Stephaney S. Morrison, Ph.D., LPC, NCC

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Stephaney S. Morrison was born in Jamaica West Indies, the 7th of 8 children born to her parents, Cyril and Elira Carter, and the only one of her siblings to attain a college education. After completing a BA in Theology and minor in Guidance and Counselling, she was hired in 2002 as a Guidance Counsellor in a primary/junior high school in Jamaica (one of the first guidance counsellors hired in primary schools in Jamaica during that time). Her work in poor rural Jamaica with children and families was recognized nationally by the Ministry of Education in Jamaica and the Jamaica Guidance Counsellors Association.  The award included recognition for being an outstanding school counselor, and for developing an exemplary school counseling program, including an outstanding parent education program.  Out of that recognition, in 2004 Stephaney was recruited to complete her Masters in Counselor Education with an emphasis in School Counseling at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Wisconsin, USA. She later completed her Doctorate in Counselor Education and Supervision at Western Michigan University. Her dissertation was titled: Jamaican American Child Disciplinary Practices. She has worked at Hunter College - City University of New York as an Assistant Professor and Program Director for School Counseling. She is currently a tenured Associate Professor at Fairfield University, Connecticut where she is Director of the School Counseling Program. During 2021-23 she was Associate Dean for the School of Education and Human Development. Stephaney is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a National Certified Counselor. She currently runs a small private practice counseling clients with anxiety, depression, early childhood experiences, and grief and loss.

 

Stephaney has been involved in the training of professional school counselors and clinical mental health counselors for nearly 12 years. Her research and teaching interests have been centered on the importance of family partnerships and family counseling in the school system. The school is well positioned to provide family counseling services especially for families who do not have access to mental health services and support. She has published on bridging the gap between home and school and mental health concerns in Caribbean immigrant families.  Stephaney recently co-edited the Routledge book, School-based Family Counseling for Refugees and Immigrants. Her current interest has been around trauma informed teaching in the classroom, trauma informed career planning, and grief and loss counseling. She has published in several peer-reviewed counseling journals, presented at conferences such as the American Counselors Association, Association of Counselor Education and Supervision, Connecticut State School Counselors Association, and American Education Research Association (AERA), as well as presenting as an invited speaker at churches, universities, and community organizations.