Counseling & Psychological Services

The Counseling & Psychological Services Center is pleased to announce our doctoral interns for the 2016-2017 school year. They are Emily Lazar from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, Pennsylvania , Predair Robinson from Palo Alto University in Palo Alto, California, and Whitney Spears from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia.

In addition to our new doctoral interns, we are very pleased to announce our two new post doctoral residents, James E. Arnett, III and Sean Fowler. James comes to us by way of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. Sean hails from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia.

Emily Lazar is a doctoral candidate in Clinical Psychology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Butler University, with a minor in English Writing. As a graduate student, Emily trained in university counseling centers and a community mental health center. She also worked as an advisor for students on academic probation and helped lead her campus's chapter of Active Minds. In addition to providing individual therapy, Emily enjoys group therapy and campus outreach and prevention. She is also particularly interested in working with phobias, self-harm, grief and loss, academic and career concerns, and suicide prevention. Emily's approach to counseling is collaborative, emphasizing the therapeutic relationship and students' goals and strengths. She primarily uses principles of interpersonal, cognitive-behavioral, mindfulness-based, and dialectical behavior therapies.
In her free time, Emily likes spending time with loved ones, traveling, creative writing, cooking, drinking tea, and watching British TV.

Predair Robinson is a doctoral candidate in Clinical Psychology at Palo Alto University in Palo Alto, California. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Christopher Newport University. While in graduate school, he completed his practicum work at the Sexual and Gender Identities Clinic (SGIC) at a student-run mental health community clinic, San Jose State University Counseling and Psychological Services, and at San Mateo’s Juvenile Hall.  His primary approach to working with clients combines elements of feminist theory and brief dynamic theory. What that means is that Predair focuses on personal empowerment and self-awareness to assist in problem solving and reducing stress. While being mindful to the various intersections of identity, he hopes to provide a positive, supportive atmosphere to help students discover and advocate for themselves. He enjoys working with a wide range of individuals, particularly depression, identity development, gender and sexuality, students of color, and first generation college students. These interest stem from his social justice training and personal experiences. Aside from clinical work, Predair focuses most of his time working on his dissertation which involves examining differences in sexual behavior and mental health among gay, bisexual, and queer men who use online dating services and online casual sex-seeking services. When engaging in free time, Predair plays a significant number of video games and board games. 

Whitney Spears, a doctoral candidate in Clinical Psychology at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia, earned her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University. As a graduate student, Whitney trained at the Georgia Southern University Counseling Center and the Savannah College of Art and Design Counseling and Support Services center. In addition, she received extensive training at the Georgia Southern Regents Center for Learning Disorders conducting cognitive assessments to college students within the University System of Georgia. Whitney utilizes an integrative approach within her clinical work and relies most on feminist-multicultural and humanist perspectives to build a strong therapeutic relationship and provide an environment of support. She also draws from emotion-focused, interpersonal, and mindfulness approaches to help clients identify, process, and express their emotions and experiences. Whitney has a broad range of interests and enjoys working with a variety of students. Her main clinical interests include trauma, eating concerns/body image, multiculturalism, gender and sexuality, women’s issues, identity development, and anxiety. In her spare time, Whitney enjoys playing her instruments, listening to music, collecting vinyl records, and traveling to music festivals/live shows. She also enjoys watching Netflix, reading, obsessing over cute dogs, and most importantly, spending time with her family and friends.

James Arnett is a recent doctoral graduate from the Counseling Psychology  progam at the University of Tennessee. James earned his Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Memphis. In graduate school, he completed his practicum work at the University of Tennessee’s Counseling Center, Cornerstone substance abuse treatment center, and the Family Justice Center, an agency that provides guidance and legal aid to those in domestic violence situations by providing group and individual therapy. His primary approach to working with clients contains elements of humanistic, feminist-multicultural, existential, emotion-focused, and interpersonal approaches, blended together to help clients express their authentic selves, process painful emotions and fears, and feel supported in their endeavor. He enjoys working with a range of issues, with a particular interest in interpersonal trauma, gender and sexuality, and grief and depression. In addition to clinical work, James enjoys research, and has conducted research on career development for students of color and LGB students, and the impact of biphobia on mental and physical health for bisexuals. Lastly, James integrates social justice and critical perspectives in his work to potentially address the effects of oppression for clients and communities affected by marginalization. In his free time, James enjoys video games, trying new restaurants and bars, and pestering his two cats.

Sean Fowler is a recent doctoral graduate from the Clinical Psychology program at Georgia Southern University. Sean earned his Bachelor’s in Psychology from East Carolina University. In graduate school, he completed his practicum work at the Georgia Southern University community Psychology Clinic, and worked two years at the Office of Counseling and Student Support Services at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Sean completed his doctoral internship at the North Carolina State University Counseling Center. Additionally, he has worked as an adjunct psychology professor at Lenoir-Rhyne University, where he taught Introductory Psychology, Counseling Theories, and Abnormal Psychology courses. Therapeutically he tends to work from a psychodynamic/relational, existential, and mindfulness-based orientation. He often utilizes meditation training as a way to help students decrease anxiety and better manage stress. In addition to clinical work, Sean enjoys research, and has published articles on healthcare reform and psychoanalytic theory. He also completed a doctoral dissertation focusing on the moderating effects of mentalization on the relationship between trauma and psychological symptoms. Outside of work, Sean enjoys hiking, architecture, photography, snowboarding, and reading.

The Center is fortunate to have such capable interns and post doctoral residents. We look forward to the special skills, abilities, and personalities that they bring to the Center, the students, and the Appalachian community. The internships and residencies begin August 1, 2016 and end July 31, 2017.