FMHCA's New President, Laura Peddie-Bravo

Get to know FMHCA's new president in this exclusive FMHCA interview!

Laura Peddie-Bravo is a second-generation Floridian; she loves living here and plans to stay for the rest of her life! As such, it is not uncommon for her to mention with excitement how she wishes to help make Florida the BEST state for Licensed Mental Health Counselors.

Laura began her career in 1991 after graduating with a BA in Psychology with a Clinical Psychology specialization from the University of Central Florida (UCF). Her original plan was to apply to Clinical Ph.D. programs. She collaborated in post-baccalaureate research after graduation, then worked as Psychiatric Technician at a local hospital, and worked in a variety of community settings ranging from crisis intervention to working with adults with severe forms of Autism.

While Laura was working with her own counselor, he informed her that she didn’t need a PhD in Clinical Psychology to be a counselor. He introduced her to the Masters in Mental Health Counseling program at UCF. She researched the program, and it looked like everything she wanted. She applied and was accepted into UCF’s Counselor Education program, the Mental Health Counseling track. When asked about her program and time at UCF she replied, "I greatly enjoyed the program! I also worked as a Graduate Assistant during my three years in the program and had the privilege of working on the program’s CACREP accreditation, which we received before I graduated. I also ran the Practicum Clinic which was a terrific experience."

With over 20 years experience and involvement in the profession, Laura Peddie-Bravo is a trueasset to FMHCA and its organization-wide goals for 2022. Take a look at what she has to say!

Tell us a little about who Laura Peddie-Bravo is today:

My husband, Chris, and I just celebrated our 25th anniversary this August. We have three wonderful college aged children. One of our sons happens to be on the Autism Spectrum. I have a parrot named Paullie, a fouryear-old rescue dog named Daisy, and backyard chickens.

My private practice is in Winter Park, FL, and I am an Approved Supervisor. I work with a variety of issues; but if I had to choose one issue that I have worked with the most over the past 20 years, it would be Trauma/PTSD. I also work with Depression, Anxiety, Bi-Polar, OCD, ASD, Personality Disorders, Post-Partum issues, and chronic medical conditions. I have an overall Wellness orientation combined with CBT. I like to practice what I preach about Wellness, and take long walks, cycle, swim, kayak, and enjoy photography.

What led you to join an organization like FMHCA?

My professors in Graduate school greatly encouraged their students to join professional associations and attend those associations’ conferences. My first exposure to FMHCA was as a Graduate Student, and I also participated in FMHCA’s legislative days in Tallahassee alongside my fellow students. I also love learning, and I attended every professional association’s conference and/or meetings that existed at that time, even though I couldn’t earn any CEUs for attending. I had the privilege of attending FMHCA’s first conference, held in Tampa, in 1999. I met and networked with colleagues and learned even more material outside what my program could offer. Regarding leadership, I became involved with my local FMHCA chapter, and first served on its board as a Registered Intern Representative. I remained very involved with the chapter for many years, and refrained from serving on the state the state level until just last year.

What has made you stay with FMHCA all these years?

I really liked how FMHCA events were 100% focused on Clinical Mental Health Counseling as opposed to other organizations, which seemed to be more focused on other forms of counseling, i.e., School Counseling. As I’ve already said, I love learning, and I am a voracious learner. I wanted an association where I could learn about every aspect of counseling, including the latest trends, and FMHCA has provided that for me.

If different than the answer above, what makes you stay with FMHCA now?

I appreciate how FMHCA has always stayed on top of legislative issues, which impact all LMHCs. in Florida. I do not think very many realize how many bill shave come before the Florida Legislature that could have negatively impacted our profession. FMHCA tackled these and “spared” us all. I also enjoy the annual conference and enjoy re-connecting with colleagues and meeting new ones. Every biennium I am always way (WAY) over the CEUs needed (sometimes 50+ over the required 32) because I enjoy all of the offerings at FMHCA’s annual conferences and webinars throughout the year. I also enjoy learning what other counselors are experiencing - the challenges as well as the good things - in other parts of our state.

How do your passions shape your current leadership roles?

As I said, while a graduate student, my professors instilled the importance of joining and participating in our professional associations, and they also instilled the importance of keeping aware of legislation in order to advocate for our profession. That has stuck with me since Graduate school, and I’m very thankful they instilled that passion in me. That led me to serve our profession on the local and now the state level, and I greatly enjoy it.

What made you run for FMHCA President?

I had never thought of being President of FMHCA until I was recruited by a FMHCA Board member. I was president of my local FMHCA chapter for two terms, and I thought with that experience, perhaps I might be able to serve at a higher level. I learned quite a bit last year as President Elect, and I’m excited to take on the new challenge of leading this incredible organization.

Is the role what you expected when you took position as president-elect?

Yes, for the most part. Having been a chapter president, I already had some experience in a similar role. I truly appreciated having had a full 12 months to learn how FMHCA runs, and also learn what FMHCA’s president does. While learning, I was able to volunteer for different roles, i.e. Chairing the Graduate Student and Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern Committee; lead a couple of Alliance meetings; and participate in the Government Relations Committee, along with other tasks.

Covid-19 has paused and delayed a lot of activity in the world, what has it done for your new presidency role at FMHCA?

Since we are still in the pandemic, I’d say it has forced me to expand beyond my comfort zone. For example, I used to be a 100% face to face kind of person. But with the pandemic, I was forced into online ways of connecting and learning. I discovered that an online platform provides quite a lot of convenience and flexibility. Meeting online for educational purposes can save a lot of expense too. I believe the incorporation of online meetings and education is here to stay; and, it’s an opportunity to reach more people and to expand the organization.

Where will you like to see FMHCA in 5 years?

I would like to see a significant increase in membership, more chapters throughout the state, greater participation in our Government Relations Committee, and increase in participation in our annual Legislative Days. I realize we’re all busy; however, communicating with our elected officials has never been easier! It just takes a couple of minutes to fill out their contact form and express our opinion on matters that can greatly impact our profession, i.e. the Counseling Compact. I would like to see every member reach out to their elected officials and advocate on behalf of our profession. If you want to support financially, FMHCA has a t-shirt campaign named "Let Your Voice Be Heard", which all proceeds go to the FMHCA Political Action Committee (PAC) fund.

What are you looking forward to in your time as president?

I am looking forward to helping our profession obtain parity, empower our colleagues, and meet the needs of our members whether they are students, interns, or licensed.

2022 Presidency Goals

Empower LMHC’s! Continue to educate and encourage LMHC’s to advocate for themselves, i.e. regarding salaries/hourly rates/reimbursement. Also, our strategic planning survey requested more education on the business side of being an LMHC. Perhaps offer workshops on the business side, i.e. EHRs, marketing, and some asked for help with coding. Better equipping LMHCs helps them know their value, helps build confidence, and they can go into business with clear expectations and goals for themselves.

Increase Diversity and Representation within FMHCA with creating a Diversity Committee with multiple subcommittees, i.e. Indigenous peoples subcommittee. Encourage FMHCA members to begin more subcommittees for various groups about which they feel passionate.

Educate more LMHCs about what FMHCA is and the importance of joining via a strategic email campaign to entire state of Florida database of LMHCs and RMHCIs.

Increase membership: We can do more things like increased legislative efforts and offer more benefits to our members as we grow. I would like to see at least 20% of all LMHCs in the state of Florida become members of FMHCA, and ideally, continue to increase that percentage in the years to come..

Reach out to all Florida MHC graduate programs and educate them on who we are and why it is important to join as FMHCA is the ONLY organization devoted solely to Mental Health Counselors. (I joined as student and have stayed involved my entire career.)

Legislative goals:

Counseling Compact

Name change for RMHCI to Licensed Associate Counselor (LAC)

Add LMHCs to Forensic evaluation provider list

Eliminate rule restricting RMHCIs in private practice requiring on-site supervisor. A Supervisor reachable by phone/other HIPAA compliant platform is good enough.

National legislative goal: S. 828/H.R. 432 the Mental Health Access Improvement Act (this is about inclusion of LMHCs in Medicare.)

Work to become the go-to resource for our local, state, and national Government officials (FL has two Senators and 27 Representatives) on Mental Health issues so that they turn to FMHCA when they’d like information on MH issues as they arise. I have offered to write a letter to all my own local, and state and national elected officials, including the Florida Governor, introducing FMHCA and educating them as to how we can be an asset to them on MH issues.

Continue our outstanding working relationship with the 491 Board by having board members and local chapter members attend each 491 Board meeting