I have successfully defended my dissertation study titled: The Initial Development and Validation of the Counselor Empathy Fatigue Scale on February 24, 2023! My PhD will be conferred on May 4, 2023. Interested in learning more about the Counselor Empathy Fatigue Scale (CEFS?) Feel free to reach out and stay tuned for more updates on publications and resources!

I am proudly working on a needs assessment project with Dr. Jennifer D. Deaton at UNC Greensboro and the M.O.R.E. Research Team. Prompted by the trauma nurses have endured during COVID-19, Dr. Deaton invited me to work on a project aimed at giving back to our healthcare professionals. More information coming soon!

I am beyond thrilled for the opportunity to serve as an AARC Emerging Leader this year. I have been a member of AARC since my first year as a doctoral student and have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to connect with other counseling researchers through this ACA division. This year as an Emerging Leader, I'm excited to continue growing my leadership and research skills, two pieces of my identity that are near and dear to my heart. I am looking forward to serving this organization and learn more about what service for an ACA division looks like.

I serve as the Social Media Coordinator for the Clinical Supervision Research Collaborative (CSRC), a cross-disciplinary and international community for both experienced and new clinical supervision investigators, practitioners, and students. I create content and coordinate posting for four social media outlets, to connect our Collaborators, and provide updates about CSRC news and events. Learn more about the CSRC here: www.csrcollaborative.org.

I was recently selected to serve as a graduate student editorial board member for Teaching and Supervision in Counseling, the flagship journal of the Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (SACES). I am  under the mentorship of Dr. Brooke Wymer, and will receive mentorship throughout my service to the journal as a student editorial board member. After graduation, I will serve two more years, completing three years of service. 

Two of my amazing faculty at UNCG, Dr. Kelly Wester, Dr. Carrie Wachter Morris and my wonderful cohort member Luke Vitagliano and I have formed a research team studying the factors that influence crisis self-efficacy for counselors in training. COVID-19, in conjunction with a tense sociopolitical climate, increased gun violence, climate change, and other crises, mental health concerns are on the rise. People are struggling with their mental health and are experiencing more crises than ever before. During an on-call shift I had in our Nicholas A. Vacc Counseling and Consulting Clinic one evening, I noticed that several students were coming into my office for a crisis consult. Most were nervous, wanting to say the 'right' thing to help their client who was clearly in distress. That's when I started thinking, "How confident are these counselors about helping clients in crisis, who are seeing clients for the first time in their careers?" This led to the creation of our research team, and a qualitative study that received two $500 grants from AARC and SACES.  We're in the midst of analyzing data, and will be presenting the results at two conferences this fall! More updates to come.