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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.
WMHCA Member Day at the Reign FC Game
Space is limited so please purchase early.
WMHCA Member Day at the Seattle Reign Women's Soccer game! August 14th, 2026 at 7 pm. Watch the Seattle Reign FC take on the Chicago Stars FC at 7 pm and connect with colleagues in the counseling field!
WMHCA believes that all forms of injustice are interconnected and social justice is an essential aspect of wellness. That belief doesn't just live in our policy statements — it should show up in how we engage our members and what organizations we choose to stand alongside. Reign FC is one of those organizations.
Women's professional soccer, and Reign FC in particular, is built on the same values WMHCA champions. The NWSL and its clubs have long been at the forefront of advocating for gender equity, racial justice, and LGBTQ+ inclusion — not as add-ons, but as core to the game's identity. Reign FC has actively used their platform to advance health equity and break down barriers to wellbeing, and to shine a light on mental health stigma and encourage open, honest conversations about care. They've also committed to community investment in underserved areas, using soccer as a vehicle to support learning and social-emotional wellness for youth in marginalized and under-resourced communities.
By attending the game WMHCA members are showing up for an organization that shares our commitment to dismantling systems of oppression, uplifting marginalized communities, and centering mental and community health in everything they do.
A Reign FC WMHCA Member Day is more than a fun outing. It's an opportunity to put our JEDI values into action, celebrate an organization whose mission echoes our own, and remind our members that the work of justice and healing extends beyond the therapy room — and sometimes, that's exactly where community is built.
CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS
Space is limited
Tickets purchased with the link are discounted.
Please invite friends and family. You don't have to be a member to attend.
August 14 is the Reign's Pride Match
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.
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 join the panel.
The bulk of the work will be reviewing scholarship applications. The panel will only meet 3-4 times.
Description:
The most important and overlooked aspect of poverty is how it changes the brain. In this session, you will experience how poverty changes the brain by playing the game Gettin' By. Developed by an epidemiologist who specializes in poverty, and after five years of testing, this training is shown to shift attitudes toward poverty. You will learn the science behind the game, and the hidden impact of poverty on the brain, body, and behavior. Using a research-based checklist, you will learn how to look at your own work with "awkward" eyes and how to think about what you don't naturally.
Once we know better, we can do better. With more knowledge about poverty’s impact, we can find ways to more effectively help people living in the crisis of poverty. You will leave this session seeing poverty in a new way and with new tools to make your work more effective.
Objectives:
Participants will be able to:
About the Presenter:
Linda Riddell is an epidemiologist specializing in poverty. Writing about and presenting brain science concepts has been a focal point for her work. From her years working as an epidemiologist and specializing in poverty, she created “gettin’ by”, a training program to help professionals work more effectively with low-income people. The centerpiece of the program is a game that puts the players’ brains through the same changes that happen to a person living in poverty.
In 2019, after five years of testing and development, she brought the program to national and regional conferences. She is an experienced and enthusiastic public speaker. She speaks at several events each year and gets positive reviews.
Her undergraduate degree is in English from the University of Cincinnati. She earned her master’s degree in health policy and management at the University of Southern Maine, Muskie School for Public Service. She has also completed courses at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in social epidemiology and biostatistics.
Registration closes August 22nd, 2026
This course is approved for 2 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.
This is a closed meeting for the Executive Committee Only. Please RSVP to get the zoom link and for attendance purposes.
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!
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.
Clients are increasingly turning to AI chat platforms and companions for emotional support, identity exploration, and relational processing. This training provides counselors with foundational understanding of how large language models (LLMs) function in relational contexts, how synthetic attachment forms, and how to recognize when AI use is stabilizing versus when it introduces subtle or acute psychodynamic risk. Participants will learn how to assess client AI use during intake, provide trauma-informed and culturally responsive AI literacy, and support clients in reconnecting to human relational networks. The workshop also highlights ethical innovation pathways through real-world examples including the presenter’s work innovating ShadowBox and TendMessages.io.
Jocelyn Skillman, LMHC, MHP, CMHS is a psychology instructor, therapist, clinical supervisor, and relational design ethicist based in Washington State. She specializes in the psychological and developmental impacts of AI-mediated communication, particularly among youth, trauma-impacted populations, and clients navigating attachment needs being met through AI conversation. Jocelyn develops trauma-informed AI relational tools including ShadowBox and TendMessages.io, and teaches clinicians how to assess, understand, and safely educate emerging AI issues into therapeutic treatment with cultural, ethical, and relational care at the center.
Registration closes September 7th, 2026
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.
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.
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.
Washington is one of the few states without a dedicated governing board for counselors — and that's something WMHCA is working to change. Right now, regulation of Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHCs) falls under the Department of Health alongside many other fields, leaving counselors without a unified voice to shape the standards, ethics, and policies that define our work. A governing board — made up of practicing counselors and public members — would change that by overseeing licensure, guiding continuing education, supporting supervisors, and ensuring our profession is represented in legislative and regulatory decisions. Join us for a Virtual Town Hall to hear what's being developed, ask questions, and help shape the future of counseling in Washington. This is your opportunity to be part of the conversation.
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.
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