Program Affiliations

Assistant Professor of Counseling Education

Biography

Dr. Lisa Whitehead is Assistant Professor of Counselor Education in the department of Social and Behavioral Sciences. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Supervisor (LPC-S), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor in Texas, with special certification as an EMDRIA EMDR Certified Therapist and EMDRIA Consultant-in-Training. Dr. Whitehead specializes in survivors of childhood sexual abuse and couples counseling with specific training in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy. Dr. Whitehead teaches graduate courses in Clinical Mental Health Counseling pertaining to trauma, counseling skills and techniques, marriage and family counseling and has developed a specialized course with the integration of spirituality into counseling practice.

Professional Experience

In her role at Texas A&M University-Texarkana, Dr. Whitehead teaches and designs graduate-level counseling courses. One of her signature contributions is an asynchronous course on Integrating Spirituality into Counseling, which equips students to address spiritual and religious concerns in ways that are ethical, culturally sensitive, and grounded in evidence-based practice.

Education

Dr. Whitehead’s academic journey reflects a blend of theological training, clinical expertise, and creative communication. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Radio, Television, and Film from Sam Houston State University in 1994, followed by a Master of Religion from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in 2004. She later returned to Sam Houston State University to complete a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in 2016. She has also pursued extensive post-graduate training, earning multiple professional licenses and advanced credentials in Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR), Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT), and Registered Play Therapy.

Teaching

Dr. Whitehead teaches graduate courses in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and uses her diverse background in trauma, spirituality, and couples counseling to inform her teaching. Her main goal as a counselor educator is to equip future counselors with the knowledge, skills, and self-awareness needed to serve clients with cultural humility, clinical excellence, and compassionate presence. Dr. Whitehead is dedicated to empowering students to embrace holistic counseling practices that honor the whole person: mind, body, and spirit.

Scholarship & Creative Activity 

Dr. Whitehead remains active in scholarly pursuits as a counselor educator. Her research explores the intersection of trauma, culture, and spirituality in counseling. She has a particular interest in trauma and structural dissociation, with a focus on how these issues affect BIPOC communities, Christian communities, and clients engaging in spiritually integrated EMDR. Her work also examines the role of spirituality in counseling, both as a source of resilience and as an area of clinical competency. In addition, she is passionate about advancing best practices in couples counseling, with attention to cultural and spiritual factors that shape relationship dynamics. Dr. Whitehead presents for regional, national and state professional counselor conferences and has publications with peer-reviewed newsletters and books in counseling. She is the Co-Chair of the International Association of Resiliency and Trauma Counseling (IARTC) Marketing and Communications Committee she also served as the Graduate Student Editor for the Southern Association of Counselor Educators and Supervisors (SACES) Newsletter during her doctoral studies.

Publications

Whitehead, L., Cross, A., Smith, D., Stretch, L., Tarziers, K., (Spring 2024). From Anxiety to Assurance: How Teaching Assistant-Led Labs Addresses Counseling Student’s Anxiety in Statistics. SACES Newsletter, 19(2), 12-14.

Whitehead, L., Corbin, C., (Summer 2024). Strengthening Counselors' Identity as Lifelines for Children in Distress. Association for Children and Adolescent Counseling Newsletter, 15(2), 2-4.

Awards and Recognition

Dr. Whitehead’s professional contributions have been recognized through multiple awards and honors. She was selected by the EMDRIA Foundation to participate in the Racial Equity Support Initiative (RESI) program, through which she earned her EMDR Consultant credential. Her work and academic excellence have been highlighted in the University of the Cumberlands Diversity Newsletter “Student Spotlight,” and she is a recipient of the Association of Counselor Educators and Supervision (ACES)Diversity Scholarship, awarded at its annual conference in 2023.