University Spotlight: Wake Forest University

The Wake Forest University Department of Counseling continues to uphold the tradition it has had since 1968 of training counselors with a focus on excellence and the service to  others, while remaining progressive in-program development. The on-campus program maintains CACREP accredited clinical mental health and school counseling tracks. In 2012, the counseling department initiated its online master’s degree program in human services and a CACREP accredited online counseling program with clinical mental health and school counseling tracks. The online master’s in counseling degree, directed by Dr. Donna Henderson, provides the same high quality 60 hour (minimum) counselor education taught by the same faculty. The online counseling and human services students attend two weekend long residencies in which face-to-face education and evaluation take place. At the undergraduate level, the counseling department also offers a 15 semester hour minor in health and human services directed by Dr. Nathaniel Ivers.  It has a nationally recognized College-to-Career series of courses, too, designed to enhance college student career exploration and decision-making skills. College-to-Career courses are taught by faculty, Heidi Robinson and Brian Calhoun.

Several new faculty members have recently been hired, providing a breadth of experience and scholarship. Drs. Shannon Warden, Allison Forti, and Tammy Cashwell began teaching in the department this summer. Additionally, exciting role transitions have occurred within the Department of Counseling. Dr. Jennifer Rogers transitioned in the summer to a tenure track position in the department while Dr. Carla Emerson shifted to Online Clinical Coordinator. Faculty member Dr. Jose Villalba is currently serving as Associate Dean for Faculty Recruitment, Diversity, and Inclusion.

There are a number of recent notable achievements related to the department. Faculty member Dr. Edward Shaw directs the Memory Assessment Clinic Counseling Center (MACCC) at Wake Forest Baptist Health that serves persons with memory impairment and their families. Department of Counseling faculty Dr. Nathaniel Ivers, Dr. Philip Clarke, and Brian Calhoun also provide counseling and conduct research at the site. The chair of the counseling department, Dr. Samuel Gladding, was awarded a Fulbright Specialist grant and spent much of his summer teaching counseling courses in Zhangzhou, China. Dr. Debbie Newsome’s and Dr. Samuel Gladding’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling in Community and Agency Settings (4th ed.) was published in August. Teamwork among faculty is evident given the department’s strong presence at the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) conference in Denver, Colorado this year. Faculty members gave five presentations that involved two or more persons from the department.

The department continues to host special events, including its annual spring seminar. This past April, Dr. Edward Shaw was the featured speaker presenting on “Making Sense of Sandy Hook Through the Lens of Neuroscience.” The Department of Counseling is pleased to announce its Spring 2014 Continuing Education Seminar will be held on Friday, April 11 from 8:30-4:00. The focus of the 2014 seminar is “Counseling Members of the Military and their Families.” We are excited to host Dr. David Fenell, Professor of Counselor Education and past chair of the Department of Counseling and Human Services at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.