Proclamation 5174—National Mental Health Counselors Week, 1984

Mental health counselors use special counseling skills and understanding of human development to help their fellow Americans cope with problems of adjustment, the pain of illness, and the stresses of life. They provide 50 percent of the mental health services delivered in this country, working with the chronically mentally ill, the depressed, the anxious, the abused, and others, who, through no fault of their own, cannot fully meet their daily obligations or experience life's pleasures.

Through a variety of techniques, mental health counselors assist people to attain self-understanding and skills needed to solve problems, make decisions, and successfully deal with others in an increasingly complex world. Mental health counselors work in hospitals, community agencies, clinics, and the private practice sector and with all types of health professionals, applying the expertise gained through their many years of education and training.

In recognition of the important services that these counselors perform for others to save lives and reduce suffering, the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 203, has designated the week beginning April 8, 1984, as National Mental Health Counselors Week and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this event.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week beginning April 8, 1984, as National Mental Health Counselors Week. I call upon health care professionals, educators, the media, individuals, and public and private organizations concerned with mental health to observe this week with appropriate ceremonies.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 8th day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eighth.

RONALD REAGAN