Phillip and I hope your holidays were good to you and we look forward to an even better year ahead of us in 2024. We all know there's some really crazy stuff going on out there and with a November election on the calendar things are sure to heat up. Both sides will be playing all their cards so buckle up and pay attention to current events.

Who Won the Game Last Night?

Congratulations to my Michigan Wolverines who won the National Collegiate Football Championship last night. It was quite an impressive display from Coach Harbaugh's boys. Better luck next year, Ohio State!

What's New for AMHP Members in 2024?

Several new programs are up and running now just waiting on you (AMHP Members) to take advantage of them. Here's a quick overview of them all, additional links provided below.

Credit Card Processing Through Impulse Payments

We've partnered with Impulse Payments to provide first-class credit card processing and customer service. This program is available to AMHP Members and non-members, the difference being that AMHP Members get a $50-$100 instant rebate that can be used to offset most of your next year's membership renewal.

EHR Platform Services Through Empathic Software

I've been using the Empathic Software EHR platform since 2015 and if there were a better one out there, I'd be using it! This is a big platform owned and developed by a small company which means they're quick and nimble when it comes to responsiveness to changes and platform development. I like that. By "big platform" I mean functionality. A lot of thought has gone into the development in fact, this platform is built by an LMFT for other counselors. AMHP Members that sign up to utilize this program receive a sizable discount which will more than cover the cost of your AMHP annual renewal each year. Begin your research on this platform right here.

SecurityMetrics HIPAA Compliance

If you have a mental health provider license and you work for yourself then you are required by Federal law to put a HIPAA compliance program in place. (FYI, using an online platform that is "HIPAA Compliant" does not release you from this legal obligation. The platform has to have a compliance program in place and so do you!) We've been partnering with SecurityMetrics for a number of years now and utilizing their services in my practice for even longer. AMHP Members that utilize SecurityMetrics for their compliance program also receive a hefty discount that will more than cover your annual AMHP renewal fee. You see a pattern here? Start researching the company here. Proper landing page coming soon.

Counselor Focused Website Development

We've been building websites specifically for counselors for several years now. Your website needs to be designed and developed in a way that answers your next clients questions and makes it easy to find that information. It must resonate through your stories in a manner that makes the site visitor realize he's finally found the perfect counselor. It's an art and not one you're going to find from the templated, faceless website development companies that are out there. Contact us today to initiate a simple conversation about your site.

Marketing Services for Counselors

This is an exciting 4th quarter addition to the list of AMHP offerings. We've partnered with Mary Kate Kohl Marketing out of Dallas, TX to provide various and customized marketing services to counselors so you can focus on what you do best; helping people. MKK offers packaged programs at discounted pricing, or she and her staff will customize a program that fits your needs and budget. Remember, whether you do the work yourself or you have someone else do it, it costs you money either way. Utilize MKK and not only will you have someone doing your various marketing tasks who spends all of her time doing that kind of work, but the discounted rates will more than pay for your AMHP renewals each year.

Annual Conference 2024

This year's AMHP Annual Conference will be held September 26-27 in Carrollton, TX. Save that date in your calendar. The plan is to have tickets available in early March. We'll have several returning faces from last year's event and a host of new faces and I think you're gonna want to be here for this. In addition to mental health counselors we welcome anyone in a related field. If you liked last year's event you're going to love this year's lineup.

OnDemand CEU Courses

While trying to figure out how to fit 3 days worth of conference material into a 2-day event it occurred to us, why not put all of the required renewal ceu's online and let AMHP Members and conference attendees take them anytime they want to? That frees up an entire day at the conference to talk about "the sexy stuff" as Phillip says. So that's exactly what we're doing.

We're building a library of 1 hour ce courses, most of which can be used to satisfy your board's increasing number of renewal hours. And they're included in your annual membership fee. That means you don't have to pay for them. They're free to AMHP Members for the nominal cost of an AMHP membership.

We started the library with The Therapy Sisters podcast episodes (see below) and we'll be adding another 20-30 non-podcast courses in the next 60-90 days. So before summertime gets here you'll have access, as an AMHP Member, to an online, OnDemand ce library of about 100 courses you can take and, yes, there will be material for your supervisor renewal hours.

The Therapy Sisters Podcast

As of today, Jan 9th, you'll find The Therapy Sisters Podcast in two different places. If you're not yet an AMHP Member (what are you waiting for? It's $10 bucks for your first year, $125 annual renewal and any one of the programs above will pay for that!) you can find the podcast on Spotify now.

AMHP Members will also have access to the podcast on the AMHP website for CE Credit! That's right, if you listen to the podcast through the AMHP website you can download a ce certificate at the end of each episode. Get ce credit for something you were going to listen to anyway! How sweet is that?

The Counselors' Community Webinar

4th Monday of every month at 10AM CST, for AMHP Members only. Join your fellow like-minded counselors for a lively, 1 hour conversation about anything you want to discuss, or just listen as Kathleen and Phillip present a short topic. It's an easy opportunity to participate and be heard! Register for the next gathering, right here.

Summary

Being an AMHP Member pays for itself in real money. We have several more programs to set up for you in 2024 as an AMHP Member and a lot of good subject matter to discuss with you in the next 4-5 months. After all, we have a profession to save from those that would destroy it in the name of "progress" so let's get busy, let's get involved, and let's do it together.

We got this.