Joshua Simpson

Dr. Joshua D. Simpson is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Counselor Education at Austin Peay State University. He brings diverse clinical experience working with adolescents, adults, couples, families, and historically underserved communities across community mental health, school-based, residential, and private practice settings. His clinical work is grounded in culturally responsive and trauma-informed approaches, with particular interests in relational and family systems, emotional wellness, grief and trauma, and the intersections of faith, culture, and mental health.

Dr. Simpson's scholarship explores mental health among intersecting marginalized identities,  culturally responsive counseling, trauma among religious populations, and barriers to professional mental health counseling within religious communities. His work integrates his identities as a counselor, counselor educator, researcher, and community leader to prepare counselors who are clinically competent, culturally responsive, and equipped to serve diverse communities.

Dr. Simpson's research training includes federally funded predoctoral and postdoctoral fellowships with Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTC). From 2023–2026, he served as a predoctoral research fellow with the RRTC on Research and Capacity Building for Minority Entities, supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He currently serves as a postdoctoral research affiliate with the NIDILRR-funded RRTC on Advancing Employment Equity for Multiple Marginalized People with Disabilities, furthering his scholarship at the intersections of disability, equity, marginalization, and access.

Dr. Simpson has presented his scholarship and clinical work at regional and national professional conferences and remains actively engaged in counseling organizations and community-based initiatives. As an educator, he is committed to creating engaging and academically rigorous learning environments that challenge counselors-in-training to develop strong theoretical foundations while discovering their authentic identities as clinicians.

• African American Male Advocacy

• Culturally Responsive Psychotherapy

• Neurodiversity among Marginalized Populations

• Religion, Spirituality, and Meaning-Making Models in Counseling

• Simpson, J. (2026). The narrative (counter-story) of Black religious individuals who resist professional mental health counseling [Doctoral dissertation, In press]. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. ProQuest Dissertation & Theses.

• Moore, C., Peterson, G., Wang, P., Webb, K., Simpson, J., Manyibe, E., Khan, I., Muhammad A. (2026, under review) Comparative Machine Learning Analysis of Multifaceted Predictors of Self-Employment Among Transition-Age Entrepreneurs with Disabilities. The Journal of Rehabilitation

• Moore, C., Webb, K., Wang, P., Peterson, G., Simpson, J., Manyibe, E., Khan, I. (2026, under review) Disability, Demographics, Economic, and Geographic Factors and Employment: A National Trend Analysis. The Journal of Rehabilitation

• Lewis, A., Davis-Washington, D., Simpson, J., Lewis, A. (September, 2025) The Effect of Race/Ethnicity and Disability Status Concordance between Counselors and Clients on Vocational Rehabilitation Process and Employment Outcomes: A Scoping Review. The Journal of Rehabilitation

• Brooks, M., Williams, T., James, B., Simpson, J., Chen, Y. (August, 2025) Salaries of Counselor Educators at Public Institutions in the United States: A Multilevel Analysis. Teaching and Supervision in Counseling

• Brooks, M., Williams, T., Wyatt, M., Simpson, J., Clervoix-Frank, M., Rowe, D. (July, 2025) Lived Experiences of Black HBCU PhD Counselor Education Students in a Culturally Affirming Study-Abroad Program. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development

• Simpson, J., Cureton, N., Sung, S., Vazquez, M. (2025, in progress) Emerging HBCU Counselor Educators: Unknown Future of Multicultural Courses. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development

• Brooks, M., Wyatt, M., Simpson, J., Rowe, D., Moore, R., Butler, K. (August, 2024). Creating Strength-Based Routes for Black Males to Survive and Thrive in Counselor Education Spaces. In Counseling Black Males with Excellence: Exploring Career, Clinical and School Context.