 Washington Mental Health Counselors Association
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Insights Newsletter October 2025 |
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2025 Fall Scholarship Announcement
The Washington Mental Health Counselor's Association is proud to announce that scholarship applications are now being accepted. The graduate student scholarships are part of WMHCA’s commitment to increasing the representation of historically marginalized individuals within the field of counseling and increasing access to culturally responsive counseling for underserved communities. For 2025, WMHCA is offering one competitive $1500 scholarship to the most outstanding applicant. Additional awards will be determined based on the remaining donations and the number of applications received. WMHCA invites all counseling and counselor education and supervision graduate students who meet the criteria to apply. |
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Legislative Advocacy Priorities Survey
WMHCA's Policy and Professional Advocacy Committee is seeking feedback on advocacy initiatives that are important to our membership. We have identified several areas that we believe may be valuable to work on in the coming legislative year. Please complete our survey to help guide the work we do. |
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Conference Updates
WMHCA invites you to become a valued sponsor for our upcoming conference. By partnering with us, you will gain access to a wide range of benefits, and also align with WMHCA's mission in supporting our commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). We have a variety of sponsorship levels, designed to offer varying degrees of visibility, engagement, and recognition before, during, and after the event. Find out more about conference sponsorship, registration and more here:
https://wmhca.org/2026-WMHCA-Conference |
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Call for Proposals: The Use of AI in Counseling
The WMHCA Professional Development & Education Committee (PDEC) invites counselors, educators, and researchers to submit webinar proposals for our upcoming professional development series.
Theme: The Use of AI in Counseling, exploring opportunities, challenges, and limitations of Artificial Intelligence in counseling practice, education, and supervision. As some states restrict or prohibit AI in treatment planning, we seek proposals addressing ethical, legal, and social justice concerns, as well as the impact on equity, access, and client care.
Our Values: Grounded in liberative and decolonized principles, PDEC seeks presentations that increase competency, provoke critical consciousness, and challenge oppressive practices. Proposals should reflect WMHCA’s commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Focus Areas:
AI in practice: opportunities, risks, and state-level restrictions
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Ethics, confidentiality, liability, and systemic bias
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Professional identity, competence, and counselor education
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Future directions: ethical limits, counselor-client relationship, and equity in access
We welcome case studies, ethical dilemmas, evidence-based analysis, interactive discussions, and reflections rooted in cultural humility. Presenters from diverse and intersectional identities are strongly encouraged. Join us in shaping a liberative, justice-centered dialogue on AI’s role in counseling. Together, we can increase competency, challenge oppressive practices, and support counselors in reducing suffering while navigating the balance between innovation, ethics, and client care.
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AMHCA Updates: Call for Proposals is Open |
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The 2026 AMHCA Annual Conference will be June 23rd to 26th, 2025, in Portland, Oregon! The call for proposals and posters is open until October 31, 2025! Learn more and submit a proposal or poster at https://www.amhca.org/conference/proposals |
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Enter to Win an AMHCA 2026 Conference Registration
Join WMHCA at the 2026 AMHCA Annual Conference June 23rd to June 26th in Portland, OR. Several of WMHCA's board members are attending the conference and we want to invite you to join us as well. We are giving away 5 registrations to the conference. If you would like to attend please enter the raffle by November 15th, 2025. Winners will be randomly drawn. You do not have be an AMHCA member to win, however you must be a WMHCA member. Please do not add your name if you can not commit to attending. More information about the conference can be found HERE. |
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HELMS Is Now Recommended for Licensure Applications & Renewals
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) recently launched the Healthcare Enforcement and Licensing Management System (HELMS) modernizing and replacing the outdated ILRS system. The benefits of HELMS for licensure applications and renewals. HELMS provides:
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Faster processing and electronic notifications
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Easy online access to license status, renewals, and updates
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Secure digital certificates and renewal notices (no more paper mailings)
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Streamlined tools for managing your professional credential
Where to Renew: Log in through your Secure Access Washington (SAW) account and add the HELMS service to manage your license.
To Make the Transition Easier: the Professional Development & Education Committee created a step-by-step How to Create Your HELMS Account guide that’s ready for you to use on the WMHCA website. Learn more about HELMS at: DOH.wa.gov/HELMS Stay current, connected, and licensed within HELMS. |
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Best Practice for Applying for your License using HELMS There has been considerable anxiety and frustration over wait times following the application for either associate licenses or independent licenses.
WMHCA has been actively reaching out to Department of Health (DOH) to determine what has created the bottleneck and here is what we have learned:
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Getting the new HELMS system live was more complex than the DOH originally thought it would be.
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Implementation of HELMS, unfortunately, coincided with an influx of graduated individuals applying for their associate licenses.
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Any applications and supplementary materials that were mailed in have to be scanned and uploaded to the HELMS system.
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Many of the license applications that have stalled either have missing materials or have mistakes within them.
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Department of Health Weekly Meetings on New Rules for Licensed Counselors |
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From the Washington State Department of Health:
You're Invited – Weekly Meetings on New Rules for Licensed Counselors
We’re excited to invite you to a series of weekly public meetings focused on important upcoming rule changes for Washington State licensed counselors.
Topics Include:
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WAC 246-809-097 Practicing with a Pending Associate License
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WAC 246-809-099 Licensed counselor supervisor stipend program
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WAC 246-809-130 Supervised postgraduate experience
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WAC 246-809-630 Continuing Education Requirements
Meeting Schedule: Every Wednesday through October
Each session will include a brief overview of the new rules, followed by time for general questions related to the counseling profession.
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New Required CE: Professional Roles and Boundaries
Effective October 1st, 2025 all providers have to take 2 CE's of roles and professional boundaries every 2 years. WMCHA is holding a training to meet this requirement on January 15, 2025 presented by Eric Ström JD, PhD, LMHC. For more information and to register please visit our website: https://wmhca.org/event-6364371 |
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Counseling Compact Updates: Determining Your Home State The Counseling Compact is live for licensees in Arizona and Minnesota, marking a major milestone in improving access to licensed professional counseling services across state lines. Arizona
and Minnesota are the first two states to complete the technical and
regulatory steps necessary for implementation, including secure data
sharing and system testing. |
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FEATURED
Mental Health Counselor
Lycan Counseling
Contractor
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Posted: Sep 23, 2025
Salary: $60.00 - $130.00 Hourly
Application Deadline: N/A
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If you would like to submit an article for the WMCHA Insights Newsletter, email info@wmhca.org.
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