Homosexual Counseling Center Opens in Seattle Area

A clipping from the Northwest Passage, a Bellingham, WA underground newspaper, about the foundation of the Seattle Counseling Service (SCS). SCS staff are interviewed about SCS' services and the reasoning behind its founding. The Northwest Passage ran from 1969 to 1977 and covered various underground scenes in Washington. This item comes from the Seattle Counseling Service Records at the University of Washington. SCS was the first mental health agency for LGBTQ people in the United States. Started as part of the Dorian Society in Seattle, SCS later expanded in 1969 to become an independent organization, initially funded with a $3,000 grant from the Erickson Educational Foundation. Over its long history, SCS offered individual and group counseling, support groups, and services such as HIV antibody test counseling and the first same-sex domestic violence program. SCS was notable for its longtime collaboration between cis and trans LGBTQ people. In 1974, Marsha Botzer started a trans support group at SCS, which eventually evolved into the Ingersoll Gender Center. SCS ceased operations in 2022.

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Item Information:

Identifier: ng451h930
Collection: Newspaper and Periodical Clippings (1950-2000)
Institution: University of Washington Libraries
Creator(s): Case, Reverend
Publisher: Northwest Passage
Date Issued: Jun. 22, 1970
Genre: Clippings
Subject(s): Antonsen
Dorian Society
Erickson Educational Foundation
Robert Deisher
Seattle Counseling Service
Tom Roesler
Places: Washington > King County > City of Seattle > Seattle
Washington > King > University of Washington
Topic(s): Closeted gay men
Closeted lesbians
Closeted LGBTQ+ people
Counseling
Gay men
Lesbians
Mental health care for LGBTQ+ people
Resource Type: Text
Language: English
Rights: Copyright undetermined
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