Concordia’s innovative and pioneering PhD in counselor education & supervision program graduated its first cohort in December 2024, a significant milestone for students and for the University as it marks the second doctoral degree to be granted exclusively by Concordia University Irvine, and the first doctoral program within the Townsend Institute.
“I don’t know that we could have had a better first cohort,” says Dr. Donna Washburn, assistant dean of the Townsend Institute programs, who taught the first class in the doctoral program. “These students jumped in with both feet to learn what it meant to be a counselor-educator and took advantage of every opportunity we put before them. To be on the front row watching them on their journey has been an honor and privilege.”
The PhD degree equips professional counselors to become teachers and leaders in the field through supervision, teaching, and original research. The Townsend Institute also houses graduate programs and certificates in executive coaching and consulting and organizational leadership.
“Every master’s student will go out and touch thousands of lives as clinicians one-on-one, but PhD students will touch thousands of students,” says Dr. Margaret Christmas Thomas, dean and professor in the Townsend Institute. “There’s a multiplication there that has a tremendous influence on the field.”
The three women who earned Concordia’s PhD degree hail from different parts of the country and come from different generations, which added a richness to their relationships and learning.
Jordan Fink, 36, of Palm Springs had earned a bachelor’s degree in clinical psychology at Concordia in 2010, then earned a master’s degree and worked as a licensed marriage and family therapist. She says the Townsend model’s relational approach strongly resonated with her, and she joined the first PhD cohort in 2021.
“I realized there was a lot I didn’t know about being an effective teacher,” she says. “I have so much more confidence now than when I came into the program. I feel more grounded in my teaching approaches, more guided by theories of teaching and leadership. I have a broader spectrum of techniques and strategies to pull from and to guide my practice as a teacher. Everything feels much more thoughtful and intentional; I'm not I’m not relying solely on my own experiences as a counselor.”
She also feels more informed as a researcher, able to use evidence-based practices in teaching and counseling.
“I really appreciated the caring faculty in the Townsend Institute and the small details —the personalized messages they sent us, praying with us in class and the support outside the classroom,” Fink says. “I hope to emulate that individualized sense of care in my teaching and supervision to help students grow into counselors.”
Michelle Hollomon, a counselor living in Seattle, has been in private practice for almost twenty years. She chose the Townsend Institute for its focus on character development and for the opportunities for personal and spiritual growth and reflection it incorporates into its curriculum.
“I’m a more mature and changed person for going through the program,” Hollomon says.
She also relished working with fellow students.
“We were all different ages and from different backgrounds, which was kind of cool — millennial, boomer, and X’er,” she says. “One of us had kids at home, one has grandchildren, one wasn’t yet married. We used this as a platform for discussing cultural differences.”
Those interactions grew into a presentation at a national conference and a state conference on the subject of supervising Gen Z-age employees in the workplace. Karen Thacker, who lives near Boulder, Colorado, has been practicing as a licensed counselor since 2007 and was also part of the inaugural PhD cohort. She says the “Supervising Gen Z” presentation garnered much interest.
“A lot of people my age are providing supervision to the Gen Z population which is coming into the field, and there’s a huge disconnect in terms of how people from our generations function,” Thacker says. “We presented how to bridge the gap between the generations and meet Gen Z where they’re at.”
The high point of the presentations was when they had attendees from different generations talk to each other and interact about the subject.
“Those conversations turned out to be gold,” Thacker says. She, too, chose the Townsend Institute because of John Townsend’s character and competency growth model.
“For me, it was a slam dunk,” Thacker says. “I wrestled with going back to school and getting my PhD. I knew it would take a lot of time, money, and effort. But it was everything I hoped it would be.”
One of her biggest take-aways is the courage to conduct and present original research, which grew out of a class assignment.
“In class, we came up with a topic, did research, and created a proposal to present on that topic,” Thacker recalls. “Then the professor said, ‘And I fully expect you to actually submit this. You’re going to do this in real life, not just for a grade.’ That really struck me and ignited something within me to get out there and bring new information to inspire others in our field of counseling and counseling education.”
The professors’ confidence became her own.
“They believed in us,” Thacker says. “I wouldn’t have done it but our professors encouraged us and said, ‘You are qualified and have something to bring.’ They helped us embrace that professional identity as counselors in the field.”
Dr. Matthew Paylo, director of the MA and PhD programs, has taught in the PhD program since its inception.
“We set out with the goal to be a Christ-centered program raising up culturally-informed, competent counselor-educator-supervisors,” he says. “You see that work come to fruition in these people’s lives. These women are exceptional and are going to do great things moving forward.”
Three other cohorts are already moving through as the program matures and develops a distinct culture. One aspect of that is the partnership doctoral students experience with faculty members in helping to teach master’s level classes.
“The supervision and teaching area has been phenomenal,” Paylo says. “Our graduate students have co-taught with a doctoral faculty in their classes and had really good applied learning with instant feedback. That’s a real value because they are going into a competitive job market. Anytime they can show future employers they have experience in these types of things, like writing curricula and applied learning, is very helpful.”
Also beneficial have been the two required residencies, the “revolutionary” integrated dissertation approach, and the expectation that students present at significant conferences, which is “creating a culture that impacts the field of counselor education,” Paylo says.
Washburn says credit for the program’s early success rests mainly with the faculty.
“The doctoral faculty has made this program,” she says. “They mentor these students, go to conferences with them, and help them publish. We are really grateful for the caliber of faculty we have.”