Oregon Counseling Association (ORCA)

01/27/2026

Dear ORCA members and conference attendees,

As a Board, we want to take the time to acknowledge the recent news and public actions that the Hilton corporation has taken as they relate to our upcoming spring conference. We have heard concerns voiced by our members and conference attendees regarding our scheduled conference at the Hilton in Downtown Portland.

As a Board tasked to represent our members and counselors in Oregon and across the country, we know that the decisions we make are important ones and we want to be clear that we do not support Hilton’s actions to support ICE and we do not support the violent actions that ICE has taken across the country. We will always do our best to align our investments with our values. Hilton’s recent actions deeply concern us and will have an impact on where we choose to host our annual conference moving forward.

We thank everyone who has reached out and shared their concerns. Our contracts and payments to this site had already been finalized months before this incident and unfortunately we are locked in and would receive a significant penalty if we were to pull out or switch locations. The financial impacts would ultimately stretch past ORCA as we are also responsible for the financial support of COPACT, ORSAIGE, and OACES - our branch divisions that also continue to support Oregon counselors. Under our contract, ORCA, and not Hilton, would assume the costs for the cancelled reservations.

While we are unable to change our venue for this conference, here are the steps we are taking to continue to support our community members:

We will provide relevant and up to date information on how we can protect ourselves and our community during this time at the conference

We will be making a donation to the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition (PIRC) in order to aid the work they have been doing to protect our community

We will continue to never collect or share private and sensitive attendee information

Any attendee registration info that is collected will never be shared with anyone outside of ORCA

If at any point during the conference you have concerns, please let a Board member know so that we can quickly work with you to ensure that our conference is meaningful and positively impactful for you. We will keep our members informed and encourage everyone to share any new or developing information related to this topic with us so that we can continue to do what we can to keep our members safe.

Sincerely,

The Oregon Counseling Association

Eddie (Jose Eduardo) Carrillo, MA LPC
President, Oregon Counseling Association (ORCA)
Pronouns: he/him/his

"Empowering a profession, one counselor at a time."

06/05/2025

Calling all students to join us for our next Virtual Networking Event on June 23, 2025 from 7:00pm-8:00pm pst!
Meet other counseling students in Oregon, make connections, and share resources over Zoom. All students in degree programs culminating in an LPC or LMFT licensure are welcome to attend.

We aim to provide a cozy and comfortable environment by offering breakout rooms in order to meet others with shared interests.

The event is free for ORCA members and $5 for non-members. Please remember to log in with your ORCA membership credentials to receive the discounted rate. Registrants will receive the Zoom link via email prior to the event.

02/13/2025

Share Your Experience – ORCA Workforce Equity Surveys!

ORCA is gathering insights from mental health professionals to help make our field more inclusive, supportive, and sustainable. We’ve created two anonymous surveys to better understand workforce challenges and career opportunities.

-Are you a grad student, associate, or licensed clinician? Share your personal experiences: https://forms.gle/kK9bBXQNjB3H7kQG9
-Are you in a leadership or supervisory role? Provide insights on behalf of your organization: https://forms.gle/FDmbat9kc7D6KVBv8

Your input helps inform advocacy efforts and supports early career professionals in making informed decisions.

Deadline: Feb. 26, 2025. Please share with your community networks!

The Oregon Counseling Association (ORCA) has established a Workforce Equity Committee to better understand the challenges faced by our workforce. As part of this effort, we have developed this Workforce Equity Survey to examine career options available to our community. We hope to share anonymous fi...

11/10/2024

This is the last weekend to register for ORCA's annual Fall Conference, "Exploring Inclusive Practices in Counseling!" This year it's happening on November 14th-16th, at the beautiful Embassy Suites in Downtown Portland. Gathering, deepening our knowledge, and connecting with colleagues is essential in the work we do, and even more so in light of current events. Registration closes tomorrow, on Monday, November 11th. We look forward to seeing you all there!

To learn more, view the full agenda, and to register, visit: https://or-counseling.org/Annual-Conference

11/04/2024

This is the last week to register for the 2024 ORCA conference, "Exploring Inclusive Practices in Counseling!" Register today to learn from our amazing lineup of speakers, network with colleagues, and get refreshed and energized for the incredible work that you do! Registration closes next Monday, November 11th. https://or-counseling.org/Annual-Conference

10/25/2024

Have you registered for the 2024 ORCA Conference yet? This years theme "Exploring Inclusive Practices in Counseling" bridges a wide array of topics. Don't miss out on building knowledge from our amazing roster of speakers! Today we're excited to highlight the final group of incredible presenters: Gianna Russo-Mitma, Sarah Kushner, and Yshai Boussi! Register today at: https://or-counseling.org/Annual-Conference Registration closes in just a few weeks, on November 11th.

10/22/2024

A shout out to our incredible sponsors for this year's conference! We appreciate each of them for their donations and help in making the 2024 conference possible.
https://www.wealthworthwithin.com/
https://www.c4mhce.com/
https://sprouttherapypdx.com/
https://www.fullspectrumpdx.com/
https://www.alivecounselingclinic.com/
https://familyrootstherapy.com/
https://hccpdx.com/

10/22/2024

Shining the spotlight on a few more of the insightful speakers for the annual ORCA conference, happening this year on November 14th-16th! Check out the bios of Dr. Daniel Sweeney, Tony Lai, Kelly Birch, and Sir Aaron Mason, and if you haven't yet registered for the conference, do so today: https://or-counseling.org/Annual-Conference Registration closes in just a few weeks, on November 11th.

10/17/2024

We're excited to highlight a few more speakers for the annual ORCA conference, happening this year on November 14th-16th! Dr. Kae Hixon, Riva Stoudt, Dr. Peter Addy, and Melissa Brabham all have engaging presentations to share! Check out their bios, and if you haven't yet registered for the conference, do so today: https://or-counseling.org/Annual-Conference

10/15/2024

Over the next few days we'll be posting Speaker Spotlights, sharing a bit about each of the incredible speakers for ORCA's annual conference, happening on November 14th-16th, 2024! We're delighted to start with Tever Nickerson, LPC; Marcy Smaha, LPC; Erin Frazier-Maskiell, LPC; Emily Knott, LPC; and Dr. Catherine Beckett, LCSW! If you haven't yet registered for the conference, do so today: https://or-counseling.org/Annual-Conference

09/25/2024

We are thrilled to share the speaker lineup for ORCA's 2024 Fall Conference! November 14th-16th, at the Embassy Suites in Downtown Portland. Register by October 1st to take advantage of the early bird discounted rates! We look forward to seeing you all there. https://or-counseling.org/Annual-Conference

09/16/2024

Hello ORCA Members!

Do you know a fellow counselor who deserves recognition for their outstanding contributions to the counseling field? Nominate them for an Oregon Counseling Association (ORCA) award! Recipients will be recognized at our fall conference event on November 14th to the 16th, 2024. Every year, ORCA takes time to recognize individuals in our state who have made outstanding contributions to our profession and/or our association. We are actively seeking your nominations for the following awards:

The Leona Tyler Award
This award recognizes counselors who have made outstanding contributions to the profession and whose work has had statewide implications for counseling. Dr. Leona E. Tyler was Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Oregon. Her many contributions to our profession, including research, writing, teaching and supervision of graduate students, attained both national and international acclaim. The award was established in 1967, and was initially presented to Dr. Tyler, announcing that in her honor an annual award was being established by the Association. It is ORCA’s most prestigious award.

The Human Rights Award
Dr. David Capuzzi, counselor educator at Portland State University, established this award in 1986-87, during his year as President of the American Association for Counseling and Development (now the American Counseling Association – ACA). As a state branch of ACA, ORCA believes this award is one opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to respecting and fostering human dignity. The award is presented to members who have demonstrated an exemplary level of professional and personal commitment in the areas of human rights and the advancement of human dignity.

The Distinguished Service Award
This award publicly recognizes persons or groups who have contributed substantially to ORCA and the counseling profession. This award is traditionally presented to members of ORCA. However, non-members such as legislators, school officials, agency administrators, or others in the larger community may also receive the award for outstanding contributions to our association.

The Distinguished Public Advocate Award
This award honors those who have made outstanding contributions to ORCA’s public policy and advocacy efforts on behalf of LPCs, LMFTs, and all of the people we serve. This award honors those who have worked to pass an important piece of legislation that advanced access to quality mental health care for all Oregonians, or who have effectively protected LPCs and LMFTs in the legislature, or who have successfully worked with government agencies on the state or federal level to enhance professional counseling and marriage and family therapy.

Please take a moment to think about individuals and/or groups who have made a difference to our profession, and nominate them for an appropriate award. Only submit one name for one award at a time, thank you!

This form will close on October 4th 2024, so be sure to submit your nominations before then!

Do you know a fellow counselor who deserves recognition for their outstanding contributions to the counseling field? Nominate them for an Oregon Counseling Association (ORCA) award! Recipients will be recognized at our fall conference event. Every year, ORCA takes time to recognize individuals in ou...