The President’s Message
Dear Oregon SAIGE Community,
I am humbled to be in this position and excited to get to know and serve you all. During my one year term as president of ORSAIGE I have made two goals my priority; to build community, and to protect our community from harm by banning conversion therapy.
Currently, we are well on the way to introducing our conversion therapy ban in Oregon. This includes a ban on the practice of gender identity change efforts against transgender and gender expansive individuals, as well as sexual orientation change efforts by healthcare workers licensed with the state. Please take time to thank Representative Rob Nosse for being a huge advocate. He introduced the protective legislation in 2015 for minors, and is again sponsoring this bill to protect LGBTQ+ folks of all ages.
Community building is getting started again. A huge thanks to our past presidents and all board members who kept us going through the pandemic. We have folks who have been with us from the very beginning who have seen many different presidents come and go, and there are folks who have put in work toward our community goals that have gone unrecognized. We have made it a goal to become more transparent in our meetings, and have all voices be heard. Each and every one of you is important and welcome in our community. You all have valuable lived experiences that can inform our advocacy and activism efforts within this unjust and broken system. As both an early career clinician and someone who is relatively new to Oregon, I am still learning and growing. A big part of that growth is listening to the wisdom of our community. Please do not hesitate to reach out to either me, or anyone on the board who you feel comfortable with.
I hope to see you soon at a community event, training, or a board meeting. Thank you all for the very important and life changing work that you do as therapists.
Thoughtfully,
Saren Craig, MA, Professional Counselor Associate (they/them)
Oregon SAIGE President 2022-2023
In Support of a Universal Conversion Therapy Ban:
The following decision came down when an LMFT in Washington state sued the Washington State Attorney General purporting that the conversion therapy ban on minors limited his free speech. Judge Gould really encapsulates what we are trying to do with conversion therapy ban - the regulation of the medical profession and medical ethics for the safety of patients.
Ronald M. Gould's decision in TINGLEY V . FERGUSON. [link]
"We affirm. Washington’s licensing scheme for health care providers, which disciplines them for practicing conversion therapy on minors, does not violate the First orFourteenth Amendments. States do not lose the power to regulate the safety of medical treatments performed under the authority of a state license merely because those treatments are implemented through speech rather than through scalpel."
OREGON SAIGE
We are Counselors and Related Professionals Serving Sexual,
Affectional, Intersex, and Gender Expansive Communities in Oregon!
We are Oregon’s first nationally affiliated Queer* counseling professional organization. We are affiliated with the Oregon Counseling Association (ORCA) and the SAIGE National. Membership is open to all mental health professionals. We also have special rates for students and community members.
Let the following from our bylaws inspire action for our organization:
• Improve the standards of delivery of mental health services and related education to Queer clients, professionals, students, and communities.
• Identify and break down conditions and barriers that impede the growth and development of Queer clients, professionals, students, and communities.
• Elevate the voices of minoritized groups and those most affected by sexual and gender inequity to guide the mission and vision of this organization.
• Advocate alongside and on behalf of Queer individuals at the client, community, municipal, and state governance levels, and in the media.
• Work to secure equity of treatment, advancement, opportunities, and status of Queer members of the counseling and therapy professions and related helping professions.
• Sustain an organization that is representative of Queer clients, students, and professionals throughout Oregon with an intention of providing professional development to those in rural and urban areas.
• Develop, implement, and promote counseling-related charitable, scientific, and educational programs designed to further the growth and development of Queer clients, professionals, students, and communities.
• Promote cross-discipline communication, networking, and professional development in support of providing and equitably distributing knowledge, skill, and advocacy efforts meant to raise the standards of practice for all who serve Queer clients, professionals, students, and communities in mental health fields.
click here for more on our use of the word 'Queer'.