Its activities include setting and enforcing standards for education, licensing, and ethics for American mental health counselors.
[3] The American Mental Health Counselors Association was founded in 1976 by Jim Messina and Nancy Spisso of the Escambia County Mental Health Center in Florida.
At the time, mental health counselors lacked a clearly defined identity or an organization to represent their distinctive interests.
[4] Before separating from the ACA in 2019, the AMHCA was one of the American Counseling Association's largest divisions.
To become a member of the AMHCA, it is necessary to follow the organization's clinical practice standards, and to have a master's degree in counseling or a related field.