About Us

In 1978, a handful of Asian American mental health professionals from various local Asian American churches began meeting regularly to offer support and consultation to pastors on how to counsel and manage church members with more serious and complex emotional and interpersonal problems. What evolved from these meetings was the vision to create a professional counseling service to serve the members of these churches and the larger community. By 1986, through the generous funding of the American Baptist Churches USA, local Asian American churches, and private donations, the Asian American Christian Counseling Service (AACCS) incorporated and opened its doors as a non-profit agency.

Since its inception, AACCS has been uniquely positioned to offer a program sensitive to the cultural concerns of its clientele as well as issues of faith derived from their religious beliefs. It is the only non-profit organization in the nation that attempts to integrate these two dimensions in a psychotherapeutic setting. Today, AACCS has outgrown its original offices in Alhambra and Torrance to include three satellite offices in Culver City, Los Alamitos, and Newport Beach.

Although AACCS’ roots are Asian American and American Baptist, its outreach and interest in the community at large has not been limited or exclusive. Through the years, AACCS has provided services to people of all races, ethnicities, religious background, and sexual preferences. It remains committed to a policy of non-discrimination, and its caring staff strives to offer services with the highest standards of professional and ethical practices.

The services of AACCS are focused on its mission to provide emotional healing to individuals and families, to restore broken relationships, to offer hope and guidance for positive personal change, and to enhance interpersonal relationships through professional counseling and education. This mission is accomplished in four ways: 1) by providing affordable and accessible counseling and psychotherapy to individuals, couples, families, and children; 2) by offering preventative and educational services such as pre-engagement and pre-marital counseling, marital enrichment programs, parent education, and workshops and conferences; 3) by providing consultation and support services to pastors, churches, and other community groups; 4) and by offering graduate and post-graduate training to counselors and therapists pursuing licensure.