Brief History of AMHA-USA

Mental Health Professionals in several states embraced the idea of Cooperative Mental Health Care in 1993-95 as a system that could compete with and perhaps one day replace managed care. This concept, while exciting the professional community, was not practical as a competitor against a highly capitalized, aggressive, and often amoral set of opponents. 

Even now, when the future of managed care becomes more precarious by the week, the Cooperative Mental Health Care contracting model is still premature. In short, our original experiment failed.  But it spawned the development of healthy alternatives and professional initiatives.  

While some chapters formed and failed other AMHA chapters  show healthy growth and development. Their initiatives have created national and state web sites,  have interlaced active and successful  marketing with professional support and education activities.

AMHA-USA is more than an idea, it is a plan for an organization that can succeed, 

AMHA-USA supports the best aspects of professional caring and cooperation.

AMHA-USA intends to promote  the establishment of active chapters in every state  to support professionals who share AMHA's values.

·     Clear and unwavering adherence to primary values of AMHA: protecting privacy and choice in psychotherapy because it is the foundation of the therapeutic process.

·     Development of small professional groups within the organization for peer support in professional and marketing initiatives.

·     Leadership that transcended the group that founded the chapter.

·     Familiarity with and use of the national web site as an educational, communication and marketing tool.

·    Finally, and most important, dedication to AMHA's irreducible principles and a public, professional and personal identification with them.