MaMHCA

Massachusetts Mental Health Counselors Association, Inc.

Awards and Scholarships

Available Awards and Scholarships | Nomination Guidelines and Forms | Past Winners

Applications for the 2023-24 Haberman-Williams MaMHCA Scholarship are Now Being Accepted and are Due by May 31, 2023 Please see below for information and application

Our awards and scholarships recognize the many ways individuals and organizations make a positive impact on the field of mental health.

Available Awards and Scholarships

Mental Health Counselor of the Year Award

The Mental Health Counselor of the Year Award is given in recognition of LMHCs who spends more than half their time providing direct mental health counseling and consultation. It is intended to recognize LMHCs who provide outstanding mental health counseling services to the MA public.

Mental Health Counselor Educator of the Year Award

The Mental Health Counselor Educator Award is given to an educator, supervisor, or other academic professional who spends more than half their time on LMHC-focused academic work, such as teaching, training, consultation, supervision, research, or program development.

It is intended to recognize outstanding humanitarian service to graduate students in academia.

Professional Service and Leadership Award

The Professional Service and Leadership is given in recognition of a MaMHCA member whose dedication, service, and leadership have strengthened the organization and promoted the goals and mission of the organization or the mental health counseling profession as a whole.

Nomination for this award requires a letter of support from a board member submitted on the nominee’s behalf.

Lifetime Achievement Award

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an individual who has spent 10+ years dedicated to the mission and vision of MaMHCA and the counseling profession as a whole, with clear, consistent, and meaningful contributions to those goals for the duration of that time.

To assure your nomination is considered, please plan to describe at least 2 notable contributions of lasting impact to MaMHCA or the LMHC profession in the description section.

Nomination for this award requires two additional letters of support submitted by members in good standing on the nominee’s behalf.

Mental Health Organization of the Year Award

The Mental Health Organization of the Year Award honors organizations that advance the cause of mental health through a variety of modalities, such as:

fostering a culture of good mental health in the workplace
providing outstanding mental health service to consumers in Massachusetts through innovative service programs
implementing new programming with significant positive impact on public health
creating a positive work environment for mental health clinicians
recognizing and supporting the professionalism of the LMHC workforce

Haberman-Williams MaMHCA Scholarship

Named in honor of MaMHCA’s founder Berna Haberman and first executive director Midge Williams, this scholarship rewards MaMHCA members currently in graduate school who exemplify the ideal mental health counseling graduate student, as demonstrated by academic performance and commitment to the counseling field.

MaMHCA has awarded 19 scholarships since 2011.

Donations to the Scholarship fund can be made here: Haberman-Williams Scholarship Donation; or by members at the time of their membership renewal.

Winners receive:

A single nonrenewable financial award of $2000.00 for the academic year
A one-year MaMHCA membership
Free admittance to the Annual Conference
Free admittance to a licensure exam clinic
Free admittance to a license application clinic
Free license application support.

Nomination Guidelines and Forms

Any current MaMHCA member may make a nomination for an award.
The nominator and nominee or scholarship applicant must be current MaMHCA members in good standing.
Nominators can only nominate one individual or organization for each award annually.
Self-nominations are permissable
To apply for the scholarship, students must be in their first year of a graduate training program.
Students applying for the scholarship must be able to attend the Annual Conference for that year in its entirety.

Award nomination form

Scholarship application

Printable Scholarship Application Form

Online Scholarship Application Form

Past Award and Scholarship Winners

Haberman-Williams MaMHCA Scholarship

2021 Brendan Attridge, Lesley University, and Linda Simmons, UMass Boston

2020 Bridget Lehane, Bridgewater State University

2019 Ragini Jha, Boston College, and Yohana Beraki, Boston University

2018 Ziyu Fang, Lesley University, and Cyriesse Hall, Boston School of Psychoanalysis

2017 Hannah Emerson, UMass Boston, and Alyssa Murphy, Boston University

2016 Denise Galford-Koeppel, Bay Path University, and AJ Guerrero, UMass Boston

2015 Lucie Munroe, Lesley University, and Ruby Stardrum, UMass Boston

2014 Sarah Deschenes, MSPP, and Kendra Knauf, UMass Boston

2013 Erin Fitzgerald, Assumption College, and Venus Taylor, MSPP

2012 Courtenay Carpenter, Assumption College

2011 Christina Hampton, Lesley University

LMHC of the Year

2020 Lisa St. Laurent

2018 April Middleton and Susan Jones

2016 Dorothea (Thea) Farrell, LMHC

2015 Evan Schinell, LMHC

2013 Lucy Borodkin, LMHC

Mental Health Counselor Educator of the Year Award Recipients

2021 Stacey Pimentel, LMHC, and Jenn Hurley, LMHC

2019 Deborah McMakin, Framingham State University

2018 The MaMHCA Licensure Support Committee: Jami Osborne, Julie Smith, Patricia Lotterman, Berna Haberman, Veneita Burden

2017 Azara Santiago Rivera, Merrimack College

2016 David McCallister, LMHC

2014 Joseph R. Weeks, LMHC, Bridgewater University

2008 Patrice Miller, Salem State College

2005 Susan Gere, Lesley University

2003 Derek Parr, Springfield College

2001 Bonnie Bullard, Professional Training Institute

2001 Linda Lawless, Professional Training Institute

2000 John Carew, Cambridge College

1999 Robert Read, Salem State College

1994 Mary Ann Gawalek, Lesley College

President’s Award

2020 Ariel Axelrod, LMHC

2019 Stacey Pimentel, LMHC

2018 Richard Nahigian, Esq.

2017 Samantha Dutra, LMHC, and Keri-Ann Wagner, LMHC

2016 John Ciervo, LMHC

MaMHCA Community Service Award Recipients

2018 Sgt. Andrew Holmstead, Duxbury Police Department

2015 Gloucester Police Department and Chief Leonard Campenallo

2014 U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren

2013 Mariagnese Cattaneo, PhD, LMHC

2011 Mariagnese Cattaneo, PhD, LMHC

2009 Ronald Wozniak, LMHC, and Jill Ritchie, LMHC

2007 Ruth Balser, State Representative

2006 Berna Haberman, in honor of MaMHCA’s 25th Anniversary, and Denis Dupuis, In honor of MaMHCA’s 25th Anniversary

2005 Mary Ann Hanley, LMHC Representative on Board of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions, and Richard Goodman, LMHC Representative on Board of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions

2004 Veneita Burden, License Support Committee Chair

2002 Alice LaBonte Hsu, MaMHCA Representative to Red Cross Disaster Relief, 9/11 responder

2001 Mary Ann Hanley, LMHC Representative on Board of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions, and Richard Goodman, LMHC Representative on Board of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions

1999 David Favreau, Membership-Scholarship Donor

1998 Tory Gates/WJIB

1997 Sen. Charles Traviglini, Chair, Human Services Committee, and Berna Haberman, MaMHCA Founder