Dareen Basma, Ph.D.

Dareen Basma is a licensed certified counselor (LPC) and holds a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision. Her clinical experience has been with at-risk youth and families, and she is a licensed certified counselor (LPC) with a mental health specialist designation (MHSP). She received her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from the University of Tennessee; her dissertation focused on the multicultural counseling competence of professional school and mental health counselors when working with the Arabs and Muslim American population. She also holds a certificate in Disasters, Displacements and Human Rights. Her clinical experiences vary across populations that ultimately struggle with similar needs and issues. She has worked in a residential facility for lower income, court-ordered women with both substance abuse and mental health issues. She then worked with youth who were at-risk of being removed from the home and their families. She transitioned to doing child-centered play therapy in Title I elementary schools, working with students who displayed emotional and behavioral issues. Her research interests include multicultural counseling competence and multicultural education, with a specific focus on at-risk immigrant and refugee populations. Her work also focuses on immigration policies and the education system as they impact immigrant youth and families. Ultimately, she is a firm believer that effective counseling is counseling that takes societal context into consideration, examines and targets all barriers to wellness, and engages in systemic advocacy on behalf of the clients.