UTHealth Houston Student Counseling Services Diversity and Inclusion Statement

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston) Student Counseling Services is committed to providing culturally-sensitive services to the UTHealth community. UTHealth Houston is a diverse community and we, the staff of UTHealth Houston Student Counseling Services, are devoted to promoting an environment of respect, appreciation, and honoring of the differences that are represented by sex, race, ethnicity, color, national origin, gender identity and gender expression, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, veteran status, physical/mental ability, appearance, marital and/or parental status, religious beliefs, and political ideology.

休斯顿的使命UTHealth学生咨询Services is to provide the highest quality of multiculturally competent psychological and psychiatric care to meet the emotional, educational, developmental, and social needs of the UTHealth community. We strive to foster a safe, welcoming, inclusive, respectful and affirming culture for all students. Staff members at UTHealth Houston Student Counseling Services have expertise in providing therapy, psychiatric care, outreach programming, training, and assessment that appreciates all aspects of human diversity. We follow the multicultural guidelines and standards provided by professional organizations, such as the American Psychological Association and American Psychiatric Association, the ethical standards of our respective licensing boards, as well as the standards set forth by UTHealth Houston. Further, we are committed to creating and maintaining a culture of openness, trust, and safety by confronting prejudice, discrimination and oppression, in all of its various forms.

Culture is important to mental health care as it affects how an individual views mental health concerns, experiences and expresses symptoms, communicates with their health care providers, and receives and responds to treatment. We want you (our students and patients) to feel comfortable exploring the role of your social and cultural identities and life experiences in the questions and issues you would like to address in counseling. Further, at UTHealth Houston Student Counseling Services we recognize and acknowledge that emotional well-being concerns are impacted by social forces in the world related to power and privilege, discrimination, stereotypes, biases, and all forms of marginalization and oppression. We strive to offer a safe place to be heard, appreciated, and accepted using an empowerment and advocacy framework in order to give voice to these varied experiences and decrease stigma.

UTHealth Houston Student Counseling Services staff has extensive experience with providing support services to individuals of varying social identities and backgrounds; however, our commitment to diversity is an ongoing and open-ended journey. We are committed to the ongoing learning process, appreciation of our differences, and a willingness to challenge ourselves and others in the pursuit of social justice. We routinely engage in continuing education programs, trainings, and ongoing research in diversity that meets and exceeds standards of our respective licensing boards and UTHealth Houston. Our services are offered with compassion, respect for others, and appreciation of individual differences.

The UTHealth Houston Student Counseling Services team is available online or in-person from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday in the UT Professional Building, 6410 Fannin St., Suite 130. To schedule an appointment, call 713-500-5171.

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