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Mental Health Counselors

Decent Essays

Select and describe one issue of interest. Describe advocacy processes needed to address institutional and social barriers that impede access, equity, and success for clients. Identify public policies on the local, state, and national levels that affect the quality and accessibility of mental health services.

The current issue of interest to me is how there is a need for mental health counselors in the VA hospital. There is around 120,000 mental health counselors that would love to work in the VA hospital to help veterans. In 2006 the United States congress and the president made legislation into law recognizing mental health counselors as clinicians in the VA hospital. According to the ACA two years after the law was approved mental health counselors are still not allowed in the VA hospital. Then in 2012 the VA had about 1585 positions open and only fifty-eight were available to mental health counselors the other ones were only open to …show more content…

I could not find any organizations on the internet; however the ACA and the branches of ACA is advocating for mental health counselors as equals to other counseling professions. I mentioned earlier that the congressman that is advocating for veterans to receive treatment by mental health professionals under the TRICARE program.
Discuss why they may or may not be advocating in the same manner as clinical mental health counselors.
They are advocating for mental health counselors, because mental health counselors can help these veterans. There is tremendous amount of veterans that are suffering and cannot receive mental health treatment
Explain why it is important to support counselor advocacy and influence public policy and government relations on local, state, and national levels to enhance equity, increase funding, and promote programs that affect the practice of clinical mental health

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