Karen Decker

Professor • Special Education, Professional Counseling and Disability Studies

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Karen Decker is Department Chair for the Department of Special Education, Professional Counseling and Disability Studies, and she is an Associate Professor in the Professional Counseling Program at William Paterson University, New Jersey. Dr. Decker has her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision. She is both a certified school counselor and Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in New Jersey and has worked as a middle school counselor and as a counselor in a mental health agency. In addition to her professional licenses, Dr. Decker is also a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) and an Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS).

Professional Interests

Social justice counseling; School Counseling; Counselor Education; Individual Counseling; Clinical Supervision; Disability Studies

Other Interests

Professional Memberships
American Counseling Association (ACA)
Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES)
North Atlantic Region Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (NARACES)
Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD)

Degrees

PhD Counselor Education and Supervision, Capella University , MN

MEd Professional Counseling, William Paterson University Wayne, NJ

BA Early Childhood Education, Montclair State College Montclair, NJ

Specialization

School counseling; Mental Health Counseling, Counselor Education

Licenses and Certifications

I am licensed as a professional counselor in the state of New Jersey. 11/30/2008
Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), State

I am licensed to be a school counselor in New Jersey. 08/31/2004
Student Personnel Services Certification, State

06/30/2005
National Certified Counselor, National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC)

03/31/2009
Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS), Center for Credentialing and Education (CCE) National

06/30/1994
Elementary School Teacher Certification N-8, State

Representative Publications

Counseling celebrity interviews; The Handbook of Experiential Teaching in Counselor Education: A Resource Guide for Counselor Educators; 2018

Infusing social justice advocacy into counselor education: Strategies and recommendations; , The Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision; 2016
http://dx.doi.org/10.7729/83.1092

Creative Experiential Interventions to Heighten Emotion and Process in Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy; , The Family Journal; Volume 23, 2015
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1066480715572964

Representative Presentations

Building Bridges: Interdisciplinary Collaboration between Counseling and Speech-Language Pathology
2022 NARACES Conference: Presentation and Conference NARACES
Pittsburgh, PA 2022

Pop culture and adolescents: Experiential Interventions to work with clients
American Counseling Association National Conference ACA
Atlanta, GA 2018

Addiction in the Schools: Improving Training for School Counselors
American Counseling Association ACA
Atlanta, GA 2018

Notable Courses Taught

6030 Multicultural Counseling
6200 Foundations of School Counseling
6300, 6120, 6180, 6860 and 6870 Practicum and Internship in Counseling
6950 Counseling with LGBTQIA+ Clients
CSP 6960 School Law and Mental Health Codes for Counselors

Undergraduate Admissions

Graduate Admissions

International Students

Administration

Faculty and Staff