In April 2016, the SCA Board decided to engage in a thorough review of our organization’s Bylaws. To the best of our knowledge, our Bylaws were last amended in May 2003. Much has evolved in the past thirteen years, including state law, recommended best practices, and our own operating procedures.

Please find three document links below for your review:
Final Report Summary of Recommended Changes
SCA Bylaws – Current
SCA Bylaws – Recommended Revisions

We recommended that the following motion be considered at a Special Meeting of the members to be held at the earliest convenient date and time (e.g., January 20, 2017):
“That this meeting adopt the recommendations of the Seattle Counselors Association Bylaw Committee contained in its Final Report of December 14, 2016 [(with) or (without)] amendment.”

SCA’s October meeting featured Danielle DeBray, a counselor for individuals and couples for over 20 years who also has vast experience in the financial world. Danielle helped attendees understand the importance of discussing financial matters with our clients and explored the role money plays in our client’s lives. We discussed how our client’s unhealed issues are manifested in their financial lives and learned how to create financial health from a psychological perspective.

Thank you Danielle!

Please join us November 18th for our November presentation about working with chemical dependency (CD) in private practice. Our presenters, Jeni West and Mark Anderson, have a wealth of experience working with client addiction. Jeni will help us understand issues related to medical detox and stabilization (when your clients need outpatient versus being medically managed) and Mark will discuss ways to confront you client’s denial and peel back layers to uncover and address core issue leading to CD. Attendees will learn how to work with CD issues in clients who refuse 12-step programs and are instead seeking private psychotherapy as CD treatment.

We look forward to seeing you on November 18h!

SCA kicked off it’s 2011-2012 season on September 16th with Lena Karunamaya’s presentation “Vision and Purpose – Strategic Planning for the Innovative Entrepreneur.”  With experience presenting lectures at international, national and regional conferences, Lena gave information and led exercises that helped SCA members to create, or just fine-tune, their action plan for achievement. Attendees learned effective approaches to strategic planning, achieving goals, and holding one’s self accountable in ways that promote business expansion.

Feedback from members was overwhelmingly positive, with reports of feeling motivated and inspired while having gained specific tools they can use immediately to begin reinventing their businesses and themselves as practitioners.

Thank you, Lena, for a great start to the 2011-2012 SCA season!

Please join us on Friday, September 16th, for “Vision and Purpose – Strategic Planning for the Innovative Entrepreneur.”  Lena Karunamaya will be our presenter.  For more information on this presentation and to register please visit the article about this presentation on our Meetings and Presentations Page.

Thanks and hope to see you on the 16th!

Thanks for visiting the Seattle Counselors Association.  My name is Dennis McCarthy and I’m delighted to be serving as the SCA President this year.  If you have any questions about SCA or our programs please don’t hesitate to contact me at or at 206.595.2659.

If you are looking for a counselor please  visit our counselor search page to find a counselor near you.  If you’re a counselor looking to join the organization, please visit our membership page for more information about the benefits of joining SCA.

Thanks again for visiting our website!

-Dennis

Dennis McCarthy, MA LMHC, Psychotherapist

SCA President

We were delighted to have Dr. Bill O’Connell, Ed.D., LMHC, NCC, join us for our annual June Ethics Program.  Bill’s presentation focused on a range of topics including confidentiality, privilege and privacy, social media, boundary violations, and a range of other topics.

Thanks Bill for a wonderful presentation!

Many thanks to SCA Member John Skandalis for his great presentation on Psychodrama at SCA’s May 20th, 2011 Meeting.  John gave us a wonderful introduction to Psychodrama complete with a demonstration and some interactive exercises.

For more information on John and his practice please visit his website:  http://www.johnskandalis.com/

Thanks John!

Our April presentation was on Motivational Interviewing (MI), a client-centered and directive style of counseling that helps people prepare for change by exploring and resolving their ambivalence about change. The speaker this month was Dr. Christopher Dunn, Ph.D, an Associate Professor and counseling psychologist on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Dr. Dunn specializes in training medical practitioners to use a brief version of Motivational Interviewing to help their patients make healthy lifestyle behavior changes.

Through his presentation, Dr. Dunn not only gave background information on MI, describing the method and demonstrating key features, he also helped SCA members understand how MI can be used to address, among other issues, smoking, drinking, medication adherence, exercise, and diet. Feedback from attendees included appreciation for Dr. Dunn’s ability to provide practitioners with practical skills they can begin immediately incorporating into their own therapeutic approaches.

So thank you, Dr. Dunn!