Stella Kerl-McClain

Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology

department: Counseling Psychology
office: 335 Rogers Hall
phone: 503-768-6077
e-mail: sbk@lclark.edu

Professional Biography

Dr. Stella Beatriz Kerl-McClain is an Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Education and Counseling at Lewis & Clark College. Prior to joining the faculty at Lewis and Clark, she spent ten years on the faculty of the Counseling Program at Texas State University--San Marcos (formerly Southwest Texas State University). Although she has been working in academe a long time, she identifies primarily as clinician/psychotherapist. Prior to and concurrent with her academic appointments, she worked in many different community mental health agencies and settings performing family, couples, and individual therapy. She is bilingual (English and Spanish) and has experience in the diagnosis and treatment of college students, children, adolescents, community women, couples and families, and people with chronic mental illness. She has experience in time-limited individual and group therapies, forensic issues (including the false memory syndrome controversy), and with a wide range of presenting problems.

During her years at Texas State, she taught most of the courses required for the Community Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy emphases, including all levels of counseling techniques courses, courses focusing on diagnosis and treatment, practicum, internship, and counseling supervision. At Lewis and Clark, Dr. Kerl-McClain has taught courses in clinical work with diverse populations, counseling theories, marriage and family therapy theories, internship, and the psychology of women.

Dr. Kerl-McClain is proud of being a founding board member of the Association for Creativity in Counseling, the newest division of the American Counseling Association. Members of the division receive a quarterly copy of the Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, a refereed journal which explores how creative, diverse, and relational therapeutic approaches can be used by therapist and client to cultivate self-discovery, personal growth, and positive relations with family and others. As an ACC board member, she also has a central role in organizing and coordinating the Dr. Lesley Jones Creativity in Counseling conference.

Publications

Kerl-McClain, S.B. & Eichler, M. (In press). The loss of innocence: Emotional consequences of gatekeeping. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 1, 3.

Kerl-McClain, S.B. (2006). Parenting diverse families creatively. Juried poster presented at the American Counseling Association Convention, March 2006.

Kerl, S.B. (2005). Outside the box. Association for Creativity in Counseling Newsletter, 1, 2.

Kerl, S. B. & Juárez, A. (2005). Sexuality across the lifespan. In Comstock, D. (Ed.). Diversity and Development: Critical contexts that shape our lives and relationships. Belmont, CA: Thompson Brooks/Cole.

Kerl, S.B. (2005). [Review of the book Redemption of the Shattered: A teenagers healing journey through sandtray therapy]. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 1, 2, 123-124.

Kerl, S.B. (2005). [Review of the book Cellular Wisdom: Decoding the Body’s Secret Language]. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 1, 1, 154-155.

Kerl, S.B. (2005). [Review of the book Creativity in Psychotherapy: Reaching New Heights with Individuals, Couples, and Families.] Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 1, 1, 153-154.

Juárez, A. & Kerl, S. B. (2003). What is the right (white) way to be sexual? Latina Sexuality. Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies, 28, 1, 7-37.

Kerl, S.B. (2002). Narrative approaches to teaching multicultural counseling. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 30, 2, 135-143.

Kerl, S.B., Garcia, J., McCullough, C. S., & Maxwell, M. E. (2002). Systematic evaluation of professional performance: Legally supported procedure and process. Counselor Education and Supervision, 41, 4, 321-333.

Sharma, P. & Kerl, S.B. (2002). Suggestions for psychologists working with Mexican American individuals and families in health care settings. Rehabilitation Psychology, 47, 2, 230-239.

Kerl, S. B. (2001). Sweepstakes. Journal of Poetry Therapy, 15, 2, 117.

Kerl, S. B., and Duffey, T. (2001). Do relational views of self support hierarchical systems? Professional Issues in Counseling 1, 1.

Kerl, S. B. & Moore, P. R. (2001). Women of color on campus: Coalitions and alliances for survival and success. Advancing Women in Leadership, 9, 1.

Academic Credentials

Ph.D. 1995, M.A. 1991, B.A. 1988 University of Texas at Austin