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• Navigating with Overdose Grief & Vicarious Trauma with Care Presented by Lexi Alberts, LICSW

  • When
    12/04/2026
  •  
    10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
  • Location
    Live Synchronous Zoom Event
  • Spaces left
    174

  Register

  Description:

  Providers and community members grieving the loss of someone who used drugs face a uniquely complex bereavement experience. Social stigma, the lasting impacts of the War on Drugs, and provider-client dynamics can make this grief harder to navigate than other types of loss. In this training, Lexi draws on professional expertise and personal lived experience to normalize the non-linear journey of grief — including a brief critique of mainstream grief frameworks. Participants will explore the overlapping mental health symptoms between overdose grief and vicarious trauma, and examine how witnessing others' trauma can present similarly to drug-related loss. The training closes with practical self-care and collective-care strategies, because moving through grief isn't something we do alone!
  

  Objectives:

  Participants will be able to:
  

  • Learn about how grieving and loss is impacted by collective trauma and social stigma
  • Understand how signs and symptoms of grief related to death from overdose or fentanyl poisoning, and how these signs and symptoms overlap with vicarious trauma symptoms
  • Strategize self-care and collective-care plans to help cope with overdose grief in professional and personal community

  About the Presenter:

  
  

   Lexi Alberts is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, trainer, advocate, and chronic pain therapist in Olympia, WA. Lexi partners with agencies, businesses, community centers and non–profits to address the mental health impacts of burnout, vicarious trauma, and minority stress. She believes that we learn best from one another and loves facilitating healing conversations by drawing on the wisdom already present in every room she works in — with communities and workplace teams alike. Lexi also facilitates support groups for survivors of violence and for Peer Providers who are working in non-profits, with a focus on providing trauma-informed and culturally responsive care. She advocates for collective-care, alongside self-care, to help us thrive, heal, and persevere.

  Before her work as a trainer and chronic pain therapist, Lexi spent over 10 years working in social services. Her focus was on supporting the survival needs and mental health for unhoused survivors of violence, particularly those who belong to BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities. Over the past 15 years, she has served as crisis-phone line operator, a domestic and sexual violence advocate, a Mental Health Program Manager for homeless services, a multicultural therapist, and helped facilitate meeting the basic needs for people experiencing homelessness. Now, she uses her experiences and expertise to support people in her community to thrive and heal.

  Lexi Alberts, LICSW serves as a subject matter expert on burnout and vicarious trauma for the National Healthcare from Homelessness Council and is proud to be an active Member Leader in the National Queer and Trans Therapist of Color Network.

  Registration closes November 30th, 2026

  

  

  

  This course is approved for 3 CE hours for LMHCs, LMFTs, LCSWs, and all associate-level licensees in Washington State

  Washington Mental Health Association (WMHCA) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 2079. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. WMHCA is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

  

  WMHCA Cancellation Policy

  To receive a refund, less a $15 cancellation fee, cancellations must be made by contacting WMHCA at least 48 hours prior to workshop date. There will be no refunds within 48 hours of the workshop date. Please make sure you have the link 24 hours prior to the event starting. 
  

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• ADHD's Hidden Risk: Toxic Relationships and Clinical Interventions Presented by Katherine (Kate) Mageau, LMHC

  • When
    12/14/2026
  •  
    12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
  • Location
    Live Synchronous Zoom Event
  • Spaces left
    175

  Register

  Description:

  LGBTQ+ individuals face compounded vulnerabilities that place them at significantly elevated risk for both undiagnosed ADHD and intimate partner violence. Transgender adults show ADHD prevalence nearly six times higher than the general population, bisexual women experience intimate partner violence at 61%, and transgender and non-binary people report lifetime IPV experiences at 54%. Yet the clinical tools available to screen for these experiences were not designed with LGBTQ+ patients in mind. When ADHD goes unrecognized and abuse goes unnamed, clinicians are working with an incomplete picture.

  This workshop examines the intersection of ADHD, toxic relationships, and LGBTQ+ identity through both a clinical and equity lens. Drawing on current research, participants will explore how specific ADHD qualities, including rejection sensitivity dysphoria, hyperfocus, people-pleasing, and executive functioning challenges, are amplified by the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ patients, creating distinct pathways into and barriers to leaving harmful relationships. 

  Objectives:

  Participants will be able to:
  

  Discuss the neurobiological and psychological mechanisms by which ADHD increases vulnerability to intimate partner violence and apply this framework to recognize relationship vulnerability patterns in ADHD clients.
  

  
  

  About the Presenter:

  
  

  

  Kate Mageau (she/her) is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, National Certified Counselor, and ADHD Certified Clinical Services Provider based in Seattle, Washington. She specializes in the intersection of ADHD and intimate partner violence, maintaining a private therapy practice serving neurodivergent, queer, and domestic violence survivor populations. She is the author of two books on toxic relationships: Rose-Colored Glasses and The Healing from Toxic Relationships Workbook. Kate has appeared on approximately 20 podcasts as a subject matter expert on ADHD and toxic relationships, and has developed and delivered continuing education trainings for clinicians on supporting clients healing from toxic and abusive relationships.

  Kate Mageau’s expertise in this subject area is grounded in a uniquely integrated combination of clinical training, certification, lived experience, and direct advocacy work. As a late-diagnosed ADHDer and domestic violence survivor herself, she first encountered the DV field as a participant at New Beginnings, a domestic violence agency in Seattle, where she later returned to facilitate survivor support groups. Her ADHD-CCSP certification reflects specialized postgraduate training in ADHD clinical services, and her clinical practice is focused specifically on the population addressed in this training. Her clinical practice, published work, and advocacy have centered this intersection for over a decade.

  Registration closes December 10th, 2026

  

  

  This course is approved for 1 CE hours for LMHCs, LMFTs, LCSWs, and all associate-level licensees in Washington State

  
  

  Washington Mental Health Association (WMHCA) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 2079. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. WMHCA is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

  WMHCA Cancellation Policy

  To receive a refund, less a $15 cancellation fee, cancellations must be made by contacting WMHCA at least 48 hours prior to workshop date. There will be no refunds within 48 hours of the workshop date. Please make sure you have the link 24 hours prior to the event starting. 
  

  Show details
• Bridging Connections: Navigating Inclusive Care in an Evolving Landscape

  • Start
    05/13/2027
  •  
    7:30 AM
  • End
    05/15/2027
  •  
    5:00 PM
  • Location
    Yakima Convention Center
  • Spaces left
    264

  Register

  
  

  WMHCA’s 2027 Conference, Bridging Connections: Navigating Inclusive Care in an Evolving Landscape, will take place May 13–15, 2027, in Yakima, Washington. The conference will bring together mental health professionals committed to strengthening connections and fostering inclusive, affirming spaces for healing and growth.

  Held during Mental Health Awareness Month, the conference offers a timely opportunity to recognize the importance of mental health, reduce stigma, and strengthen our collective commitment to accessible, equitable, and culturally responsive care. As conversations about mental health continue to evolve, clinicians play an essential role in ensuring that individuals and communities feel seen, supported, and connected.

  Learn about Sponsorship Opportunities
  

  

  WMHCA is excited to offer a variety of hotel accommodations for our upcoming conference.  Click the links below to explore all your options.  

  Baymont 

  Oxford: 

  Holiday Inn

  Hilton Garden Inn
  

  • Select your arrival/departure date
  • Group Code: 0512WM
  • Reservation Deadline: 04/14/2027

  

  Two Pre-Conference Options!

  Ethics Pre-Conference: Tuesday May 11th, 2027 10:00 am - 1:00 pm PST live Zoom webinar - 3 Ethics CEs

  The Law & Ethics of Inclusive Behavioral Health Care: Disability, Language, Neurodivergence, Accommodations and the Clinician's Obligation presented by Dr. Eric Strom, JD, LMHC

  Suicide Prevention Pre-Conference: Thursday May 13th, 2027 8:00 am - 3:30 PM live in person Yakima Convention Center - 6 CEs - meets Washington State Suicide Training requirement

  Suicide Assessment, Treatment and Management presented by Emily Hughes LMFT, CMHS, SUDP

  Pre-conferences do not include meals or snacks.

  
  

  Get your tickets in advance as it is likely to sell out - registration closes April 30th, 2027.

  Single-Day Tickets: Single-day registration will be available beginning in April, space permitting.

  Schedule Posted by January 6, 2027

  Become a WMHCA Member

  
  

  No refunds will be given.

  

  

  

  Washington Mental Health Association (WMHCA) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 2079. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. WMHCA is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

  Show details