By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Licensed Counselor.

Just returned from the CALPCC board meeting. http://calpcc.org/

CALPCC stands for California Association for Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors. It is an honor and privilege to be able to hang out with a group of people who are so concerned about the future of the Counseling profession.

The things we talked about will affect those who work in the field and those who receive services from Professional Counselors everywhere. I try to balance posts on the counselorssoapbox.com blog between things that are of interest to clients, people in recovery from whatever challenge you have, and those who consider themselves professionals. Some people fit into multiple categories.

Today a quick summary and then in the future I plan to write some posts about things I learned and thoughts I have had as a result of this meeting. Today just the highlights of my thoughts, and while I can’t speak on behalf of the organization or the board, as always I have plenty of thoughts of my own.

CALPCC’s primary mission is to further the profession of Clinical Counseling here in California. Many of our board members are very active at the National level and beyond.

I see a difference between the processes of counseling, therapy, and coaching. My students know that while I am licensed as both a Marriage and Family Therapist and a Professional Clinical Counselor I see those functions as two different things and describe myself as a counselor first and a therapist second.

One size does not fit all

There are some disturbing trends in mental health treatment these days.

The first step for most clients is to get them on meds. If they need them that is all well and good, but sometimes the meds cause harm.  In this era of “there is a pill for everything,” it is hard to convince those who pay that clients might benefit more from some counseling than from a meds only approach.

Meds can only do so much, to help a person to have a life worth living; they may need some help learning new skills, like living without drugs or setting and accomplishing goals.

It is estimated that California will need an additional 5,000 mental health clinicians by the year 2019. Many of those clinicians will be working with the poor, the unemployed, and the addicted.

Professional Clinical Counselors are uniquely qualified to fill that need. They are trained in 13 separate “core areas.” Including career counseling – getting a job, addiction counseling, and many have extra training in working with non-verbal clients or those whose primary learning styles is a mode other than words.

As more Clinical counselors get their license some are asking about the prospects of going into private practice. I am working on a PowerPoint and a longer article on the topic of counselors in private practice. That old Business Administration degree keeps calling to me. If that topic interests you, send me an email or other communication and I will put you on a list to get the link or the article when it is finished. The same goes if you are interested in the book that is in progress.

If you are interested in the role of Professional Clinical Counselors consider visiting the CALPCC website. (Links to CALPCC.org or counselorssoapbox.com are always appreciated.)

If you are a student, trainee, or intern, consider becoming a member. The Unlicensed rate is a paltry $30 and includes some perks like accesses to the member’s only page, info on job opportunities, and a discount on your liability insurance. That discount alone will pay for the membership or come real close.

CALPCC is a small but growing group. Most of the work is done by the members and volunteers, not paid professional staff. So when you join, consider volunteering to help and serving on a committee. Member input and participation in CALPCC is welcomed.

At this time the job openings for LPCC’s and PCCI interns are thin. CALPCC is working on getting more government and insurance positions open to LPCC’s. I believe that as more people know the things that LPCC’s can do the more job openings there will be. (Yes Mental Health Directors and other employers, LPCC’s are trained to and may see children.)

I know there are some behemoth counseling organizations who advocate for all mental health professionals, but if you are or plan to become a Clinical Counselor or another professional counselor then you owe it to yourself to join a group that advocates for Professional Clinical Counselors, particularly if you live here in California.

As you might guess I am a bit tired from the long drive and the writing schedule for the counselorssoapbox.com blog is behind schedule. It is a long drive from Fresno California to almost anywhere. If you find any typos that did not get corrected in the proofing, be kind, please.

Please – please, leave a comment or question. Those responses help me know if the things I am writing are useful and what other topics you would like to see posts about.