Counseling Department Chair
Biography
Gerald A. Juhnke, Ed.D., LPC, NCC, MAC, ACS is a Professor and the Interim Counseling Department Chair, in the College of Education and Human Development at The University of Texas at San Antonio. He is a former UTSA Graduate School Associate Dean and the founding Counseling Department Doctoral Program Director. Jerry is a Fellow of the American Counseling Association, past Fellow of the North Carolina Governor’s Institute on Alcohol and Substance Abuse, and past Fellow for The University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Center for the Study of Social Issues, Division on Youth Aggression and Violence. Jerry is also the past president of both the Association for Assessment in Counseling and the International Association of Addictions and Offender Counseling. He is a past Co-Chair of the ACA Council of Journal Editors, past Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Addictions & Offender Counseling, and past Associate Editor of the Journal of Counseling and Development. He has published over 100 publications including 13 textbooks on topics ranging from assessment, suicide, addictions, family therapy, and bullying. Jerry authored one novel and 18 assessment instruments including the Juhnke-Balkin Life-Balance Inventory, the Adapted-SAD PERSONS Suicide Assessment Scale, the Juhnke, Henderson, & Juhnke Child Abuse and Neglect Risk Assessment Scale, and the Human Sexual Trafficking Quick Assessment Scale. His books have been published in some of the most prestigious and respected Professional Counseling outlets including Oxford University Press, Brunner-Routledge, Merrill-Pearson, and the American Counseling Association Press. Jerry opened his first independent practice in 1986 and began academic teaching in 1991. He was a Professor at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Director of the Nicholas Vacc Counseling Department Clinic from 1992 until 2004 when he became Professor and founding Doctoral Program Director in the Department of Counseling at The University of Texas at San Antonio.
Counseling Faculty
Biography
Jennifer M. Cook, Ph.D., LPC, NCC, is an associate professor in the Department of Counseling at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She is a passionate multicultural counselor, educator, researcher, and supervisor who infuses advocacy throughout her work. Her research focuses on counselor multicultural development, with specific emphasis on social class and socioeconomic status. Dr. Cook has published extensively, completed over 40 national and international peer-reviewed presentations, and is currently writing a multicultural counseling textbook. She has served individual, couple, and family clients, many from underserved populations, in private practice and clinical mental health settings, and she has supervised clinical mental health, school, and clinical rehabilitation counselors-in-training.
Jennifer M. Cook, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Biography
Dr. Ashley Cuevas is an Assistant Professor of Practice at The University of Texas at San Antonio. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor with experience servicing clients around grief, loss, death, and dying. Dr. Cuevas serves as the Clinical Director of The Sarabia Family Counseling Center. She enjoys mentoring and teaching students often through Practicum and Internship masters and doctoral level courses.
Biography
John J. S. Harrichand, Ph.D., LPC-S, LMHC, NCC, CCMHC, ACS, CCTP is a Canadian of Chinese and East Indian ancestry, an immigrant to Canada and the son of immigrants, who was born and raised in Guyana, South America. He received his Hons. BSc. in Psychology and Integrative Biology from the University of Toronto at Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, M.A. in Counselling from Providence Theological Seminary, Otterburne, Manitoba, Canada, and CACREP-accredited Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia. Dr. Harrichand is a proud International Faculty in the US and an Assistant Professor and Co-Advisor for the Sigma Alpha Chi Chapter of CSI in the Department of Counseling at The University of Texas at San Antonio. His research spans 3 important areas: (i) culturally responsive counseling practices for working with minoritized communities: international students, immigrants and refugees, LGBTQ+ individuals, and sex-trafficked survivors; (ii) understanding, educating, and supporting early career counselor educators in their teaching and supervision related to gatekeeping and psychological safety; and (iii) leadership and professional advocacy development of master’s and doctoral students, and supporting ethnic minority counseling leaders through mentorship. Dr. Harrichand has written/co-written 18 peer-reviewed journal articles, 13 book chapters/edited contributions, and presented over 60 international, national, regional, and state professional conference presentations on these topics. He is passionate about creating access to affordable mental health services while advocating for minoritized and systemically excluded communities. Dr. Harrichand is actively involved in several professional counseling organizations including ACA, ACES, ASERVIC, AARC, AMCD, NBCC, CACREP, and CSI. He is a recipient of the Chi Sigma Iota Journal of Counselor Leadership and Advocacy Outstanding Article Award, the ACES Professional Leadership Award, the AMCD Young Emerging Leader Award, the AADA President’s Outstanding Service Award, the SACES Outstanding Pre-Tenured Counselor Educator Award, and the Texas Counseling Association Professional Writing Award. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/John-Harrichand
John Harrichand, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Biography
Barbara Herlihy, Ph.D., NCC, is a Professor in Practice and Counselor Education at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She also holds the title of Professor Emerita in the Counselor Education Program, at the 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 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
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 Christopher Leeth, 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. She is also the co-author for the textbook, Preparing Culturally Efficacious Bilingual Counselors Through Theory and Case Studies, in press by Peter Lang Group.
Claudia Interiano-Shiverdecker, Ph.D.Assistant Professor
Biography
Assistant Professor of Practice
Biography
Donghun Lee, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Biography
Clinical Assistant 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. The overarching focus of Dr. Prasath’s research is to augment counselor competence in the promotion of mental health and well-being by leveraging a strengths-based positive psychological lens, spanning three interrelated research pathways: (a) group interventions, (b) training programs and leadership development, and (c) creative and innovative practices. The overall objective of Dr. Prasath’s research is to make a meaningful impact, empower individuals and communities, and foster transformative change through empirically tested, culturally responsive, strengths-based relational practices and programs that contribute to enhanced multi-faceted well-being. Leveraging her multidisciplinary educational background, diverse training experiences, and transdisciplinary collaborative efforts, she explores strengths-based concepts derived from scientific fields such as positive psychology, organizational behavior, clinical mental health, and counselor education. She has written/co-written over 28 peer-reviewed journal articles and 10 books/book chapters and has presented at several international, national, and regional professional conferences on these topics. At UTSA, since 2020, 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 and couples through her private practice. 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 Ph.D. 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
Dr. Ross Spears, Ph.D., LPC is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Counseling at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). He graduated with a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from UTSA during the Summer of 2023. Dr. Spears’s research interests include (a) cultural humility; (b) neuro-informed counseling practices; and (c) creative teaching and learning strategies. He continues to present at international, national, and state conferences. Dr. Spears recently received the 2022 In Memoriam and 2023 Jay Gunkelman Scholarly Research Award from the International Society for Neuroreguation and Research (ISNR). In conjunction with teaching and research, Dr. Spears also provides counseling and neurofeedback sessions to the San Antonio community.
Biography
Emeritus
Biography
Thelma Duffey, Ph.D. was a Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Counseling at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She was the 64th President of the American Counseling Association. A tireless mentor and author, Thelma chaired more than 35 dissertations, co-authored four books and 35 book chapters, and authored more than 40 peer-reviewed articles. All forms of creativity inspired Thelma. She was the founder of the Association for Creativity in Counseling, a division of the American Counseling Association. She founded and served as the Editor of the Journal of Creativity in Mental Health since 2004. She focused on helping families through grief and loss and her efforts were recognized with many awards including the Association for Creativity in Counseling’s Thelma Duffey Vision and Innovation Award.
Thelma Duffey, Ph.D.
College of Education and Human Development
Main Building | One UTSA Circle | San Antonio, TX 78249
Phone: 210-458-4370 | education@utsa.edu