LeAnn Wills
Assistant Professor
Psychological Science and Counseling
-
Contact
- willsl@apsu.edu
- 931-221-7101
- Health Professions Building Room HPB 202G
“I enjoy pouring into the next generation of counselors and fostering a space where we can all learn from one another, share experiences, and grow together. It is an honor to be a part of their journey!”What do you look forward to in your interactions with APSU students?
-
PhD in Counselor Education, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
-
M.Ed. in Human Development Counseling (school counseling specialization), Vanderbilt University
-
B.A. in Audiology and Speech Pathology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville & University of Tennessee Health Science Center
-
B.S in Psychology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Dr. Wills brings school counseling experience supporting youth and families in both public and private PreK–12 educational settings, across rural and suburban communities. She is a licensed school counselor in three states as well as a nationally certified counselor.
She is actively involved in professional and service organizations dedicated to advancing the counseling profession. Dr. Wills is the Middle Tennessee Counseling Association President, was selected as a 2024–2025 Chi Sigma Iota (CSI) Leadership Fellow, a reviewer for multiple counseling journals, and currently serves as an Excellence in Counseling Research Grant reviewer. She is also a member of the Tennessee Counseling Association Governing Council and CSI Leadership and Professional Advocacy Committee, contributing to regional and national advocacy efforts. Recently, she served on the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC) task force, helping lead the development of the 2025 revised spiritual and religious counseling best practices.
-
Rural school counseling
-
Evidence-based practices
-
Supporting counselor training methods that enhance data usage in counseling practice
-
Shum, K., Z., McCurdy, M., Youakim, N., Gibbons, M. M., Wilhoit, B., & Wills, L. (accepted). Building competence and confidence: Preparing future school mental health providers for rural Appalachia. School Psychology Training and Pedagogy.
-
Jangha, A , Wills, L. N., Coleman, J., Cashwell, C., Wong, C, Fox, J., & Smith, D. (accepted). Best Practices for Spirituality and Religion in Counseling: A Review of its Development and Implications. Counseling & Values.
-
Wills, L. N., Gibbons, M. M., Taylor, S. F., & Makupson, M. (2025). Beyond city limits: A scoping review of school counseling service delivery in rural schools. Professional School Counseling.
-
Wills, L. N., & Saubolle-Camacho, B. (2025). An Exploration of Professional Counseling Advocacy and Legislative Interventions. The CSI Exemplar.
-
Jangha, A., Cashwell, C., Wills, L., Wong, C., Coleman, J., Laota, Z., & Smith, D. (2025, April 17). Spiritual and religious best practices. Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling.
-
Kwag, D., Change, C., Hinkle, D., Erford, B., & Wills, L. (2024). A meta-study of the British Journal of Guidance and Counselling (BJGC): An analysis of publication characteristics from 2000-2019. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 52(6),1097-1107.
-
Lemberger-Truelove, M. E., Li, D., Kim, H., Wills, L., Thompson, K., &Yu-Lee, L. (2024). Meta-analysis of social and emotional learning interventions delivered by school counselors. Journal of Counseling and Development, 1-10.
-
Cheng, Y., Wills, L., Wise, H., & Erford, B. (2024). Psychometric synthesis of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Journal of Counseling and Development.
-
Kim, H., Lemberger-Truelove, M. E., Wills, L. N., Basner, E. J., & Tipton, J. L. (2024). Mechanisms of change in school counseling intervention studies: A content analysis. Professional School Counseling, 28(1b), 1-13.
-
Wills, L., Bradford, E., Erford, B.T, & Yao, R. (2023). Meta-study for Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology (JSACP) from 2007-2019. Journal for Social Action in Counseling Research, 14(2), 127-139.
-
Erford, B.T., Chang, C., Crockett, S., Byrd, R., Johnsen, S., Maclnerney, E., Menzies, A., Milosky, A., Saks, J., Wills, L., (et al.). (2023). An omnibus synthesis of 22 counseling journals from 2010-2019. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling, 56(3), 187-208.