Faculty & Staff
Dr. Sinem Akay-Sullivan
Assistant Professor, PhD, LPC-S, Registered Play Therapist
Dr. Sinem Akay-Sullivan
Dr. Akay-Sullivan has worked in several clinical settings with a variety of age groups including young children, adolescents, and adults. She specializes in helping individuals to recover from maladaptive perfectionism, anxiety, and trauma. As a Registered Play Therapist, Dr. Akay-Sullivan also enjoys helping caregivers to gain better parenting skills and improve their relationships with their children. Dr. Akay-Sullivan’s research areas include effectiveness of trauma-focused interventions such as Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), effectiveness of play therapy, treatment of maladaptive perfectionism, and the use of psychophysiological tools in counseling.
Dr. Helen Berg
Assistant Dean of Learning Initiatives and Student Success, Professor
Dr. Susan Borg
Lecturer, Program Coordinator Superintendent Certification
Dr. Benita Brooks
Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Associate Professor
Dr. Tim Brown
Dr. Brown loves the counseling profession. He is a certified school counselor, licensed professional counselor, and a national board certified counselor. His research interests include school counseling ethics, spirituality in school counseling, and school counseling interventions. His experience includes working in a high-needs, low-socioeconomic school with a diverse student population in an urban environment as well as working with students and families in suburban and rural communities. As a licensed professional counselor, Dr. Brown has worked with children, adolescents, adults, and couples addressing a range of concerns from suicidal ideation to panic attacks.
Dr. William Calderhead
Assistant Professor, Coordinator of Special Education MA LIDA
Dr. Corinna Cole
Associate Professor, Coordinator of Graduate Certificate in Bilingual (Spanish) Educational Diagnostician
Dr. Alma Contreras-Vanegas
Associate Professor, Co-Coordinator of Bilingual Education (BESL/TESL)
Dr. Jaime Coyne
Associate Professor, Co-Coordinator of MEd Teaching and Learning
Dr. Patricia Durham
Associate Professor, Coordinator of Reading/Language Arts MEd and Graduate Certificate in Dyslexia
Dr. William Edgington
Professor, Coordinator of Comparative and Global Education MEd
Dr. Evelyne Fitzgerald
Clinical Assistant Professor, PhD, LPC-S, RPT-Supervisor
Dr. Yvonne Garza-Chaves
Professor, PhD, MSW, LPC-S, CHST, Registered Play Therapist
Dr. Yvonne Garza-Chaves
Dr. Garza is a Registered Play Therapist and Certified Humanistic Sandtray Therapist. Her departmental service post includes Doctoral Program Director. Her clinical experience has involved treatment of children and families in the areas of outpatient and inpatient mental health, as well as treatment of juvenile offenders, young children in Headstart programs and children recovering from cancer. Dr. Garza-Chaves has an active service record in the play therapy community; she has served on the board of the local, and state, play therapy associations, and is on several committees for the national play therapy association.
Dr. Mertie Gomez
Assistant Professor, Coordinator of Special Education MEd Educational Diagnostician
Dr. Dee-Anna Green
Dr. Green is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified School Counselor who received her Ph.D. in Counselor Education from Texas Tech University. She currently serves as the School Counseling program coordinator for the department. She is dedicated to training exceptional future counselors and counselor educators to be ethical practitioners who are prepared for success in the counseling profession. Prior to becoming a counselor educator she spent 9 years as a school counselor at both the elementary and secondary levels in Title 1 schools. Her research areas include school counseling, career counseling, first-generation college students, ethics, and strategies for serving at-risk populations.
Dr. Susan Harte
Clinical Assistant Professor, Director of Year Long Residency
Dr. Janene Hemmen
Clinical Assistant Professor, Coordinator of School Leadership, MEd & Principal Certification
Dr. Susan Henderson
Dr. Henderson has worked in a variety of clinical settings to help individuals, couples, and families. Her research interests involve helping others fulfill their potential, whether that be clients or students. Dr. Henderson’s research is focused on family related topics such as improving family functioning and the interaction of mental health issues (e.g., suicide, substance use) and family relationships (e.g., attachment). She is also interested in helping improve the effectiveness of future counselors as this relates to supervision and training. Finally, she is interested in giving a voice to those who are marginalized (i.e., groups excluded due to race, religion, gender, age, or cultural).
Dr. Richard Henriksen
Dr. Henriksen is dedicated to the preparation of ethical and outstanding counselors and counselor educators. He has worked as a professional clinical counselor in inpatient, residential, and outpatient settings focused on clients with acute mental health and substance abuse issues. He enjoys working with children, adolescents, and adults. Dr. Henriksen’s research areas focus on multicultural issues, religion/spirituality, counselor supervision, counselor education and the identity development of multiple heritage individuals, couples and families. He also incorporates the use of existential philosophy in his research to understand how individuals make meaning and purpose in their lives.
Dr. Tori Hollas
Associate Professor, Coordinator of 4 + 1, Coordinator of Curriculum & Instruction MEd
Dr. Jacqueline Ingram
Clinical Assistant Professor, Coordinator of Middle Level Education
Dr. Melanie Kinskey
Assistant Professor, Coordinator of Year Long Residency Semester I
Dr. Leena Landmark
Associate Professor, Coordinator of Undergraduate Special Education
Dr. Mae Lane
Associate Professor, Co-Coordinator of MEd Teaching and Learning
Dr. David Lawson
David Lawson has worked in the field of interpersonal and combat-related trauma for over 35 years as a counselor educator, supervisor, independent practitioner, researcher, and consultant to women's shelters, rape crisis centers, and child advocacy centers. My current clinical and research focus is interpersonal trauma, intimacy violence, complex trauma and complex dissociative disorders. I am currently involved in a study with women who have been exposed to trauma and especially complex trauma and dissociation as children and adolescents. I teach courses in trauma, research methods, and practicum. Finally, I am the director for our Center for Research and Clinical Training in Trauma.
Dr. Chi-Sing Li
Associate Professor, PhD, LPC-S, LMFT-Approved Supervisor
Dr. Cynthia Martinez-Garcia
Professor, Doctoral Director Educational Leadership, EdD
Dr. Lauren Mclean
Dr. McLean has been a Licensed Professional Counselor for the state of Texas since 2015. Since 2005 she has worked in the mental health field in community mental health and non-profit settings with some work with school districts. She has worked with children, adolescents, and adults in various capacities including individual and group counseling, case management, and completing diagnostic assessments. In addition, Dr. McLean has been teaching and supervising students since 2015. Her primary areas of interest and specialization include gender and sexual orientation diversity, women's issues, trauma, and working with clients experiencing economic hardship.
Dr. Vickie Mitchell
Eleanor and Charles Garrett Endowed Chair in Special Education, Associate Professor
Dr. Diana Nabors
Professor, Coordinator of Undergraduate Early Childhood Education
Dr. Jannah Nerren
Associate Dean Assessment & Accreditation, Educator Preparation
Dr. Seth Olson
Department Chair, Professor, PhD, LPC-MH (SD), LPC (SD), NCC
Dr. Seth Olson
Dr. Olson has been a counselor educator for over 15 years. He also has been a licensed counselor for over 10 years. Dr. Olson is passionate about clinical practice, particularly in the areas of couples counseling, anxiety, and depression. Dr. Olson focuses his research in areas related to mental health practice such as state licensure reciprocity, issues of professional competence, and impact of anxiety on marital satisfaction.
Seth Olson CV
Dr. Kathleen Rice
Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, Associate Professor
Dr. Patrick Saxon
Professor, Doctoral Director Developmental Education Administration, EdD
Dr. Gabriela Silvestre
Advisor Higher Education Administration, M.A. & Academic Advising
Dr. Regina Smith
Assistant Professor, Coordinator of Graduate Certificates in Early Childhood Education
Dr. Donggil Song
Associate Professor, Doctoral Director & Master's Coordinator of ISDT
Dr. Jeffrey M. Sullivan
Associate Professor, PhD, LPC-S, Registered Play Therapist
Dr. Jeffrey M. Sullivan
Greetings! I’m Dr. Jeffrey Sullivan and have been a faculty member at SHSU since 2011. I earned my LPC in 2011 and am currently an LPC-Supervisor and Registered Play Therapist. I follow a social constructivist approach to counseling, focusing on solution-focused and narrative strategies, while also implementing responsive matching, adjusting my approach to best meet client needs. My teaching and supervision style is student-centered, focused on helping students build upon their strengths to meet their professional goals. My research interests are driven by my personal, professional, and clinical curiosity, and include understanding issues of play therapy and counseling through a post-modern lens using both quantitative and qualitative research designs.
Dr. Baburhan Uzum
Associate Professor, Co-Coordinator of Bilingual Education (BESL/TESL)
Dr. Kristina Vargo
Associate Professor, Coordinator of Undergraduate Applied Behavior Analysis Minor
