Counseling Department Chair

Biography

Thelma Duffey, Ph.D. is a Professor and Chair in the Department of Counseling at the University of Texas at San Antonio and Past President of the American Counseling Association. Dr. Duffey is currently Treasurer-Elect of the American Counseling Association. She co-directs the Academy for Crisis and Trauma Counseling within the Department of Counseling and is co-editing a new book entitled, Crisis and Trauma Counseling: Strategies for Effective Practice, published by the American Counseling Association Press. In 2016, Dr. Duffey led a team of UTSA faculty who provided services and consultation to the Sandy Hook Elementary School and Newtown community.

Thelma Duffey, Ph.D.
Professor and Department Chair

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Counseling Faculty

Biography

Dr. Claudia G. Interiano-Shiverdecker is an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Antonio. She received her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from the University of Wisconsin-Stout and a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate (supervised by Scott Peters, Ph.D., LPC-S) specialized in providing bilingual counseling services to Spanish-speaking populations. Previously, she was a licensed psychologist in Honduras and worked with Spanish-speaking adolescents. Her research primarily focuses on (a) social justice and multicultural considerations for marginalized communities, particularly the Latinx community; (b) counseling competencies to work with trauma and specific populations vulnerable to trauma; (c) advocating for underrepresented populations in higher education and (d) bilingual counseling and supervision. Since 2015, she has been involved in some capacity with both large externally funded or institutionally funded projects focused on advocating for refugees, sex trafficking victims, and bilingual counselors. She has been published in several peer-reviewed professional journals, has co-authored several book chapters, and has presented numerous presentations at international, national, regional, state, and local conferences.

Claudia Interiano-Shiverdecker, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

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Biography

Dr. John J. S. Harrichand, LPC-S, LMHC, NCC, CCMHC, ACS is a Canadian of Chinese and East Indian ancestry, who was born and raised in Guyana, South America. He joined the Department of Counseling faculty in Fall 2021. Prior to coming to UTSA, he served as an assistant professor at SUNY Brockport. Dr. Harrichand is actively involved in several professional counseling organizations including ACA, ACES, ASERVIC, AMCD, NBCC, CACREP, and Chi Sigma Iota. He was recognized with the AMCD Young Emerging Leader Award and the AADA President’s Outstanding Service Award. Dr. Harrichand’s scholarship centers on counselor education leadership, development, and burnout; cross-cultural counseling and minority populations (i.e., LGBTQ+, immigrants, refugees, international students); clinical supervision and gatekeeping; and ethical, professional, and social justice advocacy using qualitative and quantitative methodologies. His clinical experience as a mental health counselor and supervisor involves working with community and college student populations.

John Harrichand, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

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Biography

Brenda Jones’s educational experience in the public-school system spans over 30 years with nine years of high school teaching experience, over 13 years of high school professional school counseling experience, and eight years of clinical and head counseling experience. She is a Ph.D., National Certificated Counselor, Certified School Counselor, and a Licensed Professional Counselor. She earned a Ph.D. in Counseling Education and Supervision. This year completes her twelfth year as a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She teaches Child and Adolescent Counseling in a System Context; Counseling in a Multicultural Setting, School Counseling Internship, Clinical Mental Health Internship, and Practicum in Counseling. She serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, the Journal of School Counseling, and is the past president for Texas Association of Counselor Education and Supervision representing school counseling and clinical mental health issues.

Brenda Jones, Ph.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor

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Biography

Dr. Juhnke is a professor in the Department of Counseling and founding Doctoral Program Director. Jerry has authored 13 academic books, more than 60 refereed journal articles, 17 assessment instruments, and presented over 130 refereed conference presentations. Jerry is an American Counseling Association (ACA) Fellow and Past President of eight professional associations. He is a former Associate Editor for the Journal of Counseling and Development, former Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Addictions and Offender Counseling, and former Co-Chair of the ACA's Council of Journal Editors. He has received numerous counseling and teaching awards including the ACA's David Brooks' Distinguished Mentor Award, the ACA's Berdie Research Award, the International Association for Addictions and Offender Counseling Addictions Educator Excellence Award, the Journal of Addictions and Offender Counseling Research Award, the North Carolina Counseling Association's Professional Research Award, and The University of North Carolina at Greensboro's School of Education's Teaching Excellence Award.

Gerald Juhnke, Ph.D.

Professor

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Biography

Dr. Jessica Lloyd-Hazlett joined the Department of Counseling faculty in Fall 2014. Prior to coming to UTSA, she served as co-director of a university-based family counseling clinic providing free services to more than 300 clients per year. She is actively involved in a number of professional organizations including ACA, ACES, SACES, NBCC, CACREP, and Chi Sigma Iota. Dr. Lloyd-Hazlett is Co-PI on a 4-year $807,000 Health Resources & Services Administration Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Grant. She was recognized in 2019 with UTSA Presidential Awards for Teaching Excellence and Innovation and Impact (I2). She is also a recipient of the Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Outstanding Teaching and Pine-Biggs ASERVIC Journal Article of the Year Awards. Dr. Lloyd-Hazlett’s research interests include cognitive development, pedagogy in counselor education and supervision, professional ethics, and integrated healthcare.

Jessica Lloyd-Hazlett, Ph.D.
Associate Professor

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Biography

Dr. Priscilla Rose Prasath joined the Department of Counseling Faculty in Fall 2019. Previously, she served at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene (2016-19) and Trinity International University at Illinois (2015-16). She is a licensed professional counselor in the State of Texas. She is a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach. Her research focuses on studying various positive psychological factors, such as hope, resiliency, efficacy, optimism, talents, character strengths, mindfulness, gratitude, and post-trauma growth, that promote wellbeing among diverse college student populations. She is passionate about incorporating creativity into her teaching, particularly within courses like career development, group counseling, and counseling theories, and different clinical courses.

Priscilla Prasath, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

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Biography

Derek Robertson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor

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Biography

Dr. Devon E. Romero joined the Department of Counseling Faculty in Fall 2018. Dr. Romero serves as the Chapter Faculty Advisor of the Sigma Alpha Chi chapter of Chi Sigma Iota and as Co-faculty Advisor of the Neurofeedback Society of UTSA. She received her undergraduate, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees from the University of Alabama. Her Master’s degree is in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a specialization in marriage and family counseling. She is a National Certified Counselor, Licensed Professional Counselor Intern under the supervision of Dr. Mark Jones, and has a graduate certificate in Quantitative Educational Research.

Devon Romero, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

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Biography

Dr. Catherine Somody, Assistant Clinical Professor, has over 40 years of experience in education and counseling. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor, a certified school counselor, and a certified special education counselor. She served as a school counselor and supervisor for 29 years, and she has over 10 years of experience teaching and supervising counseling students at UTSA. Dr. Somody serves on the clinical experience committee and is very passionate about teaching clinical courses including practicum, internship, and group counseling. Dr. Somody is the Associate Editor for the Journal of Creativity in Mental Health (JCMH). She has always incorporated creativity into her counseling and enjoys being instrumental in the publication of a peer-reviewed journal devoted to creativity in mental health.

Catherine Somody, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Practice

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Biography

Dr. Heather Trepal is a Professor and Coordinator of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program in the Department of Counseling. She is a licensed professional counselor and board-approved supervisor in the state of Texas. Research & publications focus on professional advocacy, bilingual counselor training and supervision, relational-cultural theory, gender issues and sexual trauma, supervision in integrated behavioral healthcare settings, and non-suicidal self-injury. She currently serves as the project director for the Program for the Integrated Training of Counselors in Behavioral Healthcare. She has also served as President of the American Counseling Association, the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, and the Association for Creativity in Counseling, both divisions of the American Counseling Association. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Professional Leadership Award, The Texas Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Advocacy Award, the American Counseling Association Presidential Award, and the Dwight D. Arnold Outstanding Alumnus Award from Kent State University's Department of Counseling and Human Development Service Program.

Heather Trepal, Ph.D.
Professor

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College of Education and Human Development
Main Building | One UTSA Circle | San Antonio, TX 78249
Phone: 210-458-4370 | education@utsa.edu