The AAMFT Blog

Mental Health for US

The AAMFT Research & Education Foundation is a proud sponsor of Mental Health for US.

This initiative is a nonpartisan educational initiative focused on elevating mental health and addiction in policy conversations by empowering grassroots advocates and improving candidate and policymaker health literacy. The Mental Health for US coalition is comprised of stakeholder groups from around the country dedicated to uniting the American people to make systemic, long-term change with civic engagement tools and resources.

Join us in signing the Mental Health for US statement of support to show policymakers our community is here and our voice matters!

Download and share the Mental Health and Addiction fact sheet.

An MFT Perspective of the 2019 National Council Hill Day

Every September I look forward to the annual Hill Day event organized by the National Council for Behavioral Health (NCBH). NCBH is a non-profit organization representing healthcare organizations and providers across the nation with a mission of advocating for policies that ensure people who have mental health and substance use disorders have access to comprehensive, evidence-based health care services. Every year NCBH hosts a free two-day advocacy event that includes one day of advocacy training, as well as speakers such as MSNBC political analyst Nicole Wallace. On day two, we ‘storm the Hill’; meeting with our Senators and Members of Congress and putting our advocacy skills to test. Hundreds of people, including providers, consumers, and allies, from across the country attend. This year for the first time, I served as the Virginia State Captain for the NCBH Hill Day. In this role I organized over 150 attendees from Virginia and organized meetings with each state Representative.

Our storm-the-Hill day was a great success. Between 5-20 people met with every single Virginia Representative (both Senators and all 11 Congresswomen and Congressmen). My personal highlight of the day was meeting with Rep. Denver Riggleman, a Republican Congressman from Virginia’s 5^th district. We spoke to Rep. Riggleman’s staff about the Mental Health Access Improvement of Act of 2019 (H.R. 945), explaining that Medicare beneficiaries in the 5^th district, a rural area of Virginia, would benefit from this bill as it would increase access to services by adding LMFTs and LPCs as eligible Medicare providers. Half-way through our meeting, Rep. Riggleman was able to join us and asked to hear about our experiences. We explained the issue and made our ask (support H.R. 945). Rep. Riggleman graciously asked questions and agreed that access to mental health services is a top healthcare priority. Recently, Rep. Riggleman announced that he is co-sponsoring H.R. 945 – a huge win for MFTs, LPCs, and Medicare beneficiaries alike. It is meetings like this that, no matter how brief, can make a huge difference in building bipartisan support to ensure that those with behavioral health needs have access to comprehensive healthcare.

So, what does it take to get involved with advocacy in this way? Whenever I am asked this question, I find that a major misconception is that you need formal training and lots of experience in order to meet with our elected officials and effectively advocate for mental health and substance use legislation. It certainly can be intimidating to meet with elected officials – they have busy schedules and important jobs. Start by giving yourself a refresher in the structure of our government, who your elected officials are and their priorities, and educate yourself about current and pending legislation that impacts both the profession and consumers. Visit AAMFT’s Family TEAM website for updates and join your state Family TEAM (it’s free!) Listen to your local and national news and political podcasts. Take stock of your perspectives and what stance you might take on particular issues. Start small and scaffold your experiences if you can. Sit-in on advocacy meetings before initiating your own, join Family TEAM and maybe one day become the Family TEAM leader of your state (that’s how I did it). Attend the National Council Hill Day, and the following year volunteer as a State Captain. My colleagues and I refer to this process as self-of-the-advocate work and we argue that inherent to being a systemic therapist is public participation in macrosystem processes that ultimately impact the profession and our clients (Goodman, Morgan, Hodges, & Caldwell, 2018). As MFTs, we are experts in systemic thinking and action – why not take those skills outside the therapy office and into our capitol buildings?   

 

Amy Morgan

Virginia Family TEAM Leader

8 Unique Tips to Market Your Private Practice

This content is provided by Brighter Vision, an affinity partner of AAMFT. This information is not necessarily the views of AAMFT and should not be interpreted as official AAMFT policy.

For many therapists, the task of marketing your practice can be confusing and downright daunting. So much so, in fact, that it is often overlooked and even disregarded completely by too many private practice owners. We’re hoping to change that.

In this article, we’ll provide you with 8 unique tips you can use to market your private practice. And want to know the best part? You can start implementing them today, even if you’re on a tight budget!

Tip #1 – Start a MeetUp Group to Grow Your Private Practice

Do you have a lot of experience with Art Therapy? Are you an expert in using meditation to relieve anxiety? Do you know all about the mental health benefits of stand-up paddle boarding? Form a community support group, using a service such as MeetUp and get involved in the community! 

Hosting a community support group allows you to not only give back to your community; it also gives you the opportunity to showcase what your practice is all about. Host a class, a seminar, a wine tasting, a yoga class -- whatever will help you get your message out there. Clients may come to you directly from the group, and they’ll definitely remember you the next time someone asks them if they know of a good therapist. 

Hosting a group is also a great way to show that you don’t have to have a specific problem to benefit from therapy. Use this time to illustrate how you can help enhance people’s daily lives, all while participating in a fun or supportive activity. 

 

Tip #2 – Discuss Your Cases (Yes, It's Okay!)

A fantastic way to get new clients (and to grow as a therapist) is to join a therapist consultation group. Continuous peer education is important – not to mention mandatory – for licensure anyway, and these groups provide a wonderful way for therapists to discuss difficult cases, share experiences, and offer guidance to one another. 

Because therapists often pass referrals to each other, groups like this can also be a great way to get clients. Sharing your ideas is a great way to show other therapists how you work and how you think, and they might just have the perfect client for you.

For example, if another therapist is working a difficult case with two parents and they thinks you might be a good fit to help their child, that’s a great opportunity for them to pass the referral along to you. 

To find existing in-person consultation groups, check out your local and state psychological associations. 

Join Facebook Groups

Another excellent option is to join a Facebook Group of Therapists! Practitioners often look to these groups as a referral resource when they’re in need of another therapist who specializes in a niche outside of their own. You can find national or local groups on Facebook – both of which could provide great networking opportunities. 

To find a Facebook Therapist Group, login to Facebook and use the search bar at the top to look for groups that are near you or related to your specialty.

Many of these groups are closed (private) so once you hit “Join” to request access, you may be contacted by a member to verify your credentials before you are welcomed in. There are specialty groups for everyone from “Art Therapists” to “Female Therapists” so no matter what type of group you’re looking for, you can be sure to find a group that is helpful for you and your practice! 

A Successful Legislative Session in Indiana

Indiana’s 2019 legislative session was busy and productive, and a major milestone was achieved for LMFTs and other masters-level mental health providers in the state. With coordinated efforts by Indiana LMFTs, LCSWs, LMHCs, and LCACs, House Bill 1175 was passed in both houses and became law on July 1, 2019. House Bill 1175 allows for LMFTs and other masters-level mental health providers to supervise a plan of mental health or substance abuse treatment for clients covered by Medicaid without requiring the providers to work under an HSPP. The previous standard created a significant barrier to care for many potential clients, and now, clients covered by Medicaid have a much wider array of providers to choose from. This also frees up time for HSPPs to provide additional direct service to clients instead of spending valuable time signing off on treatment plans created by already competent providers. 

In addition to House Bill 1175, the Indiana AAMFT Affiliate with help from their lobbyist, Mark Scherer, was able to support the passage of House Bill 1542 to increase frequency of the Indiana mental health licensing board to improve response times in processing applications. House Bill 1199 was also passed to make sure Indiana Law for MFT education matches current COAMFTE standards. By making the path to becoming an Indiana LMFT smoother, we hope to increase our number of providers and thus the number of Indiana residents able to seek care.

In 2019, a few potentially harmful bills were also stopped from advancing in the Indiana legislature. These included Senate Bill 268, Senate Bill 612, and House Bill 1131. The first proposed considering a combination mental health license for all masters-level clinicians in Indiana. The Indiana Affiliate was very concerned with potentially losing the valuable distinctions that distinguish LMFTs, and thankfully, this bill died without a committee hearing. The latter two bills proposed adding Behavioral Analyst licensing to the Indiana mental health licensing board. As Behavioral Analysts are not legally permitted to practice counseling and/or therapy, this would have suddenly added a non-counseling voice to licensure decisions for mental health professionals. The Indiana Affiliate, with support from our lobbyist, successfully convinced legislators not to advance this bill.

None of this would have been possible without the tireless efforts of our volunteer legislative committee, the support of the Indiana Affiliate board, and the AAMFT's Practice Protection Fund. Special acknowledgment, however, is deserved by Mark Scherer, our lobbyist of over 20 years. Mark always works diligently on our behalf as an expert guide on the legislative process and often can alert us to news and rumors on bills that are never picked up in the media or posted online. We can then address these issues immediately and stay current on any changes in real time.

Moving forward, the Indiana Association's Legislative Committee anticipates working with Indiana's Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning on the implementation of House Bill 1175, as well as planning for next year's legislative session. AAMFT’s Practice Protection Fund helped offset the costs of our legislative session and will continue to help fund our efforts through the remainder of this year as we navigate the Medicaid regulatory process.

Please consider donating to the Practice Protection Fund so that advocacy efforts like those in Indiana can continue. The Practice Protection Fund provides funding for states advancing the MFT license and defending the MFT license against threats. Any amount that you can contribute helps the profession!

Kurt Gregory- IAMFT Board Legislative Chair