Dr. Keith Dempsey Counseling
& Consulting
Professional, Effective, & Culturally Sensitive Services
Dr. Keith Dempsey Counseling
Dr. Keith Dempsey Counseling & Consulting
Welcome to Keith Dempsey Counseling & Consulting. I invite you to explore the rest of this website and learn more about our counseling, training, and speaking services.
serving a purpose
About
Keith Dempsey has been an advocate in the helping profession for over 20+ years. He has served as a therapist and clinical social worker in the Portland Community. He has a passion for helping individuals, couples and families reach their full potential through the power of counseling. He earned a Master’s Degree in Counseling and a PhD in Counselor Education & Supervision from Oregon State University. His doctoral studies focused on coping strategies for Black men. He has conducted national presentations and trainings regarding issues of diversity, racial trauma, and the plight of Black people. Dr. Dempsey is the past President of the Western Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (WACES). He is formerly the Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Counseling at George Fox University. He is the first African American to receive tenure at this institution. His volunteer work includes MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility, Self Enhancement Inc., Salvation Army, Kappa League Youth Program and the Perspective Gentleman’s Program.
Recent Clients & Partners
In The Community
Beginning The Conversation
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Celebrating BHM
Play Video about Dr. Keith Dempsey recites Langston Hughes Poem for Black History Month
Talk About It - Mental Health
Play Video about Dr.KeithDempsey and Brittany Falker from KGW
OSU Black Liberation
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Growing a Rewarding Career
By Renée Bacher – American Counseling Associaiton
Dempsey started his career working at a nonprofit, then earned his PhD. For 15 years, he taught counseling as a professor at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, moving up through the ranks to associate dean of the School of Counseling. He also maintained a small private practice — something that was expected of all professors.
As his practice grew, Dempsey decided to leave teaching in 2020 and concentrate on his business. As a Black man, he says he realized that the further he climbed the ranks in the university, the further he would be getting from his community, which especially needs Black male counselors. “I made the decision to retire from academia and go with my community,” he says. “And I haven’t looked back.”
Counselor Keith Dempsey encourages progress and healing for OSU’s Black community
“Are you on the football team?”
That was the question Keith Dempsey, ’93, M.S. ’96, Ph.D. ’10 got asked the most when he was an undergraduate student.
“Are you on the basketball team?”
That was the second-most frequent question.
The third: “If you’re not on the football team, and you’re not on the basketball team, what the heck are you doing here?”
Years later, a representative of the OSU Alumni Association invited Dempsey to lunch and asked why Black alumni aren’t connected and are hesitant to give back.
Play Video about Dr.Keith Dempsey interviewing with Brittany Falker from KGW
“Why is it so hard to talk about? Number one: we don’t talk about it, and number two: the way that we talk about it. That’s what makes it hard,” Dr. Keith Dempsey said.
Dr. Keith Dempsey is a Portland clinician, speaker, and community advocate. It is his mission to create spaces for these types of conversations to foster hope and healing.
Three-time alumnus recognized for pivotal advocacy for Black community-building and student success at OSU
On Jan. 16, 2023, Dr. Keith Dempsey, ’93, M.S. ’96, Ph.D. ’10, was awarded the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Alumni Legacy Award at Oregon State University’s 41st annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Peace Breakfast. The award recognizes alumni role models who demonstrate a deep and abiding commitment to causes of social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion and who exemplify and enrich OSU’s values of community, diversity, respect and social responsibility.
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Track of the Year
The Commodores – Zoom