time,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hose of us in the behavioral health profession worry about whether our practices are full and what our colleagues are doing. We need to realize there are people in desperate need of help from professionals with shared cultures.鈥� According to Covino, 90 percent of behavioral health professionals are white. Fifty percent of Hispanics never return to their mental health provider because of a lack of shared culture, language and life experiences. Veterans who need treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may not return after two or three visits. 鈥淚t鈥檚 time we created a source of opportunity for diverse peoples,鈥� says Covino. 鈥淲illiam James can, and will, partner with people of color so that together we can do the right thing for this country. It鈥檚 time we learned each other鈥檚 language and how to negotiate our own differences and diversity.鈥� Schools like William James can train the numbers of professionals that are needed to meet the need. At William James education is a two-way street as students educate the professors just as much as the professors educate them. 鈥淲e have very patient students who are endlessly willing to share their backgrounds and teach us about their experiences,鈥� says Covino. The result is a holistic learning experience that creates new understandings of diverse life experiences. There is hope, says Covino. 鈥淚 know that if we build it, they will come. We will teach an increasing number of diverse people that behavioral health positions are good jobs that will pay better and allow them to do good works.鈥� IT鈥橲 TIME WE CREATED A SOURCE OF OPPORTUNITY FOR DIVERSE PEOPLES. IT鈥橲 TIME WE LEARNED EACH OTHER鈥橲 LANGUAGE AND HOW TO NEGOTIATE OUR OWN DIFFERENCES AND DIVERSITY. Forum Participants (from left to right): Darryl Sweeper, Jr., Natalie A. Cort, PhD, Gemima St. Louis, PhD, Jill Betz Bloom, PhD, Joselyn Rondon, Stanley J. Berman, PhD, Tania Jimenez, Shani Dowd, LCSW, Former US Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher, S. Kwame Dance, Sade Callwood, Marc Abelard, MEd, Nilda Laboy, PsyD, Nicholas Covino, PsyD, James Roosevelt Jr, and Margaret Hannah, MEd. WILLIAM JAMES COLLEGE 21