State Representative Kathy LaNatra (D-Kingston) has been named Legislator of the Year at the 33rd annual MaMHCA (Massachusetts Mental Health Counselors Association), where she also delivered the keynote speech at their conference, held November 2 at the Crowne Plaza in Woburn.
Representative LaNatra, who is a fierce advocate for mental health issues on Beacon Hill, joined Mental Health Counselors from across the state for their annual convention. Topics covered at the convention included: (1) working with domestic violence; (2) opioid overdose; (3) emergency services/critical incident stress management; (4) developing programs for veterans; and (5) taking mental health out of the criminal justice system.
MaMHCA is a state-wide professional association dedicated to providing essential professional information to Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHCs), mental health counseling students, mental health counselor educators and other related professionals. The organization also provides a multi-faceted program of ongoing education and training for LMHCs and mental health counselors. For the past 35 years, MaMHCA has been advocating for the advancement of the highest quality mental health services and the mental health counseling profession through public policy initiatives for both mental health professionals and consumers of mental health services.
“I am deeply honored by the award I received, and the opportunity to deliver remarks to this outstanding group of professionals,” said Representative LaNatra. She added, “The passion in this room was infectious. We thank (past president) Joe Weeks and all the licensed mental health counselors for all they do, and I look forward to working closely with them to advance legislative issues that affect mental health services.”
Representative LaNatra’s district includes all residents of Halifax, Kingston and Plympton, as well as residents of Precincts 1, 11 and 13 in Plymouth; Precinct 1 in Middleboro; and Precinct 1 in Duxbury. She maintains regular office hours throughout the district.
For additional information, please contact Chris Jean, Christopher.Jean@MAhouse.gov. Meetings can also be arranged by appointment.