Advocacy in Action Virtual Panel

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ACES & AMHCA Joint Webinar

Advocacy in Action: Examining Medicare and Health Care Disparities
Counselor Medicare reimbursement is a hurdle counselors have been fighting for decades. This problem affects not only counselors, but also consumers of counseling services and it relates to health care disparities. In this session a panel of counselors who have been active in seeking counselor Medicare reimbursement and in working on access to mental health care will discuss this topic and provide attendees with concrete examples of how YOU and your students/supervisees can be part of the solution.

Wednesday, March 17
1 pm (EST), 12 noon (CST), 11 am (MST), 10 am (PST)

 

Register Here

MODERATOR

Victoria E. Kress, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, LPCC-S, NCC, CCMHC is the director of the clinical mental health and addictions counseling programs at Youngstown State University, and she is the director of a counseling clinic.  She has been a practicing, licensed counselor for over 25 years. She served as a governor appointed member of the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage and Family Therapist Board, and she previously worked as the Director of Advocacy for NBCC. She has been the recipient of over 40 professional and community service awards, most of which for her advocacy, leadership, scholarship, community service, and mentorship initiatives.  She has published over 130 refereed articles and book chapters, and she has co-authored 5 books on counseling youth and adults. She is a past president of both Chi Sigma Iota International and the Ohio Counseling Association; she is a past ACA Midwest Region Chair; she is the president of the Association for Humanistic Counseling; and she is the president-elect of the North Central Association for Counselor Education and Supervision.  She has also volunteered in Malawi, Zambia, Rwanda, and Tanzania, advocating for mental health awareness and training, and the professionalization of counseling.

PANELISTS

Dr. Matthew Fullen is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech where he is faculty in the counselor education program and affiliate faculty in the Center for Gerontology. Dr. Fullen’s research, teaching, scholarship, and advocacy focus on the counseling needs of older adults, improving access to mental health care, and the pursuit of wellness and resilience across the life span. Dr. Fullen is the counseling profession’s most active scholar on aging and mental health, with 20+ peer-reviewed publications and 70+ peer-reviewed conference presentations related to aging and Medicare access. As a strong believer in mental health advocacy, Dr. Fullen is actively involved in efforts to advance legislation to modernize Medicare’s mental health policies, including involvement in the Medicare Mental Health Workforce Coalition, which is comprised of AMHCA, ACA, NBCC and several other prominent organizations. Dr. Fullen is past Co-Chair of the American Counseling Association Public Policy & Legislation Committee, and he was recently awarded ACA’s Carl D. Perkins Government Relations Award.

Lisa Henderson on is a licensed mental health counselor specializing in population mental health and technology. As the Tennessee Counseling Association President in 2017-2018 and having served as a Public Policy Chairperson for the Tennessee Counseling Association since 2016, Lisa led her branch through legislation that challenged the existing legal standard of adhering to the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics. Lisa has served on the Tennessee Thrives Steering Committee since its inception, which supports the Tennessee business community working to protect Tennessee’s reputation as a hospitable place where all people feel safe and valued. Lisa served as Chair of the American Counseling Association Southern Region in 2019-2020 and has contributed to resources that supported counselors as they transitioned to virtual care delivery since March 2020. As an active member of counselors in the field, Lisa is often interviewed by national news media when covering topics of mental health including NBC News, the New York Times, and The Washington Post. Lisa teaches courses as an adjunct faculty member in the Human Development Counseling Program at Vanderbilt University. As co-founder and chief operating officer of Synchronous Health, most of Lisa’s professional time is spent infusing mental and behavioral health into hospital systems, employers, and universities.

Joel E. Miller, M.S. Ed. has over 30 years of experience in health care and behavioral health policy work. He has advocated for the creation of federal and state policy – and regulatory solutions – to improve the delivery and financing of health care and behavioral health care in the U.S. In his role as Executive Director and CEO of the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) Mr. Miller leads over 7000 clinical mental health counselors who have a critically important impact on the lives of Americans with behavioral health conditions. He is responsible for all operations of the organization and implementing strategic initiatives in support of the Board of Directors.  He is the publisher of AMHCA’s Journal of Mental Health Counseling and its Advocate newsletter. He also serves as a member on the AMHCA Foundation Board of Directors.

 

 

MODERATOR

Victoria E. Kress, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, LPCC-S, NCC, CCMHC is the director of the clinical mental health and addictions counseling programs at Youngstown State University, and she is the director of a counseling clinic.  She has been a practicing, licensed counselor for over 25 years. She served as a governor appointed member of the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage and Family Therapist Board, and she previously worked as the Director of Advocacy for NBCC. She has been the recipient of over 40 professional and community service awards, most of which for her advocacy, leadership, scholarship, community service, and mentorship initiatives.  She has published over 130 refereed articles and book chapters, and she has co-authored 5 books on counseling youth and adults. She is a past president of both Chi Sigma Iota International and the Ohio Counseling Association; she is a past ACA Midwest Region Chair; she is the president of the Association for Humanistic Counseling; and she is the president-elect of the North Central Association for Counselor Education and Supervision.  She has also volunteered in Malawi, Zambia, Rwanda, and Tanzania, advocating for mental health awareness and training, and the professionalization of counseling.

 

 

PANELISTS

Dr. Matthew Fullen is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech where he is faculty in the counselor education program and affiliate faculty in the Center for Gerontology. Dr. Fullen’s research, teaching, scholarship, and advocacy focus on the counseling needs of older adults, improving access to mental health care, and the pursuit of wellness and resilience across the life span. Dr. Fullen is the counseling profession’s most active scholar on aging and mental health, with 20+ peer-reviewed publications and 70+ peer-reviewed conference presentations related to aging and Medicare access. As a strong believer in mental health advocacy, Dr. Fullen is actively involved in efforts to advance legislation to modernize Medicare’s mental health policies, including involvement in the Medicare Mental Health Workforce Coalition, which is comprised of AMHCA, ACA, NBCC and several other prominent organizations. Dr. Fullen is past Co-Chair of the American Counseling Association Public Policy & Legislation Committee, and he was recently awarded ACA’s Carl D. Perkins Government Relations Award.

Lisa Henderson on is a licensed mental health counselor specializing in population mental health and technology. As the Tennessee Counseling Association President in 2017-2018 and having served as a Public Policy Chairperson for the Tennessee Counseling Association since 2016, Lisa led her branch through legislation that challenged the existing legal standard of adhering to the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics. Lisa has served on the Tennessee Thrives Steering Committee since its inception, which supports the Tennessee business community working to protect Tennessee’s reputation as a hospitable place where all people feel safe and valued. Lisa served as Chair of the American Counseling Association Southern Region in 2019-2020 and has contributed to resources that supported counselors as they transitioned to virtual care delivery since March 2020. As an active member of counselors in the field, Lisa is often interviewed by national news media when covering topics of mental health including NBC News, the New York Times, and The Washington Post. Lisa teaches courses as an adjunct faculty member in the Human Development Counseling Program at Vanderbilt University. As co-founder and chief operating officer of Synchronous Health, most of Lisa’s professional time is spent infusing mental and behavioral health into hospital systems, employers, and universities.

Joel E. Miller, M.S. Ed. has over 30 years of experience in health care and behavioral health policy work. He has advocated for the creation of federal and state policy – and regulatory solutions – to improve the delivery and financing of health care and behavioral health care in the U.S. In his role as Executive Director and CEO of the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) Mr. Miller leads over 7000 clinical mental health counselors who have a critically important impact on the lives of Americans with behavioral health conditions. He is responsible for all operations of the organization and implementing strategic initiatives in support of the Board of Directors.  He is the publisher of AMHCA’s Journal of Mental Health Counseling and its Advocate newsletter. He also serves as a member on the AMHCA Foundation Board of Directors.