PLEASE READ: Mental Health Practitioners Proposed Amendments

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Hello All,Below is an email that was sent regarding the public commenting period for the Mental Health Practitioners Proposed Amendments. The link provided will take you to the proposal and at the top of the page is contact information for Deputy Commissioner Munoz, the contact person where comments were to be sent to. If after reading the email and request for an extension of the public commenting period you would like to support NYCCAT's request for an extension, please send an email to Mr. Munoz stating something to the effect that you have been made aware of NYCCAT's request and are in support of Creative Arts Therapists having an opportunity to fully understand the amendments now that NYCCAT has the assistance of an attorney, Anne Marie Bowler who along with the NYCCAT Board will provide the information necessary to better understand what is being proposed at the NYCCAT conference. We were unable to find out if extensions to public commenting periods are possible however our request is meant to find some way for you/us to participate in this process and offer a well informed public comment regarding the proposed amendments. If you decide to send an email our only request is that you put your best professional foot forward with the tone of the email especially since we are respectfully asking for a consideration that affects our field. We did cc: Hamilton on our email: if you would like to do this, his email address is: mhpbd@.... Also, if you would like, you can bcc NYCCAT on your email or drop us a line so that we have some idea of the support that is/is not being put forth for our request. Our email is: info.nyccat@....Please forward this email to anyone you think may benefit from this information.THANK YOU! Have a great weekend. Take care,Chriss Berk, MA, ATR-BC, LPC, LCATNYCCAT Presidenthttp://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/mhp/mhp-2010proposed.htm Begin forwarded message:Subject: Mental Health Practitioners Proposed Amendments May 15, 2010 MunozDeputy Commissioner for the ProfessionsNew York State Education Department89 Washington Avenue, 2MAlbany, New York 12234Dear Deputy Commissioner Munoz,I am writing on behalf of the New York Coalition of Creative Arts Therapists (NYCCAT) regarding the proposed amendments for Mental Health Practitioners. We had hoped to have submitted a formal public comment however the means to fully understand the language and intentions of the written amendments only became available to us recently. NYCCAT has not been in a financial position to hire a lobbyist as we had in the past, especially since the Joint Council disbanded suddenly, leaving us unprepared to solely cover the substantial cost of a lobbyist. However we have been fortunate to find an attorney, Anne Marie Bowler, who has graciously offered to volunteer her time to help us understand better the issues related to our License (LCAT) and also guide us in approaching licensure issues in a well informed and professional manner, which will include corresponding with the Office of Professions and other related correspondence having to do with the LCAT. We are especially fortunate to be working with Ms. Bowler because her pre-law education was in Social Work. We believe Ms. Bowler's knowledge of both mental health and the law will be very important in translating for example, the proposed amendments, into terms that those unfamiliar with the legislative process can fully understand. It is our concern that those who may be most affected by the proposed supervision amendments, new Creative Arts Therapy graduates, may be the least informed about the proposed amendments. On June 13th, 2010 NYCCAT will be hosting a conference at Pratt Institute in New York City that in part will provide an afternoon panel presentation, led by Ms. Bowler, to address the language of the LCAT legislation and of the proposed amendments. We are also offering those who plan to attend the conference an opportunity to submit questions regarding the LCAT and proposed amendments so that the NYCCAT Board and Ms. Bowler have an opportunity to research the question if necessary. We invite you to visit our conference website: www.nyccatconference.org and also invite you to be a guest on the conference panel which will take place on the 13th from 1 - 3:30pm. Because the date of the conference is after the public commenting period, we respectfully request if possible, that the public commenting period regarding the proposed amendments for Mental Health Practitioners be extended to after the NYCCAT conference so that collectively we may have an opportunity to meet with Ms. Bowler and fully understand what the amendments 'mean' and how they may potentially affect not only Creative Arts Therapists but also patients/clients of Creative Arts Therapy. We are hoping that you will be able to offer us guidance with this request and be willing to extend to us a way that we can submit a formal response to the proposed amendments after we have had a chance to review them thoroughly as a group. We would truly appreciate the ability to participate in this process as a well informed group of professionals because the issue of who is able to supervise Creative Arts Therapists is not only important to the development of the Creative Arts Therapist's clinical skills but also what is gained from supervision that then translates into the treatment of those who participate in Creative Arts Therapy.On behalf of the NYCCAT Board, I thank you greatly for your time in reading our request and in advance for any assistance you may be able to offer. Sincerely,Chriss Berk, MA, ATR-BC, LPC, LCATNYCCAT Presidentchriss@...cc: Hamilton, PhD, LMSW, Executive Secretary cc: Anne Marie Bowler, Esq.