Dr. Jill Weidknecht Van Horne, Ph.D.

Office
336B
College of Education

Dr. Jill Weidknecht Van Horne (she/her), Ph.D. (LCMHCS, NCPSC, NCC, RPTS, EAGALA certified; EMDR-trained), is an Associate Professor and Director of the Professional School Counseling Program in the Department of Counseling, Family Therapy, and Higher Education at Appalachian State University. She brings over 25 years of experience in school counseling and clinical mental health.

Dr. Van Horne works primarily with children and adolescents. Her professional interests include incorporating multi-sensory and experiential approaches—such as equine-assisted therapy and play therapy—into her work, as well as extending dialogue between professional school counseling and clinical mental health disciplines.

Her Equine Assisted Therapy course has been highlighted by UNC-TV. She is the current President of the European Branch of the American Counseling Association and a past Vice President of the North Carolina Association for Play Therapy. She is also an active member of several professional organizations, including Chi Sigma Iota (Faculty Co-Advisor), the American School Counseling Association, the American Counseling Association, the Association for Play Therapy, and the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association.

In 2020, Dr. Van Horne received the college’s Outstanding Mentoring Award and the European Branch of the American Counseling Association's International Service Award. 

Expressive Arts Courses Taught

• CED 5550 – Equine Assisted Therapy
• CED 5565 – Introduction to Play Therapy

Selected Publications and Presentations

• Van Horne, J.W., & Nave, L. TILTed Conversations: Making Intercultural Learning Visible With UDL. International Virtual Exchange Conference (IVEC), October 25–28, 2022, Valencia, Spain.
• Van Horne, J.W. Treating T/trauma through Play Therapy. EB-ACA Learning Institute (Invited Full-Day Seminar), May 13–14, 2022, Edinburgh, Scotland.
• Purgason, L. L., Hammonds, D., Miller, G., Van Horne, J. W., & Clark, C. (2022). Teaching During COVID-19: Relational-Cultural Theory in the Online Classroom. Journal of Technology in Counselor Education and Supervision, 2(1), 5.