Systemic Racism

AMHCA Addresses Systemic Racism
AMHCA is calling for a multi-faceted counseling response to eliminate disparities in mental health and addiction.

AMHCA vigorously opposes racism, intolerance, and injustice.

 

We stand in solidarity with the current social justice movement who demand equality, inclusion, and the intrinsic dignity and inherent rights of every person.

 

We pledge to fight inequalities related to race, sexuality, gender, country of origin, physical ability and any marginalized community.

Links

AMHCA Standards for the Practice of Clinical Mental Health Counseling


AMHCA Code of Ethics


Practice Guidelines


AMHCA Webinar Archive

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AMHCA Statement



We need major systemic change so that we stop traumatizing people of color.  We need new approaches to address systemic racism; address the impact of racial segregation on health outcomes; develop new federal and state policy to reduce health inequities; and identify racism’s impact on health outcomes.   



Public Awareness

In the Summer of 2020, AMHCA ran a social media campaign around public awareness of the values and ethics a mental health counselor adheres emphasizing the respect for diversity and cultural competence. We encourage other counselors to utilize the images created in this campaign to continue bringing awareness to the values held by clinical mental health counselors.

Ongoing Commitment

In 2020, AMHCA created the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force to cultivate a climate of diversity, equity and inclusion as an essential cornerstone of our organization. See their goals and take part in their survey. 

Research



AMHCA released a report in August 2020 about how racism, COVID-19 and the economic meltdown has impacted the mental health of the nation. The AMHCA report lays out a series of vitally needed policy changes that can mitigate the mental health crisis. 



Education



AMHCA is committed to offering events and articles that help counselors be effective in practice.



Ethical Practice

The Clinical Mental Health Counselor Declaration is for all counselors and highlights the values and necessities of cultural competence.

Latest AMHCA Resources on Cultural Competency

The platforms we have established over the last three years have created a strong sense of community. We will continue to leverage new technologies in the digital meeting environment to bring timely, credible information to our members.  Our job -- and why we ultimately exist -- is to create a strong sense of community, to inform, and to inspire.  We will need to build more virtual spaces that are purpose-driven and can replicate aspects on information-sharing, behavioral health marketplace learning, and peer connections.


We have established several new platforms and forums where our members can find relevant information and exchange views and share content on best practices, tools, methods, and strategies to thrive in today’s environment.  We appreciate the full scope and advantages of our on-line discussion groups and communities and other communication vehicles.  In a way we have set up informal “virtual support teams” “roundtables” and “cross-segment working groups” by the very nature of these platforms that have expertise in specific areas, and can be accessed by all members to provide problem-solving information and experience.  These platforms are valuable to exchange information.

Continue to share and tag (use hashtags #CulturalCompetency, #Diversity, #Equity) the resources you share so the entire membership can benefit.