Dr. Saundra Penn

Assistant Teaching Professor

Staff member at Wake Forest University since 2023

Mailing Address: WFU Department of Counseling, Box 7406, Winston-Salem, NC 27109

Email Address: spenn@wfu.edu

Phone: 336-758-3124

Location: Carswell 220

Education:

• Ph.D., Counselor Education and Supervision, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2010
• M.A., School Counseling, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2007
• B.A., Sociology/Anthropology and minor in African-American Studies, Guilford College, 2000

Research Interests:

• Multicultural Competencies of Counselors, Social Workers, and Psychologists
• Supervision Issues in Play Therapy
• Parent Consultation
• Color Blind Racial Attitudes in Helping Relationships
• Spirituality in Counseling
• Multicultural Supervision
• Mental Health Reform
• Women’s Wellness
• Maternal Health

Awards (selected):

• Queens University of Charlotte – Recipient of the Grier Teaching Award, 2019

Counseling Experience (selected):

• Outpatient Therapist, Core Counseling & Consulting, 2020 – 2024
• Part-Time Outpatient Therapist, Family First Community Services, 2012 – 2018
• Therapist/Team Supervisor, Family First Community Services, 2010 – 2011
• Part-Time Outpatient Therapist, Sims Counseling & Consulting, 2009 – 2010
• Outpatient Therapist, Excel Personal Development 2006 – 2009

Certifications and Licenses:

• Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC)
• Registered Play Therapist

Professional Memberships

• American Association for Counseling
• North Carolina Counseling Association
• Association for Play Therapy
• South Carolina Association for Play Therapy
• South Carolina Counseling Association

Service (selected):

• Chair, Mentorship Committee, WFU
• Member, Clinical Committee, WFU
• Member, Interprofessional Educational Leadership Collaborative Practice, August 2020 – July 2023
• Faculty Contributor, Charlotte AHEC Self-Paced Case Study: A Case Based Approach to Interprofessional Educational Leadership Collaborative, January 2020 – June 2020
• Past-President, South Carolina Association for Play Therapy, April 2019 – March 2021
• President, South Carolina Association for Play Therapy, April 2017 – March 2019
• President Elect, South Carolina Association for Play Therapy, September 2016 – March 2017
• Board Member, South Carolina Association for Play Therapy, April 2013 – September 2016
• Best Practice Compliance Officer, Unique Caring Foundation, September 2012 – September 2015
• Member, Central Piedmont Community College Human Services Technology Advisory Board, April 2012 – December 2021

Recent Presentations (selected):

• Penn, S. & Shockley, T. (2024, June) Revisiting allyship: Caring for black women caged by mothering and caretaker stereotypes. Presented at the International Maternal Association for Action and Scholarship. Boston, College.
• Penn, S. (2024, February). Wounded in the church: Exploring church hurt in the Black church and its implications for counselors. Presented at the South Carolina Counseling Association, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
• Penn, S. (2024, January). Balancing the complexity of social media in counselors’ worlds. Presented at the Annual Law and Ethics in Counseling Conference. New Orleans, L.A.
• Penn, S. (2023, February). Creating sacred anti-oppressive spaces for Black American women. Presented at the Annual North Carolina Counseling Association, Durham, N.C.

• Penn, S., &  Mitchell, R. (2023, February). Counseling women in survival mode. Presented at the Annual North Carolina Counseling Association, Durham, N.C.

• Mitchell, R., & Penn, S. (2023, February). Supporting counselor advocacy and wellness through clinical supervision. Presented at the Annual North Carolina Counseling Association, Durham, N.C.

• Penn, S. (2020, February). Redefining womanhood: Exploring college-age women’s perceptions of womanhood, femininity, and well-being. Presented at the Annual North Carolina Counseling Association, Charlotte, N.C.

• Penn, S. (2020, February). The transformative power of culture in the playroom. Presented at the 56h Annual South Carolina Counseling Association, Hilton Head, S.C.

• Penn, S. (2019, February). Ethics in action: Helping students analyze ethical dilemmas in real time. Presented at the 55th Annual South Carolina Counseling Association, Hilton Head, S.C.

• Penn, S. (2019, February). Using fiction to teach interprofessionalism in the classroom. Presented at the 55th Annual South Carolina Counseling Association, Hilton Head, S.C.

• Penn, S., & Shockley, T. (2019, January). Creating a culture of interprofessionalism with beginning healthcare Professionals. Presented at Virginia Tech’s 11th Annual Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy. Blacksburg, V.A.

• Penn, S. (2019, January). Pedagogical strategies for teaching empathy and vulnerability. Presented at Virginia Tech’s 11th Annual Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy, Blacksburg, V.A.

• Penn, S. (2017, April). Ethical issues in action. Presented at the Southern Organization for Human Services Conference, Charleston, S.C.

• Penn, S. (2016, March). Making meaning out of child centered play therapy. Presented at the South Carolina Association for Play Therapy, Greenville, S.C.

• Penn, S., & Mitchell, R. (2016, February). Professional and ethical issues in human services: A preliminary study. Presented at the North Carolina Counseling Association, Greensboro, N.C.

Recent Publications (selected):

• Penn, S., & Baartmans, H. (2018). A phenomenological study on meaningful professional experiences for human service professionals. Journal of Human Services, 38, 35-44.
• Pasiali, V., LaGasse, B., & Penn, S. (2014). The effect of musical attention control training (MACT) on attentional skills of adolescents with neurodevelopmental delays: A pilot study. Journal of Music Therapy, 51, 334-354. 
• Penn, S., & Post, P. (2012). Investigating various dimensions of play therapists’ self-reported multicultural counseling competencies. International Journal for Play Therapy, 21, 14-29.
• Post, P., Ceballos, P, & Penn, S. (2012). Consulting with parents to establish behavioral goals in child centered play therapy. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples for Families, 20, 50-57.

Personal:

I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I likewise value quiet moments listening to music and historical books. One of my guilty pleasures includes dreaming up fantasy vacations.