A Message from the President...

It is a great honor to serve as SDCA’s president, and I am excited to get to know members and hear of your interests and concerns this upcoming year. I know that the SDCA leadership and I hope to make a meaningful impact in your professional life and those that you serve. I also want to personally thank all of the SDCA leadership for their efforts throughout the year.

Because the challenges of our state can seem daunting, my vision is to strengthen our communities. SDCA has been successful in speaking a unified voice to legislation, improving how it communicates to members, and enhancing the training and resources for counselors in our state. So much has been done already, but more is needed.

The SDCA leadership and I have set forth an aggressive agenda this year to make significant stride with the degree to which our profession can lead the state in mental health related endeavors. We will be strengthening our brand, our social media presence, professional development opportunities, legislation influence, and membership. Through all of these efforts, we will look for every opportunity we can to include counseling and non-counseling professionals. We are also encouraging counselors to reach out to SDCA leadership with ideas for how SDCA can support your local missions. SDCA will listen to your needs and help in any way we can.

The more people who understand who we are and what we do, the stronger our voice and the better chances we have to bring about changes in our state. Please reach out to us by emailing [email protected]. Also, connect with us on Twitter @SD_counseling and Facebook @SDCounseling.

Seth Olson, PhD, LPC, NCC

SDCA President