Empowering a profession, one counselor at a time.

As counselors and therapists, the work we do is important, difficult, and life-changing. To care for our clients—not just in those difficult moments, but day in and day out, and in the larger societal sense—we need each other. That’s where ORCA comes in.

ORCA’s mission is to empower each other, and our clients, to do our best, most healing work. We do that through networking and CE events, by advocating for social justice, and by lobbying for the profession—so you can have more protection and opportunity. If your job is to support the mental health of Oregonians, then ORCA is here to support you. 

The organization is volunteer-run and membership driven, which means that our work depends on counselors coming together as members. The benefits of joining ORCA include: 

• Connecting counselors through professional networking events.
  
• Hosting a members-only listserv, which is great for finding referrals, joining groups, advertising, and finding resources.
  
• Gaining more knowledge (and Board required CEs) from continuing education events with discounted fees if you are a member or sign up as a member with the event. 
  
• Having a strong lobbying presence in the Capitol on behalf of counselors and family therapists. Part of our membership money funds the COPACT lobbyist, who advocates for things like improving client’s access to the mental health care they need, and counselors’ ability to treat our clients ethically, responsibly, and with care. 
  
• Access and to discounts for ethics and technology help from our partners at Person Centered Tech—a Portland-based consultant for mental health professionals and a great resource for ORCA members. 
  
• Every ORCA member gets a free legal consultation with mental health attorney, Paul Cooney, who is the go-to expert to help you with legal questions or issues. 
  
• Supporting social justice and human rights with other counselors.
  
• An exceptional quarterly newsletter, and the opportunity to share your expertise with others in the counseling community—and get your name out there—by submitting articles for publication in The Counselor. 
• The opportunity to join OACES (the Oregon Association of Counselor Education and Supervision), a division of ORCA. Select OACES (offered on a subsequent page) in the ORCA membership process below.

If you are already an ORCA member and would like to  join the ORCA division OACES, please click here. 

 If you are already an ORCA member and would like to join the ORCA division ORSAIGE, formerly OALGBTIC, please contact support and we can add you manually.

If you would like to join the ORCA division OAMCD, please see the image and link at the bottom of the page or click here.

Membership cancellation received within 30 days of membership may be eligible for a full refund minus a $15 service fee.

Join the Oregon Association of
Multicultural Counseling and Development (OAMCD)

The OAMCD is a Division of ORCA and the Association of Multicultural Counseling and Development.
Mental health professionals and students from Oregon, Washington, and Idaho are welcome to apply.
You do not need to be a member of ORCA to join.