San Francisco is Site for AMHCA Conference in July 2011 July 8, 2010 - Alexandria, VA - The American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) will hold its 2011 Annual Conference July 14-16, 2011, in San Francisco, California. The event will take place at the PARC 55 Wyndham on Union Square. Planning committee chair for the 2011 conference is Gray Otis, PhD, LPC, NCC, CCMHC, AMHCA's 2010-2011 president-elect. Each year, AMHCA's conference draws several hundred mental health counselors from across the United States to participate in this educational gathering. AMHCA's is the only conference devoted entirely to the mental health counseling profession, delivering high-quality education, peer connections, relaxation and exploration. Preceding the conference on July 13-14, 2011, will be AMHCA's annual Leadership Training. This invitation-only event brings together leaders of state chapters to share ideas and attend workshops from AMHCA designed to enhance chapters and foster a joint commitment to the mental health counseling profession.

Dr. Gray Otis is AMHCA President-Elect Alexandria, VA - May 17, 2010 - Gray Otis, PhD, LPC, NCC, CCMHC, was voted president of the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) for 2011-2012 in AMHCA's spring elections. Otis is a current co-chair of the AMHCA Professional Development Committee and has written the "Counseling Tips" article series in the Advocate for the last four years. Otis has served as president of the Utah Mental Health Counselors Association (UMHCA), where he has been a board member since 2004 and worked to increase public awareness, grow the membership, participate in the AMHCA Unified Dues program, and sponsor state legislation. He will join the AMHCA board this July for a year as president-elect. In his candidate's statement, Otis, who is in private practice, identified six key issues in his overall objective of furthering the advancement of mental health counselors' professional identity. Also elected to AMHCA's board of directors were Judith Bertenthal-Smith, LPC, ALPS, as director-at-large and Gale Macke as treasurer. Bertenthal-Smith is in private practice in West Virginia and is assistant professor of Psychology and Education at Davis & Elkins College. Macke is the executive director of the Licensed Professional Counselor Association of Georgia (LPCA). The three-year terms for those elected take effect July 1, 2010. AMHCA thanks all those who participated in the elections process. 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.