Fall 2025 Update
The Missouri Mental Health Counselors Association (MMHCA) Board of Directors cast a 2025 vision toward the creation of a strong mental health community that empowers the work of our Missouri Counselors.
MMHCA’s mission focused goals include:
Represent licensed mental health counselors across the State of Missouri through legislative work
Create and implement education opportunities
Empower current research and education exploration
Foster a strong and resilient community of professionals
In 2025, we completed our first year as a “working board” which means that we have each taken on roles and responsibilities around mission fulfillment. Together, this unique group of professionals dedicated approximately 1,100 hours of volunteer service in 2025. Continue reading to learn more about the empowering work that is being done by your dedicated MMHCA Board Members.
Professional Issues & Public Policy.
In 2025, the Student Legislative Day attracted over 45 attendees from across the state. During this time, we met one-on-one with several legislative staff, advocated to stop and amend bills in both the house and the senate, and worked toward intentional partnership with our mental health committee members.
In 2025, MMHCA continued our joint partnership with the Mental Health Coalition. This Coalition works with the psychologists and social worker organizations in Missouri to facilitate a collaborative approach to mental health legislation. The 2025 Legislative Day brought hundreds of mental health professionals to the capital as we stood in unity around key legislative initiatives.
Reflecting on our work, the MMHCA Board met all of our projected goals. We have a line item wired into our budget that empowers the ground roots effort toward legislative advocacy. This budget allocation will allow MMHCA to continue providing materials to legislative staff throughout our operating year.
Future Goals.
For 2026, the MMHCA President’s goal is to select a Legislative Chair to the MMHCA Board who can step into this position for several years for the purpose of facilitating growth and stability. Moving forward, the Legislative Chair will work diligently toward identifying legislation that impacts Licensed Professional Counselors throughout Missouri and the clients they serve. MMHCA hopes to expand our work by scheduling intentional conversations with key legislative parties.
Professional Development.
In 2025, MMHCA began to explore elements of change and advance planning around our Annual Conference. We are actively working to integrate wellness, community, and education as a triadic experience that members and attendees will benefit from together.
In 2025, MMHCA partnered with the Financial Therapy Clinical Institute. This partnership opportunity is available to members only and will be accessible in the MMHCA members only portal of the new website. Interested parties can utilize a 20% off discount code for continuing education credit on how to enhance counseling skills around fiscal planning.
In 2025, MMHCA completed three online training opportunities as we launched our first ever remote learning opportunity. MMHCA’s continuing education platform will allow us to reach members of our counseling community in rural areas and foster relationships for years to come. Join us in 2026 as we continue to expand our online community.
Public Awareness & Membership.
We have officially welcomed Les Brown as our Public Awareness and Membership Chair. Les has launched into this new role by giving voice to our online social media pages. This is a first for MMHCA and we are excited to see our community grow. In 2025, we promised that we would build a special membership portal on our website. This is officially live and active members should be able to access a members-only section of the website which includes discounts for events and partnerships. Future goals for the Public Awareness portion of this position are to inform members of the Research and Knowledge Committee’s work and to showcase current research opportunities, to grow member benefits, and to foster community for MMHCA members.
Before I close…
As a leader, I have had the honor of watching this unique team of dedicated professionals dive into this work because we, as a collective body, believe the work we do is significant and that a rich culture and community for mental health counselors reflects strength across our State. As a counselor, you are part of this community, and we want you to join us in our work. Together we make a difference; together we empower a strong mental health community.
Rebecca Padgett, LPC-NCC-MSL-CSC
2025-2026 President MMHCA
