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E-News from Washington March 11 , 2002 Vol. 02-06

U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone to Serve as Honorary Chair of Mental Health Counseling Week Alexandria, Va., March 11, 2002 - The American Mental Health Counselors Association is pleased to announce that Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN) has agreed to  serve as Honorary Chair of Mental Health Counseling Week, to be held May 5 to 11, during National Mental Health Month.

Mental Health Counseling Week is designated each year to educate parents and families, communities, schools, health policymakers and insurers, health professionals, and employers about the importance of good mental health and the profession of mental health counseling.

Sen. Wellstone, a member of the U.S. Senate since 1991, has long been an advocate for the mentally ill. He has demonstrated his commitment by working in Congress to erase the stigma associated with mental disorders, and is a long time sponsor of mental health parity legislation. In the 106^th Congress, on behalf of AMHCA, Wellstone introduced S. 3233, the Medicare Mental Health Modernization Act, legislation to, among other things, allow licensed or certified mental health counselors to provide services to Medicare beneficiaries. At the start of the 107th Congress, Wellstone, along with Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) introduced similar legislation as S. 690 and H.R. 1522. AMHCA is grateful to Sen. Wellstone for his continued support for AMHCA and mental health counselors.

In a letter to AMHCA members, Sen. Wellstone said, "I want to extend my thanks to all of you for asking me to serve as the Honorary Chair of National Mental Health Counseling Week. It has been a wonderful partnership working with your organization on critically important mental health issues, and it brings me great pleasure to congratulate you for the extraordinary contributions you are making to improve mental health care in our country."

"AMHCA applauds Sen. Wellstone for his work on behalf of those who suffer from mental illness, and for his commitment to working in Congress to make mental health services more widely available to our nation's citizens," said AMHCA President Midge Williams. "We are honored to have Sen. Wellstone as Honorary Chair of Mental Health Counseling Week and look forward to continuing our relationship in the future."

"The mission of the American Mental Health Counselors Association is to enhance the profession of mental health counseling through licensing, advocacy, education and professional development."

Beth Powell
AMHCA Director of Public Policy and Professional Issues
801 N. Fairfax Street, Suite 304
Alexandria, VA  22314
703-548-6002, ext. 105
www.amhca.org