Priyanka Jha
Assistant Professor of Counseling
249 Latham Hall
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Priyanka Jha
Assistant Professor of Counseling
Dr Priyanka Jha joined the Department of Family, Aging, and Counseling in Fall 2025. Prior to joining UNI, Dr Jha earned her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from Northern Illinois University. Dr Jha’s research agenda revolves broadly around professional development and impact of cultural issues in counseling and counselor education. She is most focused on mentorship and its implications while expanding her scholarship in researcher development, counselor education pedagogy, and trauma. She is passionate about research methodology and has experience with a broad range of quantitative and qualitative methods of inquiry. Her professional and scholarly endeavors have resulted in international, national and regional presentations, as well as publications in the Counselor Education and Supervision, Journal of Counselor Leadership and Advocacy and Journal of Creativity in Mental Health. Dr Jha has received several prestigious research grants, including the ACES Student Grant Award (2024), AARC Sponsored Scholarship Program (2024), and Northern Illinois University College of Education Dean's Dissertation Student Grant (2024). Clinically, Dr Jha is passionate about working with marginalized populations, with special attention to gender-based violence. She worked at mental health organizations with adolescents and young adults in India.
Dr Jha currently serves on the editorial board of Journal of Humanistic Counseling and Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision and as ad hoc reviewer for Counselor Education and Supervision and Journal of Counselor Leadership and Advocacy. She also holds leadership roles including Co-Chair of the AARC Research Committee (2025-28), member of the AARC International Task Force (since July 2024), and member of the ACES Grant Development Task Force (2025-26). She received the Glen E. Hubele National Graduate Student Award (2024-25) from American Counseling Association in recognition for her outstanding scholarship. She was an AARC Emerging Leader (2024) and received the Outstanding Graduate Student Award (2024) from Northern Illinois University. She is actively involved in professional counseling organizations on the regional, national, and international levels.
Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL
MSc. in Counseling Psychology, Christ (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, India
BA Triple Major in Psychology, Sociology, English, Christ (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, India
Professional Orientation and Ethics in Counseling, Research Methods in Counseling, Multicultural Counseling, Group Counseling Skills and Processes
Researcher development, Professional identity development in Counseling and Counselor Education, Culture, Ethnic/Cultural minority populations, Trauma
Selected Publications:
Han, E., Lee, I., & Jha, P. (2025). Researcher identity development among women of color in counselor education. Counselor Education and Supervision. https://doi.org/10.1002/ceas.70002
Lee, I., Xu, Y., & Jha, P. (2025). From “all-but-dissertation” to doctorate: The dissertation experiences of doctoral candidates with extended time to degree. Journal of Counselor Leadership and Advocacy, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/2326716X.2024.2449358
Schoonover, T. J., Jha, P., Romito, M., Arogundade, B., & DePinto. A. (2024). Sandtray therapy impact on trauma symptoms in adults. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 20(3), 345-361. https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2024.2377410
Jha, P., Zhu, P., Lee, I., & Fickling, M. (manuscript in progress). Path Analysis of Person, Socio-Cognitive, Environmental factors of International Counseling Students’ Research Development.
Jha, P., Zhu, P., & Fickling, M. (manuscript in progress). Exploring Research Training Experiences of CES Doctoral Students: A Consensual Qualitative Research.
Zhu, P., Jha, P., & Arogundade, B. (under revision). A Primer for Embracing Longitudinal Methods to Analyze Change in Counseling Research. Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation.
Research Grants:
Principal Investigator: Jha, P. Path Analysis of Person, Socio-Cognitive, Environmental Factors of International Counseling Students’ Research Development. Awarded $1000.00 through Dean’s Dissertation Completion Student Grant 2024, sponsored by College of Education, Northern Illinois University.
Principal Investigator: Jha, P. Culturally Responsive Research Mentorship: Enhancing Research Identity and Research Interest for International Counseling Graduate Students.
- Awarded $2495.00 through Sponsored Scholarship Program, 2024 Graduate Student Grant, sponsored by Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (AARC).
- Awarded $1000.00 through Association of Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) 2024 Student Grant, sponsored by ACES.
Selected Presentations:
Jha, P., Mao, Y., & Zhu, P. (2025 October). Intellectual humility and counselor trainees' attitude toward counseling theories. Education session to be presented at the Association for Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) biannual conference, Philadelphia, PA.
Han, E., Lee, I., & Jha, P. (2025 October). Researcher identity of women of color in counselor education and supervision: A phenomenological study. Education session to be presented at the Association for Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) biannual conference, Philadelphia, PA.
Jha, P., Lee, I., & Fickling, M. (2025 September). Path analysis of factors impacting research development of international counseling students. Education session to be presented at the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling Conference (AARC) annual conference, Daytona, FL.
Arogundade, B., & Jha, P. (2025 September). Hidden effects in counseling research: The Solomon Four Group Design. Roundtable session to be presented at the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling Conference (AARC) annual conference, Daytona, FL
Jha, P., & Xu, Y. (2024 October). Research identity and research self-efficacy in international graduate students in counselor education. Education session to be presented at the North Central Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (NCACES), Rosemont, IL.
Lee, I., Xu, Y., & Jha, P. (2024 October). The dissertation experiences of doctoral candidates with extended time to degree. Education session to be presented at the North Central Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (NCACES), Rosemont, IL.
Zhu, P., Litherland, G., Jha, P., Kimbrough, L., & Boldt, K. (2024 October). Fostering clinical wisdom through training and clinical supervision. Education session to be presented at the North Central Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (NCACES), Rosemont, IL.
Jha, P. (2024 September). Culturally responsive research mentorship for international CES graduate students’ researcher identity. Content session presented at the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling Conference (AARC) annual conference, Pittsburgh, PA.
Zhu, P., Jha, P., & Arogundade, B. (2024 September). Using Longitudinal Methods to Study Change in Counseling Research. Content session presented at the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling Conference (AARC) annual conference, Pittsburgh, PA.
Lee, I., Jha, P., & Xu, Y. (2024 September). Supporting All-but-dissertation (ABD) doctoral candidates’ dissertation process: Implications for research training and dissertation advising. Roundtable session presented at the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling Conference (AARC) annual conference, Pittsburgh, PA.
Khara, K., Jha, P., & Schoonover, T. J. (2024 September). Anniversary reactions in social service providers. Poster session presented at the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling Conference (AARC) annual conference, Pittsburgh, PA.
Invited Talks:
Zhu, P., Jha, P., & Arogundade, B. (April 2025). Change Matters: Embracing Longitudinal Analyses in Counseling Research. ACES International Student and Faculty Interest Network. Delivered virtually.
Jha, P. (March 2025). College of Education International Alumni/Student Panel Discussion. Northern Illinois University. Delivered virtually.
Awards:
Emerging Leader (Professional) | 2025 | North Central region ACES (NCACES) |
Glen E. Hubele National Graduate Student Award | 2025 | American Counseling Association |
Emerging Leader (Doctoral Student) | 2024 | Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling |
Diversity Scholarship | 2024 | North Central region ACES (NCACES) |
Outstanding Graduate Student Award | 2024 | Northern Illinois University |
Language:
English: Primary fluency
Hindi: Primary fluency/Native speaker
Bengali: Professional working proficiency
Maithili: Professional working proficiency
French: Elementary proficiency