Amridge Counseling Center

Choosing a Counselor or Therapist

Amridge University does not have professional counselors on staff as part of its student services. However, we realize that occasionally our students may have a need for these services, particularly to assist with problems that may be interfering with their academic progress. Should you decide to seek professional guidance, we provide some tips and resources to assist you in that search.

What are the Qualifications that you should look for in selecting a counselor or therapist?

· Graduate degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling, Pastoral Counseling, Psychology, or Social Work.

· Licensure by the state or province in which they work, if there is licensure for the discipline.

· Expertise in your specific area of need.

Aside from these primary qualifications, are there other things that you should consider:

· It is important for you to feel as if your therapist or counselor understands you and listens to you.
· It is important for you to feel as if your therapist is competent, caring, and skilled in addressing the needs that you bring to the therapy.
· Ethical therapists are willing to discuss with you their fees, their credentials, their philosophy of treatment.. They also will work with you to create a treatment plan, and they are willing to hear your goals for treatment..

Where can you go to find these professionals? Amridge University provides the following web links to assist you.

AAMFT Referral Directory for selecting a Marriage and Family Therapist-

http://www.therapistlocator.net/index.asp
Using this service to contact therapists for research projects is not a permitted usage of the service.

NBCC Directory for selecting a Professional Counselor-

http://www.nbcc.org/directory/FindCounselors.aspx

AAPC Referral Directory for selecting a Pastoral Counselor-

http://www.aapc.org/content/find-counselor

Disclaimer: These search opportunities are offered as a service to our students. Amridge University cannot and does not provide any warranties related to the information contained in or resulting services from any professionals listed in these directories. Information accessed through these directories is provided “AS IS” and without any warranty, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness.

Amridge University does not examine, determine or warrant the competence of any counselor or therapist listed in these directories. The University does not warrant that the counselors and therapists listed in these directories are currently or properly licensed. Amridge University does not warrant that all of the individuals listed in this directory are currently clinical practitioners of any organization. Under no circumstances should these directories be used to verify the credentials of counselors or therapists. Use of these directories to locate a counselor or therapist is wholly voluntary and will not result in any liability against Amridge University. In no event shall Amridge University be liable for damages to any user of the directories.