President’s Message

ORCA leadership has been hard at work preparing for our annual conference, which is quickly approaching! This year’s conference theme is The Constant of Change: Ethical Counseling Embracing Diversity. We are delighted to welcome Summer Brown, LMFT, and Dr. David Kaplan as this year’s keynote speakers. Ms. Brown is a leader in providing LGBTQI+ mental health treatment, while Dr. Kaplan is the American Counseling Association’s Chief Professional Officer and an expert on ACA’s code of ethics for counseling professionals. We’re very excited to have the opportunity to share their wealth of knowledge with you.

As this is my first newsletter address as ORCA President, I want to take the opportunity to thank you all for electing me to lead this major rebranding effort that led to ORCA receiving the 2017 Best Innovative Practice Award from the ACA Western Region. I am thankful for Raina’s leadership and the mentorship she has provided to me in assuming the role of ORCA President.

In addition to the Innovative Practice award, this summer we received ACA's 5 Star Branch Award. Gianna Russo-Mitma accepted the award for ORCA while attending the ACA Institute for Leadership Training in Washington D.C. While in D.C., Gianna spent a day on Capitol Hill meeting with congressional leaders, advocating for issues important to the counseling profession, including legislation that would authorize counselors to be reimbursed through Medicare.

Recently, we hosted a networking picnic for ORCA members and their families. It was wonderful having the opportunity to meet some of you there and to introduce you to my wife Megan and newborn son Ari. I would like to thank our Networking Committee Chair, Sue Ujvary, and the rest of the Networking Committee for all of their work
in planning such a fun event. Thank you Networking Committee for all that you in planning such a fun event. Thank you Networking Committee for all that you do to help connect our counseling community!

This edition of The Counselor focuses on issues related to intersectionality in the counseling profession. This topic is deeply important to our work, as cultivating awareness of our own identities and values is an ongoing process all counselors can and should engage in to be more responsive to the identities and values of the clients we serve. I am passionate about addressing treatment disparities in mental health services. One of my primary goals as President is for ORCA to provide leadership and, ultimately, positive change for this issue. It is my hope that the articles in this issue of The Counselor will help us all think more about the dynamic relationships we have with power and privilege, and the work we can do both internally and externally to better respond to the needs of our clients, ourselves, and our community.

Sincerely,
Joel Lane, Ph.D, LPC, NCC

President, Oregon Counseling Association