AMHCA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
JUNE 22 – 24 , 2022 LINQ HOTEL , LAS VEGAS
KEYNOTE # 1 : A Q & A on Journeying Toward Success in a Dynamic Era
THE ADVOCATE MAGAZINE : What drew you to the mental health field ?
Dr . Shannon Hodges : If you knew my background , you would think it would be very natural . I ’ m the child of a chronically , mentally ill mother who was institutionalized . But actually , I got into the field accidentally . When I was a graduate student , a couple of students in my cooperative living group were suicidal . And I thought , “ I need to be a better listener so I can pick up on things .” So I took a course in the College of Education called Counseling for Teachers ,” and the doctoral student teaching it said , “ Why don ’ t you come into the Counseling program ?” So I did . It ’ s been a good fit . I ’ d been a listener all my life .
THE ADVOCATE MAGAZINE : What are some of the biggest challenges that the profession has already overcome ?
Dr . Shannon Hodges : When I was a grad student in 1985 at Oregon State University , just over 30 states licensed counselors . Since then , we have achieved licensure
Shannon Hodges , PhD , LMHC , NCC , ACS , has worked in the mental health counseling field for more than 35 years as counselor , clinic director , professor and international professor , counselor , trainer and volunteer . He has extensive experience in trauma treatment in the United States , South Africa , and in remote areas of Australia . He works from a mindfulness-based Cognitive Behavior Therapy ( MCBT ) approach that includes meditation and body work . Dr . Hodges is also the author of several books , journal articles , and related educational publications . in all 50 states and three territories , often against strong and well-established opposition . So that ’ s a big deal . Here are two other milestones : getting third-party insurance reimbursement in all states and territories , and approval to work in VA hospitals ( though hiring has been notoriously slow , that ’ s getting better ).
THE ADVOCATE MAGAZINE : What issues remain as priorities for the clinical mental health counseling field ?
Dr . Shannon Hodges : Medicare reimbursement . Every year we ’ re getting closer , and it ’ s going to happen . Even the social workers no longer oppose it . The second big challenge , which we face here in New York , is that we cannot officially diagnose people . Eventually we ’ ll get that also .
THE ADVOCATE MAGAZINE : Once the profession reaches those goals , what do you think its strengths will be ?
Dr . Shannon Hodges : We are a growing profession . We are the second largest mental health profession in the United States , second only to social work , and in less than 10 years , we will be the largest , according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics .
Counselors are well-known now — you know , we are included as reviewers for the DSM . That was quite a big deal . I would also say parity : The walls will come tumbling down and counselors will become as common in hospitals and other inpatient settings as social workers . Our profession will be as well-known as other health professions .
THE ADVOCATE MAGAZINE : What distinguishes the mental health counseling profession from the other mental health professions , such as psychiatry , psychology , and social work ?
Dr . Shannon Hodges : The education and training is a big part of it . We get more counseling training because that ’ s what we do . Counseling is our main gig . We do assessments , we even do case management , but those are ancillary . For psychologists , their main gig is going to be assessments . Their issues are with the psychiatric profession and vice versa .
Social workers , they get trained in counseling , but if you look at an NASWaccredited social work program , they ’ re going to get far less counseling training than mental health counselors . So , we are the profession that gets the most training in counseling . That ’ s our specialty . I don ’ t want to denigrate social workers or psychologists , I respect them . And I ’ ve met some who do counseling really well . But , as a profession , counseling is what we hang our hat on .
In our clinical mental health counseling program , we have had several nurses , a lawyer , a psychiatrist , and a primary care physician . This primary care physician explains : “ I ’ ve got all these patients . Yeah , I can give them an antidepressant , but they need more , more than that .”
continued on page 21
20 The Advocate Magazine 2022 , Issue # 1 American Mental Health Counselors Association ( AMHCA ) ww . amhca . org