Marceil Ten Eyck

Marceil Ten Eyck has made extraordinary and multifaceted contributions to the field of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD)—as a professional counselor and psychotherapist, an inspiring speaker and educator, a published author, an advisor on local and national FASD policy—and, importantly, as a warm and devoted mother and grandmother.

Marceil received her training at the University of Oregon and Seattle University, earning a Master’s in Counseling in 1986. She became a psychotherapist and counselor, working with children and families, including those in domestic violence situations. Marceil moved on to become a family counselor at an inpatient chemical dependency facility for women, and was involved in clinical, research and supervision for 4 years.

In 1990, Marceil entered private practice and began her FASD-related activities, recognizing that FASD had touched her own family. She has continued with nearly two decades of caring work in the field. Since 1990, Marceil has focused on issues of FASD as a psychotherapist and counselor, and as a parent support group facilitator. For 5 years, she was part of the pioneering University of Washington FAS Diagnostic Clinic multidisciplinary team. In 1991, she helped found the FAS Information Services of Washington State (FASIS), which publishes “Iceberg,” an educational newsletter on FASD, and remains on the FASIS board.

During the 1990’s, Marceil began her still ongoing activities as a compelling educator and consultant on FASD. Throughout the U.S and Canada, she has spoken about her experiences as the mother of children with FASD, and her professional expertise in FASD prevention and intervention. In 2000, she wrote “A Mother’s Tale,” a chapter in Fantastic Antone Grows Up, an important book distilling the clinical wisdom in the field and laying the groundwork for intervention efforts to follow. At the University of Washington, she was a community advisory board member for CDC-funded research on secondary disabilities among individuals with FASD that spurred real momentum in the field. Later, she was an advisor and trainer for the Families Moving Forward Program, CDC-funded scientific FASD intervention research.

Marceil also stepped into the policy arena in the mid-1990’s. Her FASD steering committee activities began at the county level in Washington State. In 2001, Marceil moved to the national level when appointed to the SAMHSA-funded FASD Center for Excellence steering committee. As part of the Center, Marceil chaired the subgroup for FASD prevention. She also helped found the “Circle of Hope,” a network of birth mothers of individuals with FASD.

Marceil is the center of a large and loving family— and central to the far-flung community of those affected by FASD that she has helped over many years. In 2001, she was presented a leadership award for outstanding dedication to treatment for women with chemical dependency and their families. Her dedication and leadership continue. In 2008, Marceil Ten Eyck most certainly belongs in the Hall of Fame for those who have helped unveil and treat the “invisible disabilities” of FASD.