Michael Lee White and Travis Woodruff, two students obtaining the certificate in addiction counseling through the Department of Human Development and Psychological Counseling (Community Counseling Mental Health Track), along with their faculty mentor, Dr. Geri Miller, presented at the Licensed Professional Counselors Association of North Carolina (LPCANC) Conference. The conference was held October 26-28, 2017 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Their presentation, titled "Substance Abuse in the Family: Focus on Military Families," provided an overview of the dynamics of substance abuse in a family system, specifically military and African-American families, as well as counseling techniques for these populations.
The presentation was integrative across the three presenters' disciplines:
- Substance abuse dynamics in family systems (Miller)
- Counseling military personnel and their family members (Woodruff)
- Counseling African-American families (White)
All three have worked with these respective populations professionally, and they were able to combine literature reviews, available resources, and their years of "hands-on" experience in their presentation.
About White and Woodruff, Miller said, "I was impressed by the professionalism of my students and the quality of their work. This is the first time either of them presented professionally at a counseling conference."
They have also been accepted to present similar information at the American Counseling Association Conference, a national conference that has a highly competitive proposal submission process, in April 2018.
About Michael Lee White
White earned a master's degree in higher education with a leadership concentration from Appalachian State University and a master's in agency counseling and bachelor's in dramatic art from North Carolina Central University. He is currently pursuing the addiction counseling certificate at Appalachian.
White has worked in the fields of substance abuse, foster care, homelessness and education. He worked for the State Office of AIDS in California, at inpatient and outpatient drug treatment centers, as coordinator for the Prison Network Project in Los Angeles, as a drug counselor and HIV coordinator for Homeless Health Care Los Angeles, and as administrator for Grace Home and Inglewood foster family agencies. White has also taught English in Japan.
About Travis Woodruff
Woodruff is currently a graduate student at Appalachian. He is studying clinical mental health counseling with an addiction concentration in the Department of Human Development and Psychological Counseling.
Prior to coming to Appalachian, Woodruff graduated cum laude from the University of Mississippi with a master's in philosophy as well as cum laude with dual Bachelor of Art's degrees in philosophy and English (writing concentration) from Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU).
A Desert Storm veteran, Woodruff was first exposed to counseling as a chaplain's assistant in the U.S. Army. He has recently accepted a position as a middle school English teacher at an alternative school for students with behavioral issues. Woodruff is also a songwriter. He wrote songs in Nashville, TN for over 10 years.
About Geri Miller
Miller is a professor in the Department of Human Development and Psychological Counseling (Clinical Mental Health Counseling Track). She is also a Diplomate in Counseling Psychology, ABPP, Licensed Psychologist, Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist, and Licensed Professional Counselor.
Miller was hired by Appalachian in 1992 and has served as an assistant professor, associate professor and professor. Miller received her Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Ball State University, her M.S.E. from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and her B.A. from Moorhead State University.
She has also received a Certificate of Proficiency in the Treatment of Alcohol and other Psychoactive Substance Use Disorders from the American Psychological Association College of Professional Psychology.
Her teaching and research interests include addictions, group process, multicultural, spirituality and disaster mental health. She has published several books and has presented research on the subject of counseling.
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