Research and Scholarship

My research is driven by questions that emerge from clinical practice—especially the moments when a counselor wants to help but has not been given the language, preparation, or support needed to respond competently. I am interested in the space between good intentions and effective practice and in how counselor education, supervision, and professional development can better prepare clinicians to work with experiences and identities that have historically been overlooked, stigmatized, or misunderstood.

My dissertation, Kink in the (Treatment) Plan: Novice Counselors’ Self-Perceptions of Competency and Comfort Working with Kink-Oriented Clients, explored how novice counselors understood their comfort, competence, and preparedness when working with kink-oriented clients. The study examined how participants made meaning of their education, supervision, clinical experiences, personal values, biases, and professional responsibilities. This work reinforced my interest in how counselors develop competence and what happens when ethical commitment is present but practical preparation is limited.

My future research will continue examining counselor readiness for kink-affirming practice across different stages of professional development. I am interested in comparing the experiences of counseling students, provisionally licensed clinicians, recently licensed counselors, experienced practitioners, supervisors, and counselor educators. Exploring these groups separately and in relation to one another may clarify when counselors receive meaningful preparation, where developmental gaps remain, and whether coursework, supervision, consultation, or post-licensure experience has the strongest influence on perceived readiness.

I am also interested in moving beyond identifying gaps toward evaluating solutions. Future projects may examine the effectiveness of educational modules, clinical language guides, case-based learning, supervision practices, consultation models, and experiential training designed to support kink-affirming care. This work could help identify which approaches increase not only counselor comfort, but also the knowledge, self-awareness, ethical reasoning, and applied skills necessary for competent practice.

Ultimately, I want my research to be usable. Scholarship is most meaningful to me when it can be translated into stronger training, more thoughtful supervision, and safer clinical experiences for clients. My long-term research agenda will remain grounded in the connection between counselor development and client care, with particular attention to cultural humility, marginalized identities, professional bias, ethical responsibility, and the practical conditions that help counselors grow into competent and affirming practitioners.