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Welome to the Fall 2023 semester!

Welcome to the new academic year! We hope you enjoyed meeting your professors and peers at the Counseling Program Orientation at Duke Hall and the Department Picnic at the JMU Farm on August 27!

Welcome to Our New Students

Doctoral

  • Emily Bogaev
  • Kayla Bryant
  • Albrina Burger
  • Kim Hall
  • Tiffany Snow
  • Nattalie Wolff Tseng
  • Jina Yang
  • Jennifer Zegan-Lister

Clinical

  • Kaitlyn English
  • Moriah Fallon
  • Daisy Foncha
  • Nichole Gilbert
  • Destini Moore
  • Emily Plowright
  • Valentina Riso
  • Morgan Williams
  • Margaret (Marge) Wiwuga

School

  • Mark Argueta-Contreras
  • Shanika Dove
  • Seth Enderson
  • Marissa Hart
  • Lacey Higgins
  • Melissa Kinman
  • Kayla O’Prandy
  • Keyvon Scott
  • Rebecca Shannon
  • Aubrey Spagnoli
  • Kelsey Wheeler

Internship Placements

Where Will Our CMHC Interns Be This Year?

  • JMU Counseling Center
  • JMU CAPS
  • Serene Mind Counseling (Tampa, FL)
  • Inova Saville Cancer Screening and Prevention Center (Fairfax, VA)
  • Life With Cancer (LWC) Family Center (Fairfax, VA)
  • ARROW Project (Staunton, VA)
  • University of Missouri - St. Louis (UMSL) Counseling Services (St. Louis, MO)
  • Adagio House (Harrisonburg, VA)

Congratulations to our School Counseling interns!

  • Brook Hostetter-Gonzalez - Beverly Manor Middle School
  • Madison Greer - East Rockingham High School
  • Autumn Dawson - Wilson Middle School
  • Jessica Tutton - Riverbend Elementary School
  • Emily Gardner - Churchville Elementary School
  • Gianna Genzale - Stone Spring Elementary School
  • Eddie Mann - William Monroe Middle School
  • Tyler Brooks - Peter Muhlenberg Middle School

Fall 2023
Counseling Programs Calendar

Fall 2023 Counseling Programs Calender

August

 

8/21/2023

Counseling Programs Orientation and Pizza, Duke Hall lobby, 12-2pm

8/23/2023

First day of classes

8/27/2023

Department of Graduate Psychology Welcome Picnic (JMU Farm, 8398 Alumnae Drive, Port Republic, VA 24471), 4:30pm

September

 

9/5/2023

Pizza & Process @12:10, location is Miller G31

9/12/2023

Last day to withdraw from the university with cancellation of tuition charges and refund

9/18/2023

Graduate Psychology Department Meeting (1pm to 2:30pm)

October

 

10/4/2023

Pizza & Process @12:10, location is Miller G31

10/18 - 22/2023

Fall Break

10/30,31/2023 & 11/1/2023

Interprofessional Education Seminar, “Life in the State of Poverty”, IIHHS - Interprofessional Education (IPE) - JMU

November

 

11/6/2023

Spring registration begins

11/9/2023

Pizza & Process @12:10, location is Miller G31

11/9 - 11/2023 VCA Conference (Hot Springs, VA), Virginia Counselors Association (vcacounselors.org)
11/17/2023 Comprehensive assessment results and scholarly documents are due to The Graduate School for December 2023 graduation candidates.
11/18 - 26/2023 Thanksgiving holiday break
December  
12/8/2023 Last day of Classes
12/16/2023 December Commencement Ceremony

Critical Deadlines

Copies of liability insurance for practicum or internship must be uploaded to Canvas Hub prior to students seeing clients. Please note that the Practicum and Internship course instructors may also ask students to upload a copy to their specific course page in Canvas.

Program of Study forms should be uploaded by new students to the Canvas Hub by September 8. Second- and third-year students who have revised their program of study should be sure to check in with their program advisor and submit a revised copy if needed.

Resources

Need a Graduate Assistantship?

Be sure to check openings regularly on Joblink! Additional openings are likely to be added throughout the semester and into the summer.

Keep an Eye on:

Several offices at JMU offer support for graduate students. Here are a few:

Counseling Organizations

If you’d like to keep abreast of what’s going on in the field this summer, be sure to check out:

In this issue, you will find:

  • Welcome to our newest students!
  • See where your peers are placing for internships
  • Announce this year’s RISE-UP fellows
  • Reminder of monthly Pizza and Process informational sessions
  • Gentle reminder for our first-year students about critical deadlines
  • Review our Fall Calendar
  • Resources that might be helpful to your progression and success in the program

Alum Spotlight

Kim Hall (she/her)

Kim graduated in 2023 from the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program and has decided to pursue her studies in JMU’s Counseling and Supervision Program under Stephanie Crockett!

Colored pencils

Congratulations on your decision to continue your studies in the Counseling and Supervision PhD program! What was your motivation?
I discovered over the course of my residency that I love teaching, and once I got my license, I decided to pursue higher education as a career. While I love clinical work, I feel most fulfilled when I'm supporting other clinicians. Working towards a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision will give me the opportunities I want to make this my lifetime role.

What future do you see for yourself in Counseling?
I hope to continue taking on new, multiple roles for my whole career- I can't remember the last time I had a single W-2 to file at tax time, and I think I like it that way! Blending educational, supervisory, consultative, and practice work would be an ideal future for me.  

What are your particular research areas of interest?
My plan is to continue building on my master's research- educating counselors about clients with paraphilic disorders. I would like to see how a targeted course changes counselor trainees and current professionals' self-perceived skills in working with these clients. I'd also like to see how their general attitudes towards individuals of diverse sexual backgrounds and practices shift during the course.

Advice for current students
Taking on a program in Counseling is a big life change- bigger than you may recognize in the moment- so observe and allow yourself to change. Give yourself lots of grace and permission to be imperfect. You have lots of people who want you to succeed and delight when they see you grow; let them help you when they offer it. Networking is important and doesn't have to be scary. In fact, if you want to connect with me and my network, please reach out and say hi! I'm more than happy to talk with you about my experiences as a student of Counseling, a resident, a licensed clinician, and now doctoral student.

Pizza and Process!

Pizza and Process offers students from all programs a chance to connect in- person with peers and faculty. Each one takes place once per month, on a different day of the week, and from 12:10-1:00 PM, Miller G31. Here is what you can expect:

  • Connection. Catch up and check in with students and faculty whom you may not see regularly.
  • Reminders. Faculty facilitators will review the calendar and offer recommendations for items to keep on your radar. Occasionally, alums or other members of our community may talk about professional opportunities like conferences, volunteering, and jobs
  • Questions. Everyone will have an opportunity to ask questions in all matters related to the programs and counseling professions that can benefit everyone.

RISE-UP News:

The RISE-UP Grant is a collaboration between Clinical Mental Health, School Counseling, and School Psychology to train RISE-UP Fellows in providing evidence-based behavioral health services in rural populations.

Current participating counties include Augusta County, Greene County, Harrisonburg City, Page County, Rockbridge County, Rockingham County and Shenandoah County.

Our 2023-24 RISE-UP Fellows are:

  • Lisandra Artiles
  • Kate Bailey
  • Tyler Brooks
  • Eileen Clinton
  • Autumn Dawson
  • Emily Flaherty
  • Emily Gardner
  • Kayla Hearl
  • Gianna Genzale
  • Brook Hostetter Gonzalez
  • Madison Greer
  • Kelly Higgins
  • Matthew Higgins
  • Kimberly Hughes
  • Angela Ji
  • Eddie Mann
  • Sharice Mehlenbacher
  • Kylie Mirabella
  • Ivy Moraa
  • Ashley Oginz-Wilson
  • Fatima Rahman
  • Ian Richard
  • Julia Shin
  • Jessica Tutton
  • Caitlin Vu

We will begin soliciting applications for 2024-25 RISE-UP Fellows in February 2024. Please be on the lookout for a link! If you have questions about the RISE-UP grant, please contact Amanda (evans3am@jmu.edu) for more information.

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