Why I am voluntarily surrendering my mental health license

The short answer is I wish to withdraw consent to be managed by and give credibility to a regulatory system that I consider to be iatrogenic, contaminated, corrupt, and illegitimate.

Why am I announcing this publicly? I hope to inspire one other person to do the same. I hope that person might inspire one other person to do the same and before long we might create a movement.

I do not wish to live my life in quiet desperation, casually accepting that which I find offensive and inconsistent with my values. Why is being licensed as a mental health professional inconsistent with my values? Here are some of my reasons:

·        First, contrary to conventional wisdom, there is no evidence in the mental health literature that a mental health license makes one a better provider or protects the public in any way.

·        I do not believe state officials have any business telling private business people how to conduct their work. Promulgation of clinical standards at the barrel of a gun is immoral (by the way, I have never had any challenges to my clinical or ethical practice from any regulatory body).

·        The state is condoning a series of coercive and intrusive mental health practices that I do not wish to support by association. I am withdrawing my consent.

·        I do not wish to work in the medical model, which is the mandate of mental health practice.

·        The empirical validation philosophy that undergirds regulation is based on junk science.

·        The state fails to appreciate the spiritual aspect of mental health treatment.

·        The state is a bureaucratized mess that needs to be deconstructed.

·        PC political whims are interfering with reality, thus contaminating the regulatory culture.

·        The state is complicit in enabling privacy violations that have the potential to harm my clients. This stands to get worse as we move forward with universal healthcare.

·        The state and its institutional healthcare partners are stifling innovation and creativity.

I value professional freedom, creativity, and professional responsibility. My ethical and spiritual charge is to work as hard as I can to help my clients get better, not just to practice is such a way so as to avoid liability by working to the lowest common denominator. The mental health profession is stale and there is nothing coming from the state to rejuvenate it. Regulation has made things worse for all of us.

My intention is to continue to work to help people, but not as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. My preferred identity is that of a guide or coach, or even a pastor but I will see how that unfolds.