Ethnic Counselors.com – Your Online Resource For Finding Ethnic Counselors & Resources, Locally And Nationwide.

1. What is an EthnicCounselor^TM?
Answer: Ethnic (eth’nik) adj. a) Of or relating to a sizeable group of people sharing a common and distinctive racial, national, religious, linguistic, or cultural heritage. Counselor (koun’se-lor)n. a) A person who gives counsel; an advisor. (Source - American Heritage Dictionary Of English Language 4 th Ed.)
Our usage of the term EthnicCounselors is inclusive and is intended to be understood exactly as it is defined above.

2. Who can be an EthnicCounselor^TM?
Answer: Any person, of any race, religion, ethnicity, or nationality, who is located in the United States and who is either a Psychiatrist, Clinical Psychologist, Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Professional Counselor or Marriage and Family Counselor who is licensed and in good standing.

3. What does EthnicCounselors.com^TM actually do?
Answer: EthnicCounselors.com^TM makes it easy for consumers (people of various ethnic groups, nationalities, religions etc.) along with professionals, behavioral health agencies, training centers, schools, hospitals, non-profits, and students to identify and locate professional, licensed "ethnic counselors" with the knowledge, expertise, language(s), specialized skills and services they seek.

4. Who does EthnicCounselors.com ^TM best serve?
Answer: Everyone! Our professional members offer a variety of services and skills that can benefit individual consumers; families; colleges & universities; program developers; behavioral health agencies; training centers; schools; school districts; hospitals; researchers; non-profits; students; trainers; therapists; religious organizations & communities; state & federal agencies; immigration / refugee service groups; private foundations etc.

5. Why do you offer an "ethnic" oriented counseling related website?
Answer: Because of the tremendous need for it. The Supplement to the Surgeon General’s Report on "Mental Health: Mental Health, Culture, Race, and Ethnicity", discusses how the cultures that patients come from shape their mental health and affect the types of mental health services they use. The cultures of the clinician and the service system also affect diagnosis and treatment as well. It’s undeniable that cultural differences must be accounted for to ensure that various ethnic groups and minorities, like all Americans, receive mental health care tailored to their needs. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS], 1999)

6. What are the top priorities of EthnicCounselors.com^TM ?
Answer: Encouraging Cultural Competence. Facilitating Access. Promoting Professionalism.

7. How does the site work?
Answer: EthnicCounselors.com^TM is a membership driven site. Three types of memberships are offered:
1) Basic which is FREE.
2) Professional which requires a discounted annual fee.
3)Institutional which also requires a discounted annual fee.
Members register and create an account that provides them with various levels of access to the EthnicCounselors.com^TM website.

8. What Benefits come with membership?
Answer: A Basic Membership provides members with access to all public areas to the EthnicCounselors.com^TM website. A Basic membership allows users to search our directory of EthnicCounselors^TM. Professional & Institutional Memberships are for counselors and service providing agencies ONLY. A Professional & Institutional Membership enables counselors and organizations to create their own professional profile, access message boards, and other resources, networking tools and information relevant to counseling, training, supervision, research and ethnic / racial identity.

9. What makes EthnicCounselors.com^TM unique?
Answer: EthnicCounselors.com^TM is targeting a unique niche of professionals and consumers that consist of ethnic groups in general and ethnic / racial minorities in particular. These groups tend to have some difficulty overcoming the stigma of counseling and some of the barriers they face in accessing skilled counselors. This site provides an easy, accessible FREE way for people (agencies, consumers, students, other professionals etc.) to find a counselor with the specialized skills, training and experience that best suit their counseling and professional needs.

10. There are many ethnic groups, nationalities, religions etc. How does your site manage so much information and so many variables?
Answer: We believe racial and ethnic identity is a personal choice. Acculturation, assimilation and global migration have in many cases blurred many of the ethnic and racial lines normally referenced.

EthnicCounselors.com^TM has applied state of the art proprietary technology, social science and common sense to create a searchable database that provides both Professional Members and consumers flexibility and choice when it comes to ethnic and racial identifiers they most strongly identify with. We’ve done this in a way that maintains the integrity of the listing and search processes. We believe our efforts in this area are what truly make our site useful, meaningful, relevant and unique.

11. How do I know the counselors listed in your database are properly licensed?
Answer: We at EthnicCounselors.com^TM are strong consumer advocates. Guidelines are available on our site to help consumers with the process of choosing a counselor that best meets their specific needs. In addition, links to state agencies that oversee the licensing and certification of counselors are available to verify the credentials of any counselor listed in our database as well. There is also information on the site regarding steps to take to file complaints about any particular counselor. Counselors are required to include all licensing information in their profiles as well to make it easier for their credentials to be verified.

12. Why would counselors / agencies want to be members of EthnicCounselors.com^TM?
Answer: We’re an experienced company offering a unique and much needed service.