors signed up for. And all 4 of our boards want to know why there’s a mental health care worker shortage.
Your over-regulation and micro-management of veteran counselors is threatening the stability of your existing licensee base. You cannot and will not survive this attack on supply of new counselors and long-term compliance pressure.
3) Professional Dialogue is Broken
Intellectually honest debate is the lifeblood of a scientific pursuit of the truth but it’s being hindered in two ways. First, clinicians are afraid to engage in debate for a very real fear of being shamed, cancelled, or worse. Second, any remaining debate that does take place does so in segregated, like-minded groups which defeats the purpose of debate. This is a problem.
4) The Public is Confused
Covid exposed our systemic problems. A confused public has noticed and is paying a price for it. If your prime directive is to license counselors and protect Joe Citizen from them, then by that measure you are failing them. We have to do better.
So How Do We Fix This?
• Recognize that the System of Systems is broken and you can’t fix it. What you can do is refocus on your purpose as the last line of defense between a broken system and a healthy pool of professionals. Protect your licensees from the broken system, for the citizens of Texas.
• Recognize that your prime directive is to license more mental health pro’s, not mold existing licensees into the system’s preferred professional profile. Get out of the “social ethics” business.
• Drastically reduce the size of the bloated rulebook and allow your licensed professionals with masters degrees to determine which ce’s they take and the course of their own careers.
• Refocus your oversight attention to the code of ethics required by the State of Texas before you consider adding more regulations. In the last 12 months only 1/6th of 1% of all licensed counselors have received an official reprimand from the penalty matrix. That speaks well of your licensees’ ability to self-monitor.
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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.
