Counseling Faculty are Primary Contributors to Online and Distance Learning Section in The Professional Counselor

Ten Palo Alto University faculty contributed articles to a special section of “The Professional Counselor” that was dedicated to distance, or online, counselor education. PAU offers online and blended academic programs, including a Master’s in Counseling degree, so faculty are well-versed in the best practices and current research the publication highlights. Faculty contributing to the March issue of The Professional Counselor (TPC) are Cristen Wathen, Ph.D., Jennie Ju, Ph.D., Szu-Yu Chen, Ph.D., Megan Speciale, Ph.D., Margaret Lamar, Ph.D., Donna Sheperis, Ph.D., J. Kelly Coker, Ph.D., William H. Snow, Ph.D., and Dareen Basma, PhD, LPC-MHSP. PAU professor J. Scott Hinkle, Ph.D. was the Editor of this Special Section. As the “official, peer-reviewed, open-access, electronic journal of the National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. and Affiliates (NBCC),” TPC is dedicated to research and commentary on topics in the counseling profession.    Drs. Snow and Coker co-authored “Distance Counselor Education: Past, Present, Future.” Their article laid the foundation for the special section and explored the history of technology in education and presented recent research on distance education in counseling programs.    In “Online Clinical Training in the Virtual Remote Environment: Challenges, Opportunities, and Solutions,” co-authors Chen, Wathen and Speciale focused specifically on the clinical training aspects of a distance counselor education through the lens of courses, in group counseling, child and adolescent counseling, and practicum and internship.   With “Legal and Ethical Challenges in Online Counselor Education,” faculty members Sheperis and Lamar and University of Phoenix colleague Ann Ordway addressed common legal and ethical challenges, as well as those not typically considered when programs cross state lines and multiple accrediting programs.     Sheperis and Coker contributed to an article on “Online Counselor Education: A Student–Faculty Collaboration,” that shines a light on the student experience in online counselor education. “Students talked about finding online programs to be viable options to work flexibly within their adult lives,” the authors report.   Online education has expanded educational opportunities for prospective students, while also crossing state and national borders. In “Opportunities and Challenges of Multicultural and International Online Education,” Chen, Ph.D., Basma, Ju, and Oregon State University colleague Kok-Mun Ng, Ph.D. offered pedagogical strategies to enhance multicultural and social justice counseling competencies through an intersectional, social construction pedagogy.    The faculty published in The Professional Counselor teach in the PAU’s Master of Arts in Counseling program. This program is accredited by CACREP and is offered online or through a hybrid format. Learn more about this degree here.   Read the complete issue of The Professional Counselor online here.