Practice of Clinical Mental Health

AMHCA Standards for the Practice of Clinical Mental Health Counseling Adopted 1979 Revised 1992, 1993, 1999, 2003, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018

I. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………..1 A. Scope of Practice………………………………………………………………………………..2 B. Standards of Practice and Research……………………………………………………..3

II. Educational and Pre-degree Clinical Training Standards………………………..4 A. Program……………………………………………………………………………………………….4 B. Curriculum…………………………………………………………………………………………..4 C. Specialized Clinical Mental Health Counseling Training………………………5 D. Pre-degree Clinical Mental Health Counseling Field Work Guidelines……………………………………………………………………………………………….5

III. Faculty and Supervisor Standards………………………………………………………….6 A. Faculty Standards…………………………………………………………………………………6 B. Supervisor Standards……………………………………………………………………………8

IV. Clinical Practice Standards……………………………………………………………………11 A. Post-degree/Pre-licensure………………………………………………………………….11 B. Peer Review and Supervision……………………………………………………………..11 C. Continuing Education………………………………………………………………………..11 D. Legal and Ethical Issues…………………………………………………………………….12

V. Recommend AMHCA Training…………………………………………………………….13 A. Biological Bases of Behavior……………………………………………………………..14 B. Specialized Clinical Assessment………………………………………………………….19 C. Trauma Informed Care……………………………………………………………………..21 D. Substance Use Disorders and Co-occurring Disorders…………………….27 E. Technology Assisted Counseling (TAC) …………………………………………..32 F. Integrated Behavioral Health Care Counseling…………………………..38 G. Aging and Older Adults Standards and Competencies………………………44 H. Child and Adolescent Standards and Competencies………………………….47

 

 

AMHCA Standards for the Practice of Clinical Mental Health Counseling (Revised 2018) 1

I. Introduction Since its formation as a professional organization in 1976, the American Mental Health Counselors Association, AMHCA, has been committed to establishing and promoting vigorous standards for education and training, professional practice, and professional ethics for clinical mental health counselors. Initially, AMHCA sought to define and promote the professional identity of mental health counselors. Today, with licensure laws in all 50 states, AMHCA strives to enhance the practice of clinical mental health counseling and to promote standards for clinical education and clinical practice that anticipate the future roles of clinical mental health counselors within the broader health care system. As a professional association, AMHCA affiliated with APGA (a precursor to the American Counseling Association [ACA]) as a division in 1978; in 1998, AMHCA became a separate not- for-profit organization, but retained its status as a division of ACA.

In 1976, a group of community mental health, community agency and private practice counselors founded AMHCA as the professional association for the newly emerging group of counselors who identified their practice as “mental health counseling.” Without credentialing, licensure, education and training standards, or other marks of a clinical profession, these early mental health counselors worked alongside social workers and psychologists in the developing community mental health service system as “paraprofessionals” or “allied health professionals” despite the fact that they held master’s or doctoral degrees.