About me…
“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper. ”
Debbie C. Sturm, PhD, LPC (VA), LPCC-S (OH)
I am a counselor educator, scholar–practitioner, and consultant whose work sits at the intersection of climate, place, mental health, and human systems. Across more than two decades of teaching, research, clinical practice, and leadership, my work has focused on how people—and the systems meant to support them—navigate complexity, disruption, and change.
My professional identity has been shaped by sustained engagement in counselor education, clinical supervision, climate-informed mental health, disaster behavioral health, and place-based approaches to healing and learning. I work across academic, clinical, and community contexts, with a particular commitment to ethical, relational, and justice-oriented practice.
Credentials & Affiliations
I hold a PhD in Counseling & Supervision and am a Licensed Professional Counselor and clinical supervisor in Virginia and a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor–Supervisor in Ohio. I am a certified sylvotherapy (forest) practitioner. And I maintain active involvement in national and regional professional organizations related to counseling, counselor education, climate psychology, and environmental justice.
On a Personal Note
I’m the eldest daughter in my family, a role that quietly shaped my sense of responsibility, care, and curiosity about people’s inner worlds. I’ve been married for over 20 years to my partner, Phil—a photographer with a deep appreciation for light, landscape, and story—and I’m a sister who values family connection. At home, I share life with two golden retrievers, Madison and Sandy, who keep me laughing and grounded in daily rhythms of walks, weather, and wonder.
Place matters to me. My family roots stretch across England, Malta, and Scotland, and although I currently live in Ohio, I feel most myself on a long road trip heading west—windows down, maps unfolding, landscapes slowly changing. Outside of my professional work, I’m happiest wandering wooded trails, paying attention to seasons, and spending quiet time outdoors. I love reading—especially historical fiction that brings place, time, and human resilience vividly to life. Much of what matters most to me—connection, reflection, and care for the world we inhabit—shapes both how I live and how I work.
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My Professional Work
I am currently a Professor in the Counseling & Supervision PhD Program at James Madison University, where I have served in multiple leadership roles including Program Director, Clinical Coordinator, and long-standing CACREP Liaison. My work has involved guiding programs through accreditation, curricular redesign, faculty development, and doctoral training, while mentoring students across the full arc of professional identity development—from practicum to dissertation.
My teaching spans master’s, doctoral, and undergraduate levels and includes coursework in counseling theories, supervision, crisis and disaster response, trauma-informed practice, multicultural counseling, leadership and advocacy, and nature-connectedness. I have also designed and led multiple international and study-abroad programs focused on sustainability, mental health, and place-based learning in Scotland, Malta, and the United Kingdom.
Across these roles, I have been deeply engaged in mentoring doctoral research, chairing and co-chairing dissertations that address climate anxiety, disaster response, ethics and supervision, counselor identity, eco-wellness, and social justice–oriented practice.
Alongside my academic work, I maintain an active clinical and supervisory practice. I provide counseling and clinical supervision in Ohio and Virginia, working with adults and children around grief, loss, trauma, anxiety, and life transitions. My clinical orientation is relational, systems-informed, and attentive to the broader social, environmental, and cultural contexts shaping mental health.
Supervision is a central throughline in my work—as a clinician, educator, and consultant. I am particularly interested in how supervision supports ethical decision-making, sustainability of practice, and clinician well-being in contexts of chronic stress, crisis, and climate-related distress..
Research Contributions
My scholarship and professional work explore the mental health dimensions of climate change and disaster, with attention to how people and systems respond to uncertainty, loss, and disruption. I have published extensively in this area and am the author of two books focused on climate-informed disaster behavioral health and climate competencies in counselor education. This work bridges research, training, and practice, with a particular emphasis on ethical responsibility and professional sustainability. At its core, it asks how we care for others—and ourselves—in a changing world.
Forest Therapy
My forest therapy work draws on formal training, long-standing clinical use of nature-based practices, and international teaching experiences that have shaped how I understand place and well-being. I offer guided, non-clinical experiences designed to support regulation, reflection, and connection through sensory engagement with the natural world. This work is distinct from psychotherapy and supervision, yet informed by the same relational and ethical foundations. At its heart is a simple invitation: to slow down, notice, and be with the land.
CACREP Consultation
My CACREP consultation supports programs seeking thoughtful, well-aligned approaches to accreditation and program development. With over fifteen years of experience working across multiple CACREP standards and accreditation cycles, I assist with self-study preparation, curriculum mapping, faculty documentation, and accreditation leadership mentoring. This work emphasizes coherence, transparency, and sustainability within complex institutional contexts.
Contact me…
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