Adriana C. Labarta, Ph.D., LMHC, NCC, ACS, is an Assistant Professor at Florida Atlantic University's (FAU) Counselor Education Program. She has served clients with diverse identities across various settings, including residential, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and college counseling settings. Her primary research and clinical interests include eating disorders, body image, and multicultural/social justice issues. Dr. Labarta’s dissertation research focused on developing and validating the Multidimensional Eating and Body Image Screening for LGBTGEQIAP+ Individuals, an assessment tool that considers risk and protective factors using a culturally-informed framework. She has co-authored several peer-reviewed articles and presented on related topics at national and regional counseling conferences. She is currently an Emerging Leader for the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (AARC) for 2023-2024. Dr. Labarta is also a member of several counseling organizations, including ACA, AARC, ACES, SACES, and SAIGE.

Fighting Eating Disorders in Underrepresented Populations (FEDUP): https://fedupcollective.org/

The National Alliance for Eating Disorders:

Recent Research Articles:

Discussion Questions:

Jack D. Simons is an Associate Professor with tenure at Mercy College in New York. He earned his PhD from the University of Missouri - St. Louis in 2015. As a counselor educator, he and his students study factors that influence sexual and gender minority individuals including identity, school and counseling experiences, resilience, and health. Dr. Simons is the director of Transgender Resilience Project, a cross-national strengths-based study of transgender people across the lifespan. The Project allows community members, organizations, researchers, and allies to participate in the initiative by contributing to the decision-making process and educating others. 

Discussion Questions: 

Zori A. Paul (she/her) PhD, LPC (MO), NCC is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology at Marquette University, a psychodynamic trained licensed professional counselor, and a certified provider of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). She is also a co-founder of Black in Mental Health (@BlackInMH), an online initiative to highlight and promote Black mental health professionals, students, researchers, and advocates throughout the world. Dr. Paul’s research focuses on three main areas: intersecting marginalized identities, specifically bisexual+ women of color; cross-cultural mentorship in counseling programs; and ethical social media use for mental health professionals. In this episode she discusses recruiting participants, microaffirmations, and validating an existing scale for minoritized populations. 

Visit www.blackinmentalhealth.com

Discussion Questions: 

Join our team as we recap our favorite moments, lessons learned, and our hopes for Season Two! That's a wrap!

Danielle Pester completed her Ph.D. in Counselor Education at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (TX) and Registered Play Therapist. Dr. Pester works for the UAB Center for the Study of Community Health [a CDC-designated Prevention Research Center] as a Project Director where she manages federally funded community-based research projects. Her research focuses on the topics of adverse childhood experiences, adverse community environments, and community resilience. Her research has been awarded the Glen E. Hubele National Graduate Student Award for outstanding scholarship related to the counseling profession by the American Counseling Association and the Outstanding Counselor Education and Supervision Article Award by the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision.

Dr. Moh is an Assistant Professor in the Community and Trauma Counseling program at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Moh has over 5 years of clinical experience in working with a wide range of individuals and families in vocational, clinical mental health, and community settings, serving the deaf and hard of hearing, transgender individuals, individuals with homelessness, and those who have a mental and/or physical disability. Employing a combination of her educational and experiential background, Dr. Moh’s selective research interests involve chronic or toxic stress on mental illness in family caregivers, culturally responsive research mentoring relationships in counselor education, and an experience among Black Indigenous People of Color when accessing quality mental health care during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, she has been involved in other research projects centered around client death experienced among addiction counselors, complicated grief associated with adversity early in life, and non-death grief and loss in family caregivers.

Danica G. Hays is the Dean of the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Los Vegas. Dr. Hays has lead the field of Counselor Education in assessment and measurement for many years with research expanding to research methodology and program evaluation, leadership development, domestic violence prevention, assessment and diagnosis, and multicultural and social justice issues in community mental health and counselor preparation. Dr. Hays has received national recognition for her work and served extensively in various leadership roles within the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (AARC), the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES), and ACES regional leadership. 

Hannah Bayne is an Assistant Professor at the University of Florida. Dr. Bayne's research interests include understanding others' experiences, including how counselors can effectively work with clients across cultural identities. Dr. Bayne's work includes empathy conceptualization and measurement, assessment, and empathy as a skill development for cultural competency. Dr. Bayne serves in a variety of leadership roles and currently serves on several editorial boards such as Counseling & Values Journal and Counselor Education & Supervision. 

Surviving and Thriving: The Development and Validation of the Intimate Partner Violence Recovery Measure

Dr. Joy Kelly Phifer holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Counseling and Counselor Education from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). Her previous degrees include a Master of Science and Specialist in Education dual degree in Couple and Family Counseling, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Studies all from UNCG. Currently, she serves as a National Certified Counselor (NCC) and a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) in the state of North Carolina, treating individuals, couples and families in an outpatient, private agency setting. Clinically, she maintains special training in Emotionally-Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) through the Carolina Center for EFT and trauma-specific training as a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP) through the International Association of Trauma Professionals. In her clinical practice, she promotes the power of the counseling relationship, in that it has the unique potential to serve as a catalyst for individual insight, progressive change, and overall mental health wellness.

Episode Resources: 

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)

Text "START" to 88788

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Jaimie Stickl Haugen, Ph.D., LPC (CO), NCC, ACS is an Assistant Professor of Counseling at St. Bonaventure University. Prior to earning her doctorate, Dr. Haugen served as a school counselor, district counseling supervisor and grant coordinator. Her research interests primarily involve cultural considerations in school belonging, youth suicide prevention, and anti-racist school counseling. Dr. Haugen holds leadership roles in a number of local and national professional counseling organizations.

Kenya Bledsoe, PhD, LPC-S (AL, MS), NCC, NCSC is an Assistant Professor of Leadership & Counselor Education at the University of Mississippi. Dr. Bledsoe brings over 15 years of experience working with students and families in schools. Her research interests include clinical supervision, school counseling, and unrepresented school groups in K-12 and college.

A Few Resources Mentioned…

Interrupting Racism by Rebecca Atkins and Alicia Oblesby

The Coaches Guide for Women Professors by Rena Seltzer

Untamedby Glennon Doyle

Peitao Zhu joined the NIU faculty in Fall 2020. He received his Ph.D. in Counseling and Counselor Education from Syracuse University. Dr. Zhu’s research agenda revolves broadly around the impact of cultural issues on the relational processes within the context of counseling and counselor education. He is passionate about a broad range of quantitative and qualitative methodologies and have been publishing actively and consistently in indexed, competitive counseling and counseling-related journals such as the Counselor Education and Supervision, Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, Journal of Mental Health Counseling, and Journal of Constructivist Psychology. Professor Zhu serves on the editorial board of several top-rated journals, such as Journal for Counseling and Development and Journal for Specialists in Group Work. Professor Zhu’s current research focused on cultural humility and its implication in counseling and counselor education. Professor Zhu is a National Certified Counselor (NCC); he has a particular clinical interest in complex trauma and adopts a relationally-focused approach to his counseling work.