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Join the WMHCA Professional Development and Education Committee!
Are you passionate about shaping the future of ethical, liberative, and culturally responsive clinical practice? The Professional Development and Education Committee (PDEC) invites all WMHCA members to join us in advancing high-quality and accessible continuing education presentations rooted in decolonized principles and cultural humility.
Our mission is to increase competency, challenge oppressive systems, and support counselors in reducing suffering through thoughtful and timely educational opportunities. We actively seek to uplift diverse voices and perspectives—both in our committee and through the presenters we recruit.
As a member of the committee, you’ll help:
Whether you’re curious about our work or ready to get involved, we’d love to have you join a meeting and explore how you can contribute.
Please join us for the next WMHCA Membership Engagement & Outreach Committee Meeting
Looking for a way to get more involved with WMHCA and connect with other passionate mental health professionals? We’d love for you to join our next Membership Engagement & Outreach Committee meeting!
This group focuses on building community, creating meaningful member experiences, and helping WMHCA grow in exciting and inclusive ways. Whether you're brand new or have been around a while, there's a place for you here.
Here’s what to expect:
No pressure, no prep required—show up as you are and feel free to eat your lunch.
If you’ve been thinking about getting more involved, this is a great place to start.
We hope to see you there!
The Justice Equity Diversity & Inclusion committee is an established committee of folks who have gone through extensive training and consultation to develop a strategic plan for WMHCA. The meetings serve as a time to review tasks completed between meetings and to identify next steps. We welcome visitors and feedback, however, due to the high amount of information we have to address in every meeting, we request the focus be on the items at hand.
Get ready to make an impact! WMHCA’s Policy and Professional Advocacy Committee is gearing up to plan our priorities for the 2026/27 legislative session, and we need your voice. We’re looking for passionate volunteers to help identify the advocacy issues that matter to mental health counselors across Washington. This is a great opportunity to speak up about what you believe should be front and center in our advocacy work, connect with colleagues, and help shape the future of our profession. If you're ready to make a difference, we’d love to have you on board!
WMHCA sponsored NAACP of Spokane Freedom Fund Gala.
Help WMHCA plan our second annual conference in May 2027 designed to foster vital connections within our therapeutic community! To make this event a resounding success, we need your help. We're looking for enthusiastic volunteers to assist with various aspects of getting the conference up and running. This is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to a meaningful event, connect with fellow members, and gain valuable experience. If you're eager to lend a hand and help us create an unforgettable experience, please sign up to join us! We can't wait to see you there.
The Governing Board Task Force is a Policy and Professional Advocacy Committee initiative working to establish a dedicated governing board for licensed mental health counselors and associates in Washington State. Our goal is straightforward: the standards, regulations, and scope of practice that govern our profession should be shaped by the people who live and work within it every day.
A governing board is about more than professional autonomy. It creates a structure for transparent, accountable, and evidence-informed oversight that protects the public while strengthening the integrity of our field. Licensed mental health counselors in Washington deserve the same professional governance that other health disciplines have had for years — and we're working to make that happen.
Right now, the task force is focused on three things: helping WMHCA members understand what a governing board is and why it matters, building relationships with allied mental health associations for cross-discipline advocacy, and identifying legislative sponsors for a bill in the 2026–2027 session.
If you're a counselor, supervisor, educator, or advocate who believes our profession deserves a stronger voice in decisions that affect us and the clients we serve — we'd love to have you involved.
We meet on the second Tuesday of the month from 5-6pm.
WMHCA is Closed for Veterans Day.
Members Only Event
Description
Learn how to effectively give raises to your employees without overspending in our webinar, "Balancing Pay and Profit"
Giving your team the raises they deserve shouldn't derail your bottom line. In this practical and strategy-focused webinar, we’ll walk you through how to approach compensation with clarity, confidence, and sustainability.
The difference between cost-of-living adjustments and merit-based increases and how to balance the
Whether you’re feeling the pressure to reward your team or just want a more intentional approach to compensation, this session will help you make smart, sustainable decisions.
There are no CEs for this event.
Carla Titus is a finance expert with over 18 years of combined corporate financial planning, analysis, strategy, and online businesses experience. She provides fractional CFO services and financial consulting to practice owners looking to grow their business profitably. Her mission with Wealth & Worth Within is to empower business owners to achieve financial clarity and peace of mind, so that they can get back to what they enjoy.
The Washington Mental Health Counselors Foundation provides scholarships for students in their journey through graduate school. We recognize entering the mental health field has significant barriers for some students and choosing to enter the counseling profession takes a substantial amount of strength and courage. At this time we are forming a panel to review scholarship applications and select recipients. We are particularly interested in having a diverse committee and encourage clinicians of historically marginalized identities including BIPOC, disability, LGBTGEQIAP+, and others to apply.
WMHCA is launching a new AI Task Force to develop guidelines and explore legislation for AI use in mental health. The task force will examine AI’s impact on counselors, clients,and advocate for our profession as this technology evolves.
Department of Health Advisory Committee Meeting. This meeting has no end time and ends once the committee has got through the agenda.
WMHCA is Closed for Thanksgiving.
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:
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.
Come learn about the HEALWA Library, an online resource available to healthcare providers in Washington State. Funded through a portion of your professional license fee, HEALWA provides access to a wide range of evidence-based resources to support clinical practice, including subscription journals, mental health databases, ebooks, and clinical tools.
Led by a medical librarian, this session will introduce you to HEALWA's resources and show you how to navigate the library and search ClinicalKey. You'll learn how to use HEALWA to:
Find journal articles and evidence-based research Access mental health databases, ebooks, and clinical resources Locate the latest treatment guidelines and best practices Find reliable patient education materials
Discover how to make the most of a resource you're already paying for and put evidence-based information at your fingertips!
To use HEALWA, sign up for an account at https://heal-wa.org/ using your license number. Check out the toolkits by profession here https://heal-wa.org/toolkits/ to see some of what we offer.
WMHCA members are warmly invited to attend our upcoming board meeting. This is an opportunity to hear updates on key initiatives, learn more about the important work WMHCA is doing to support mental health professionals, and share thoughts directly with board leadership.
Members' voices matter, and WMHCA values member input as the board continues to shape the association's future. Although this is not a traditional networking event, it provides a meaningful space for engagement, transparency, and collaboration.
We hope to see you there.
This is a closed meeting for the Executive Committee Only. Please RSVP to get the zoom link and for attendance purposes.
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.
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.
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
Carla Titus walks through what goes into a Financial Treatment Plan and how it transforms the way you run your practice.
Most practice owners make hiring, compensation, and growth decisions without a clear financial picture. They're scaling based on gut feel, not strategy. A Strategic Financial Plan changes that completely.
How it directly impacts your hiring, compensation, and growth decisions
Why practice owners with a plan scale faster and more sustainably
The real cost of scaling without a financial strategy
How to know if your practice is ready for one
WMHCA is Closed for so our staff and volunteers can enjoy time with their families.
WMHCA's PPAC Committee sponsors the State of Reform.
WMHCA is Closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The FTSC helps ensure WMHCA's finances stay transparent, well-managed, and sustainable for the long run. That includes things like reviewing budgets and financial statements, exploring and improving investments, establishing a process for our annual report and helping shape policies around reserves and long-term fiscal health. It's a great way to put financial experience to direct use in service of the association.
The Elections Committee shall be responsible for presenting a list of qualified candidates for the annual election when there are board vacancies. The committee will review the board application, make any changes, and solicit nominations from general membership. They will also make sure all candidates are members in good standing.
If you plan to join the committee you should come to all three meetings: January, February and March.
WMHCA is closed for President's Day.
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
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.
Become a WMHCA Member
No refunds will be given.
WMHCA is closed for Memorial Day.
WMHCA is closed for Juneteenth.
WMHCA is closed for Independence Day.
AMHCA Conference in Kansas City.
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