Welcome from the President- 

Hello members!

Since joining Idaho Mental Health Counselors Association (IMHCA),  I have been able to see first hand how passionate this board is about advocating and promoting mental health awareness in Idaho.  So being elected to serve as your 2020-2021 IMHCA President, is an honor and I am very excited. 

This year IMHCA is going to be focusing on refocusing what we bring to you as the members. 

What this will look like:

1. Chair Committee Onboarding. We represent the state as a whole which means we want more diverse involvement. We want to ensure we are empowering counselors with the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to promote their success in all of Idaho. So we are calling on help from our members in all the regions. 

2. Membership Satisfaction. You are what makes an association strong. We want to make sure we are maintaining the components that you find valuable and also keeping up with these changing times. I want to thank you for completing the survey given in June, your feedback is appreciated. Karen, our new membership chair, has already started to go to work on the feedback. 

3. More Collaborations with Divisions. Under ICA there are 7 divisions in total and we want to collaborate more. Whether through workshop partnerships, community outreach, or advocacy events, we want to form relationships that increase the value and benefits for our members.  

4. Refreshing our Web Appearance. This is multidimensional to include, website, social media, and listserv. We want an easy to navigate website, social media content that is relevant, and a valuable utilization of the listserv to serve all members. 

5. Quarterly E-Newsletters. To provide you with upcoming events that IMHCA will be at or involved in. Inform you on advocacy opportunities or insights on what is going on. Promote IMHCA member trainings and workshops and more.   

IMHCA will continue to bring you:

•  Awareness about mental health needs in Idaho though letter writing events, community events, use of listserv and etc.  

• Sponsoring a distinguished speaker at the ICA super conference to continue fostering counselor professional development.

• Running two scholarship contests for counseling graduate students. 

• Providing multiple relevant and high-quality workshops/trainings.

• Facilitating a members-only peer supervision group worth up to 10 free CEs in a 24 month period.  

• Maintaining a presence at the IDOPL meetings and providing updates from the board’s discussions on issues that impact our members.

If you are a graduate student or a professional and want to get involved, we would love to have you serve on a committee that fits your strengths. Please considering attending an IMHCA monthly board meetings, held on the second Monday of the month at 5:30p. 

It feels important more than ever to evolve together, so thank you for your membership and continued support. I look forward to working with you all this year. 

Cheers, 

Caitlin Goicoechea-Hart LCPC, NCC