Veteran mental health expert Dr. Whitney George added to BRCHS faculty

A seasoned mental health practitioner and researcher is helping add even more expertise to the new Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program in the Brooks Rehabilitation College of Health Care Sciences.

Assistant Prof. Whitney George joins the program after serving as a visiting/part-time instructor for the University of North Florida Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program and as an adjunct faculty member for Flagler College.

Dr. George earned a Ph.D., M.Ed., and Ed.S. in Counselor Education from the University of Florida. She also has an M.A. from Boston College and a B.A. from Tulane University, both in Psychology. Her research interest is in aging and mental health, with her Doctoral Dissertation focusing on the Theory of Gerotranscendence in diverse racial and ethnic older adults in Florida. She has presented at national and local conferences, most recently as an invited presenter at the Association for Adult Development and Aging Conference in New York City in August 2015. Dr. George also serves on the Board of Governors for ElderSource, the local Area Agency on Aging.

She is active in the community, providing supervision to those seeking licensure, serving on local boards, and acting as a consultant. She participated in a training to have her dog certified as a therapy dog, and volunteered this service in local oncology wards. In addition, Dr. George has participated in several community and clinical outreach projects. Most notably she traveled to South Africa and Botswana with the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development to provide clinical service to children affected by loss of parents to AIDS. While in South Africa, she was also instrumental in hosting a conference with local affiliates on the impact of trauma and secondary trauma.

Dr. George is a member of the Northeast Florida Mental Health Counseling Association, American Counseling Association, Association of Counselor Education and Supervision and Association of Adult Development and Aging. In 2007, she received an international award for service to the profession from Chi Sigma Iota, the Clinical Mental Health Counseling honor society.

The Brooks Rehabilitation College of Healthcare Sciences continues its expansion of the School of Applied Health Sciences with the start of the region’s only hybrid-style mental health counseling master’s degree to equip graduates with expertise in both clinical mental health counseling and marriage, couples and family counseling.

The rigorous two-year, 60-credit hour program, which began in January 2016 and is now taking competitive applicants for its first 12-member cohort, meets the educational requirements for Florida licensure as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, and also offers the option of Florida licensure as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.

For more program information, visit the Brooks Rehabilitation College of Healthcare Sciences, or contact Dr. Leigh Hart, Assistant Dean, at lhart@ju.edu or (904) 256-7600. For admissions information, contact Ashlea Rieser, JU Graduate Admissions Officer, at aquitte@ju.edu or (904) 256-7209.