By Bridgett Freeman
Dale Hamilton, a licensed professional counselor with Christian Appalachian Project’s (CAP) Family Life Counseling Services, is the new president of the Kentucky Counseling Association (KCA).
KCA is a statewide organization for professional clinical and school counselors. The association builds and fosters relationships throughout the state to provide a sense of mentoring between professionals, as well as helping with referrals and consultations that impact Eastern Kentucky.
For 15 years, Hamilton has provided counseling services using various treatment models to individuals and families throughout Eastern Kentucky. Since the devastating floods of summer 2022, the need for mental health services has grown.
Immediately following the flood, Hamilton and other CAP counselors were stationed at the organization’s distribution center in Martin to help identify the needs of flood survivors and offer mental health services.
“CAP’s Disaster Relief program responds to needs of mucking out homes and providing essential items. Once those needs are met, Family Life Counseling Services can step in and help address the trauma people may have faced during the disaster,” Hamilton said.
In the midst of such a great tragedy, Hamilton was able to offer mental health aid not only through CAP, but through his connection with KCA.
“The benefit that is much harder to measure is the relationships that are built and fostered by other professionals from across the state,” Hamilton said of KCA, which also donated toward CAP’s Disaster Relief efforts. “Those relationships are a source of mentoring, referrals, and consultation that has an impact on the people in Eastern Kentucky.”
Born and raised in Eastern Kentucky, Hamilton remembers what started him down this path of giving back and offering mental health services in Appalachian communities.
“As I neared the end of high school, I had two grandparents who became terminally ill. I saw the nurses and other medical staff treat them and my family with compassion and professionalism,” Hamilton said. “That impacted me. I knew I wanted to be a helper.”
He worked at an inpatient psychiatric treatment facility in Pikeville, where he was greatly influenced by the therapists he worked alongside. After returning home from the Army, Hamilton knew he wanted to help others and fill the great need for mental health services in Eastern Kentucky.
Alongside his counseling duties, Hamilton is preparing for KCA’s 66th annual conference with the theme EDGE- Empowerment, Development, Growth and Education, something he feels the association provides counselors in the state. That conference, led by Hamilton, will take place in November in Louisville.
