September 19, 2016

Welcome Justin Henderson

The Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling is pleased to welcome its new Community Counseling Center Director, Justin Henderson, PhD.

The Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling is pleased to welcome its new Community Counseling Center Director, Justin Henderson, PhD.

“The Graduate School has a strong social justice value system that I subscribe to and am passionate about,” says Henderson of his decision to join Lewis & Clark. “During my interview, I felt connected with the faculty and believed it to be a good match to my professional interests and goals.”

Since his arrival in early August, Henderson has hit the ground running, quickly putting into play his love of working administratively on systems to help optimize the Center’s mission.

“There are already improvements being made in the process of updating the video and audio recording technology to aid in clinical supervision, training, and research at the center,” he explains. “In addition to this update, we will be working on gathering client satisfaction data from those who have utilized the services.”

This type of improvement is going to be a constant in Henderson’s role—he has plans to continue to work on marketing the center’s services to expand their reach into the Portland metro area. Additionally, he intends to seek a specialization in services like Problem Gambling and the soon to be rolled out Problem Gaming Services, which “continue to be notable and unique programs worthy of continued investment.”

All of this work and continued upgrades are meant to support one of the center’s key strengths: it’s graduate student trainees. “Whether they [the student trainees] are graduate assistants conducting phone screenings, early practicum students, or advanced interns, they are passionate about the enterprise of therapy and helping people,” Henderson said. “It has already been enjoyable to interact with them in my brief time here.”

Prior to coming to Lewis & Clark, Henderson served as Coordinator of Clinical Services at Washington State University’s Counseling and Psychological Services. He also served as a psychologist for a regional hospital and evaluated patients at an emergency department for psychiatric and other mental health related concerns. He received his undergraduate education (Psychology and Criminal Justice) and master’s (Mental Health Counseling) at the University of Wyoming and completed his PhD in Counseling Psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is a licensed psychologist in Washington state.

Henderson is in the Portland area working for the first time and already enjoying the hiking and constant opportunities for nature with his wife of 10 years and two young daughters.