How Holistic Admissions Can Help Us Identify the Next Generation of Counselors

Episode

Dominique S. Hammonds and Lucy L. Purgason describe holistic admissions in counselor education; a process that allows programs to determine if applicants have the capacity to be practitioners, not just successfully engage graduate study, which traditional admissions typically accomplishes. They walk us through the process of faculty establishing what a good counselor in their community looks like to how to structure interviews.

Guests

Dominique S. Hammonds is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program in the Department of Counseling, Family Therapy, and Higher Education at Appalachian State University. She earned her Doctorate in Counselor Education and Supervision from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte and her Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Clinical Supervisor, National Certified Counselor, and Board Certified-TeleMental Health Provider. Dr. Hammonds is a Past President of the North Carolina Counseling Association (NCCA). She received the NCCA Devoted Service Award, Creativity-Innovation in Counseling Award, and the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision’s Supervision Award. She is passionate about increasing mental health awareness among communities of color and increasing access to quality, culturally-conscious mental health care in a global society. Her clinical, scholarship, and professional service activities center around a variety of subjects including: a) culturally-conscious teaching, counseling and clinical supervision, b) creative teaching and supervision methods, c) technology in counseling, and d) sex therapy. In addition to her work in education and research, she collaborates with community partners, engages in clinical work, and participates in community outreach. Dr. Hammonds has authored numerous scholarly publications. She has been featured by WRAL News, National Public Radio, The Shade Room, Counseling Today, and The Thoughtful Counselor Podcast - in addition to giving over 70 professional, statewide, regional, national, and international presentations.

Dr. Lucy L. Purgason is an assistant professor of Counseling at Oregon State University-Cascades. With licenses and certifications as a school counselor and approved clinical supervisor, she has taught and supervised graduate counseling students for 10 years. She has five years prior experience as an elementary and high school counselor, including at a school specifically for newcomer immigrant and refugee students. Her research centers on recognizing and harnessing the cultural strengths of students and their families. In addition, she also pursues scholarship related to mentoring and supervision, with a specific emphasis on relational-cultural approaches. She is the recipient of the North Carolina Counseling Association Research Award and has been recognized by the Journal of Counselor Leadership and Advocacy as an outstanding article recipient. She is co-director of the Department of Education grant-funded program, Promoting and Advancing the Training of High Desert School Counselors (PATH-SC), aimed to increase the number and diversity of qualified school counselors in high-needs, rural K-12 schools in the Central Oregon region. On the weekends she can usually be found adventuring (and sometimes mis-adventuring) around the Pacific Northwest with her family and their dog, Max.