BCACC concludes British Columbia's largest mental health conference of 2025
The conference, titled 'Cultivating Connections' hosted nearly 1,100 attendees from Sep 19-20 in Vancouver, B.C.
VICTORIA, BC, Oct. 6, 2025 /CNW/ - The BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC) concluded its biennial conference at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre on Sep 20, 2025.
The event hosted nearly 1,100 attendees comprising leading mental health practitioners, speakers, academics, government representatives, students, and businesses for 2 days of learning and networking. Notable attendees and speakers included Hon. Minister of Health, Josie Osborne, Deputy Minister of Health, Cynthia Johansen, Gabriel George Sr., grandson of Chief Dan George, CEO of CMHA, BC, Jonathan Morris and Dr. Elder Roberta Price, who was conferred with honorary membership with the BCACC. The event was covered in the media by Ici Télé (Radio Canada) and featured interviews with BCACC CEO, Michael Radano and Board Member, Sylvie Hamel in the evening segment on Le téléjournal Colombie-Britannique.
The theme of the conference was 'Cultivating Connections' and reiterated the importance of human connections in clinical practice, particularly in the remote-working, post-pandemic paradigm. From September 19-20, participants were treated to 15+ workshops and masterclasses on a variety of subjects, including clinical supervision, eating disorders, OCD, anxiety, trauma, sexual health, ethical AI, pharmacology, and more. Hon. Minister Josie Osborne made the opening remarks and reiterated the importance of mental health access and awareness. The plenary speakers for the conference were Dr. Daniel Hughes, the founder of DDT (Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) and Dr. Adele Lafrance, the founder of Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EEFT).
Recognising outstanding contributions to mental health in BC: The BCACC also handed out its 2025 annual awards, recognising outstanding contributions to mental health across a variety of categories.
- Distinguished Lifetime Contributions to the Profession Award: Allan Wade, PhD, RCC, CM and Order of Canada recipient.
- Humanitarian Award: Dr. David Hutton
- Honorary Membership Award: Dr. Elder Roberta Price
- BCACC Impact Award for Mental Health Organization: College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario
- Clinical Supervisors Award: David Stewart, PhD, ACS, Dr. Evangeline Willms-Thiessen, ACS, Janet White, ACS
- Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research Award: Meg Kapil, PhD, RCC-ACS, Rhett-Lawson Mohajer, PsyD, RP, RCC
- Practitioners Award: Constance Lynn Hummel, RCC, Mary Klovance, RCC, Shelly Dean, PhD, RCC
- BCACC Volunteers Award: Jane Goransen-Coleman, Kevin McMullen, Kathy Lauriente
- BCACC Student Member Award: Christopher Leckman
BCACC CEO Michael Radano says "We are very grateful to all attendees, RCCs, speakers, staff, volunteers for making our biennial conference a success. Meaningful personal and professional connections is crucial in the world of mental health practice and we're glad that the conference provided mental health practitioners and stakeholders a unique opportunity to interact, learn, exchange ideas, and grow together. We look forward to hosting more attendees at our Regional Roadshow next year"
The BCACC Regional Roadshow spans four cities – Kelowna, Victoria, Prince George, and Burnaby from April to October 2026. More information can be found on the BCACC website.
BCACC : The BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC) is a not-for-profit provincial professional association founded in 1988 with more than 10,000 members. BCACC advocates for the clinical counselling/psychotherapy profession and public access to mental health services. Its 9000+ Registered Clinical Counsellors (RCCs) are held to the highest standards of practice and a strict code of ethics in service and protection of the public which includes a robust complaint, inquiry, and remedial process. https://bcacc.ca
SOURCE BC Association of Clinical Counsellors
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