Counseling Department Chair
Biography
Thelma Duffey, Ph.D.
Professor and Department Chair
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
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
Biography
Barbara Herlihy, Ph.D., NCC, is a Professor in Practice and Counselor Education and Supervision Doctoral Program Director at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She also holds the title of Professor Emerita in the Counselor Education Program, College of Education and Human Development at the University of New Orleans. She is a Fellow of the American Counseling Association and is a past recipient of the SACES Courtland Lee Social Justice Award and the ACES Distinguished Mentor Award..
A prolific writer, she is co-author (with Dr. Gerald Corey and with Dr. Theodore Remley) of three current books on counselor ethics and co-editor (with Dr. Cassie Storlie) of a new book, Counseling Leaders & Advocates (2021). She has authored or co-authored approximately 100 journal articles and book chapters, primarily on ethics, social justice, and feminist therapy. She currently serves as Associate Editor for Ethics for Counseling and Values. She has served twice as Chair of the ACA Ethics Committee and currently serves as Chair of the ACA Ethics Appeals Panel. In recent years, she has become passionate about furthering the globalization of the counseling profession and has presented seminars and workshops across the U.S. and in other countries. She currently serves as Co-Director of Global Issues for the International Institute for the Advancement of Counseling Theory.
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, and a Certified School Counselor. She earned a Ph.D. in Counseling Education and Supervision. This year completes her thirteenth year as a Clinical Assistant Professor and her third year as School Counseling Coordinator 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, and Clinical Mental Health Internship. 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. She is the recipient of the Texas Counseling Association, 2017 Professional Writing Award for the co-edited book, Child and Adolescent Counseling Case Studies: Developmental, Relational, Multicultural, and Systemic Perspectives. In 2018, she, along with three other authors, became the recipient of a national award from the Association of Counselor Education and Supervision Outstanding Article Award for writing the article, Faith, Race, and LGB Affirmation: Experiences of African American Counselors-In-Training, published in the Journal of Counselor Education and Supervision. She is also the co-editor for the textbook, Child and Adolescent Counseling: An Integrated Approach (2021).
Clinical Assistant Professor
Biography
Biography
Jessica Lloyd-Hazlett, Ph.D.
Associate Professor

Biography
Dr. Priscilla Rose Prasath (Ph.D, LPC, MBA, MSc, GCSC) is an Assistant Professor of Counseling in the Department of Counseling at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Dr. Prasath graduated with a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from Ohio University, Athens, Ohio. Dr. Prasath’s research focuses on studying factors that promote mental health and well-being from a positive psychological and strengths-based lens in the areas of (1). group counseling; (2). college student development; (3). creativity in teaching and counseling; (4). underserved minority and foreign-born populations; (5). leadership and career development; and (6). training curriculum and program development. The long-term goal of my research is to impact and empower diverse communities with empirically-tested, creative, culturally responsive strengths-based practices and programs that promote overall well-being and mental health. She has written/co-written numerous articles and book chapters and has presented at international, national, and regional professional conferences on these topics. At UTSA since 2021, Dr. Prasath directs the Strengths and Wellbeing Research Lab for graduate students in the Counseling Department. As a Licensed Professional Counselor in Texas, she offers clinical mental health counseling to individuals, couples, and in groups. She is also a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach. Dr. Prasath currently serves as the Secretary of ASGW-the Association for Specialists in Group Work, which is a national professional division of the American Counselors Association.
Priscilla Prasath, Ph.D.
Biography
Dr. Derek Robertson, LPC-S joined UTSA in the fall of 2013. He obtained his master’s degree from Texas Tech University and was a practitioner for many years before returning for his PhD in Counselor Education from The College of William and Mary. As a counselor, he worked with children in the foster care system who survived abuse and neglect, people with HIV/AIDS, LGBTQ+ populations, and military families. Those experiences inform his teaching and research. His research interests include: 1) examining the relational strains and discrimination that can result from exposure to social media and unvetted news sources, 2) promoting cognitive complexity and cultural humility through cultural immersion experiences, and 3) best practices in bilingual counselor education. Dr. Robertson, along with his colleagues, coordinates the Bilingual Counseling Certificate and leads a yearly study abroad to Oaxaca, Mexico. He served as a co-principal investigator for a $2,500,000 Victims of Crime Act grant to support the communities affected by the 2017 mass shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. He also serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Creativity in Mental Health.
Associate Professor
Biography
Assistant Professor
Biography
Biography
Biography
Professor
College of Education and Human Development
Main Building | One UTSA Circle | San Antonio, TX 78249
Phone: 210-458-4370 | education@utsa.edu