New York Mental Health Counselors Association (NYMHCA)

What New York Mental Health Counselors Association (NYMHCA) does

New York Mental Health Counselors Association (NYMHCA) is a private nonprofit professional membership organization founded in 1979 and headquartered in Schenectady, New York. It is the only statewide association dedicated solely to representing licensed mental health counselors (LMHCs) in New York, serving 15,000+ members including licensed professionals, graduate students, early-career counselors, retired practitioners, business affiliates, clinical organizations, and graduate programs across nine regional chapters (Capital Region, Central Region, Greater Buffalo, Greater Rochester, Hudson Valley, Long Island, Metro, Staten Island, and Westchester). NYMHCA operates as a state chapter of the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) and functions primarily as a community-led advocacy and professional development platform rather than a software company.

NYMHCA's technology stack is web-based and centered on two platforms: the nymhca.org website with the myNYMHCA member portal for membership management, CE tracking, member directory, insurance enrollment, and event registration, and the affiliated NYMHCA Institute (nymhcainstitute.org) for delivering accredited continuing education, exam preparation, and certificate training. Third-party payment processors handle dues and event registration. Core products include tiered memberships (Student $65-$80, New Professional $90-$115, Professional $140-$165, Retired $70-$95, Associate $55, Business Affiliate and Clinical Organization $300, Graduate Program rates at $50 students / $100 faculty), The NYMHCA Institute CE programs, Career Center, Mentoring Program, Student Ambassador Program, and the CLANY Political Action Committee. Strategic partnerships include American Professional Agency (liability insurance), Hinman Straub Advisors (registered lobbying), Alfred University (federal grant rural schools initiative), and nine graduate counseling programs.

NYMHCA generates revenue through recurring annual membership dues, continuing education fees through The NYMHCA Institute, and donations to the NYMHCA General Fund, Institute Fund, and CLANY PAC. Its go-to-market is community-led: legislative advocacy via a registered lobbyist in Albany, Advocacy Day events, multi-channel digital marketing (Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, email, blog), regional chapter networking, and graduate program partnerships that pipeline students into membership. The association has been central to every major LMHC legislative milestone in New York since 1979, including the 2002 licensure law, 2005 first licenses, 2013 CE requirements, 2021 Medicaid coverage, 2022 diagnostic privilege, 2022 insurance coverage, and 2025 exemption extension.

Name

New York Mental Health Counselors Association (NYMHCA)

Legal name

New York Mental Health Counselors Association, Inc.

Website

https://nymhca.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NYMHCA is the only statewide nonprofit professional association for licensed mental health counselors in New York, serving 15,000+ members across nine regional chapters through advocacy, accredited continuing education, and graduate program partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mental Health Professional Association

NAICS

Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) & Public Behavioral Health Providers (HLAFACAI)

Keywords

• Professional membership services
• Continuing education programs
• Legislative advocacy services
• Mental health counseling
• Professional development programs

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues from individuals (students, new professionals, licensed professionals, retired, associate) and organizations (business affiliates, clinical organizations, graduate programs). Membership renews annually with optional auto-renewal.
2. Continuing Education Programs: The NYMHCA Institute offers accredited CE programs including live workshops, virtual trainings, webinars, and exam preparation courses. Members receive discounted registration; some programs are free to members (CE of the Month). Non-members pay standard rates.
3. Donations and PAC Contributions: NYMHCA accepts donations to the NYMHCA General Fund, The NYMHCA Institute Fund, and the CLANY (Counselors for Legislative Action in New York) PAC. Donations to CLANY are not tax-deductible and cannot be refunded.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

NYMHCA is a statewide nonprofit professional membership association serving licensed mental health counselors, graduate students, and counselor educators in New York. Its core offering is annual individual membership that delivers legislative advocacy through a registered lobbyist in Albany, discounted and free continuing education through the affiliated NYMHCA Institute, member benefits such as professional liability insurance discounts, exam preparation for the NCMHCE, access to nine regional chapters, and engagement through the myNYMHCA member network.

Product overview

NYMHCA is a professional membership organization offering a unified portfolio of services for mental health counselors in New York State. The core offering is NYMHCA Membership, which provides advocacy representation, continuing education, career resources, and networking through regional chapters. The NYMHCA Institute, an affiliated entity, delivers accredited continuing education programs, exam preparation workshops, and professional development training. Additional services include a Career Center job board, Mentoring Program for professional development, Graduate Program Partnerships with discounted rates, Student Ambassador Program, and the CLANY political action committee for legislative advocacy. The organization does not offer a traditional software product but rather membership-based professional services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The NYMHCA Institute: An affiliated, but separate entity of NYMHCA that serves as a hub for education and training, offering specialized training, continuing education programs, and exam preparation workshops.

Products and services

• NYMHCA Membership Paid annual membership tiers (Student $65-80/year, New Professional $90-115/year, Professional $140-165/year, Retired $70-95/year, Associate $55/year, Business Affiliate $300/year, Clinical Organization $300/year, Graduate Program Partnership) for individuals and organizations in the mental health counseling field. Memberships include advocacy representation through a registered lobbyist, free CE of the Month, discounted professional liability insurance (20% for Professional and New Professional, free for Student), access to nine regional chapters, the myNYMHCA member network, mentoring, Career Center, licensure updates, and member savings on practice tools.
• The NYMHCA Institute Continuing Education Programs Accredited continuing education programs delivered through NYMHCA's affiliated Institute, including live virtual trainings, in-person workshops, webinars, and self-study courses approved to meet New York State requirements of 36 hours every 3 years for licensed mental health counselors. Members receive discounted registration; the CE of the Month program is free for members; non-members pay standard rates. Self-study is limited to 12 hours of the triennial requirement.
• NCMHCE Exam Preparation Workshop Structured exam preparation workshops for the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE), designed specifically for New York applicants and delivered through The NYMHCA Institute in both virtual and in-person formats.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15,000+ licensed professionals, students, and educators represented across New York State
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Alfred UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2023Alfred University secured a $4.6 million federal grant (Department of Education Mental Health Demonstration Project) and partnered with The NYMHCA Institute to increase the supply of quality mental health professionals to rural schools in New York. The NYMHCA Institute provides professional development programming to students enrolled in the grant program. Each year the program provides stipends for up to 12 counseling interns and their supervisors at four partner school districts in rural counties (Steuben, Allegany, Cattaraugus).
• American Professional AgencycoreOthersAmerican Professional Agency is a New York-based insurance broker specializing in professional liability insurance for the mental health field. NYMHCA endorses this broker, offering members 20% off annual professional liability insurance premiums (professional/new professional members) and free coverage for student members.
• American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNYMHCA is a state chapter of AMHCA, the national professional organization for mental health counselors. NYMHCA shares certain membership information with AMHCA for chapter affiliation purposes. Members must abide by the AMHCA Code of Ethics.
• Hinman Straub AdvisorscoreOthersHinman Straub Advisors is NYMHCA's registered lobbyist firm. Lobbyist Heather Evans of Hinman Straub represents NYMHCA in Albany, submitting comments on regulations, engaging with legislators on diagnostic privilege and other priorities, and monitoring the legislative process on behalf of the association.
• Graduate Counseling Programs (Fordham, Hofstra, NYU, SUNY Brockport, Mercy, Marist, Manhattan College, John Jay, LIU Post)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNine graduate counseling programs participate in NYMHCA's Graduate Professional Identity Program. Programs enroll through myNYMHCA and provide students and faculty with discounted NYMHCA membership rates ($50/year for students, $100/year for faculty). Participating programs include Fordham University, Hofstra University, NYU, SUNY Brockport, Mercy University, Marist University, Manhattan College, John Jay College, and LIU Post.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA): AMHCA is the national parent professional association of which NYMHCA is a state chapter. Both serve licensed mental health counselors with advocacy, CE, and member benefits; AMHCA operates at the federal advocacy level while NYMHCA focuses on New York State legislation, making them directly comparable in mission and service mix.
• American Counseling Association (ACA): ACA is the larger national umbrella for professional counselors across all specialties (school, rehabilitation, career, etc.). It overlaps with NYMHCA in serving LMHCs but offers broader scope, larger membership, and national CE programming, making it a broad incumbent peer with adjacent member services.
• American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT): AAMFT is the national professional association for marriage and family therapists, a directly adjacent counseling discipline with parallel scope-of-practice advocacy battles and CE requirements. NYMHCA's proposed A780/S6999 supervision bill interacts directly with MFT scope, making AAMFT a peer in the regulatory arena.
• Mental Health America (MHA): MHA is a national community-based mental health advocacy organization. While broader and more consumer-facing than NYMHCA, it operates in overlapping policy domains (parity, Medicaid coverage, scope of practice) and competes for member attention in the mental health advocacy space.

Others

• National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC): NBCC administers the NCMHCE exam preparation that NYMHCA's Institute offers through workshops. NBCC is the certifying body for mental health counselors and a key ecosystem partner in the licensure pipeline NYMHCA supports.

Direct peers

• National Association of Social Workers (NASW) - New York State Chapter: NASW-NYS is a state-chapter professional association for social workers with a parallel structure to NYMHCA: advocacy, CE, regional chapters, lobbying in Albany. It is directly comparable as a NYS-only allied-health professional membership organization competing for member attention on scope-of-practice issues.
• New York State Psychological Association (NYSPA): NYSPA is the statewide professional association for psychologists in New York with the same legislative advocacy, CE, and chapter-based model as NYMHCA. It competes for the same Albany policy influence and member dues in overlapping clinical mental health markets.

Regional players

• California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT): CAMFT is a large state-chapter professional association for MFTs in California, structurally analogous to NYMHCA (statewide advocacy, CE, regional chapters). It is comparable as a regional peer serving a different state with the same membership-association business model.
• National Association of School Psychologists (NASP): NASP is the national professional association for school psychologists, a parallel specialty association operating in K-12 mental health. NYMHCA's partnership with Alfred University on rural school mental health grants puts it in direct service overlap with NASP's domain.

Emerging players

• Chi Sigma Iota (CSI) Counseling Academic & Professional Honor Society International: CSI is the academic honor society for counseling professionals and students, with overlapping membership base (counseling graduate students and faculty) and parallel programs in professional identity, leadership, and scholarship. It complements NYMHCA's Graduate Professional Identity Program.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/NYMHCA
• Facebookfacebook.com/NYMHCA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/newyorkmentalhealthcounselors
• Instagraminstagram.com/nymhca

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about New York Mental Health Counselors Association (NYMHCA)