APSU’s Coggins named state’s first Counselor Educator of the Year
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Dr. Kimberly Coggins, Austin Peay State University associate professor of Psychological Science and Counseling, was recently named the Counselor Educator of the Year by the Tennessee Licensed Professional Counselors Association (TLCPA). She is the inaugural recipient of this new award.
“I am extremely honored to receive this award,” Coggins said. “I am blessed to be able to work daily with enthusiastic students who are eager to learn and as a part of a passionate and cohesive team of faculty and staff who consistently seek to support student success. I love being able to be a part of this team and the process of developing new counselors who will make a difference in our community and the world.”
Coggins received the honor on June 11, during the TLCPA 2021 Counseling and Therapy Summit. The TLCPA was founded in 2007 by licensed professional counselors from across the state to enhance the profession of mental health counseling in Tennessee and its regions, through licensing, advocacy, education and professional development.
Coggins arrived at Austin Peay in 2017, shortly after earning her Ph.D. in counselor education and supervision from the University of Wyoming. Her background is in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, with a specific focus in child and adolescent counseling, play therapy and expressive arts interventions, and parent/caregiver interventions.
During her time at Austin Peay, Coggins has developed innovative ways to challenge and inspire her students. Since 2017, she has partnered with Talon Beeson, associate professor of acting, to create a mock scenario that helps better prepare her counseling graduate students for disaster and crisis situations. As part of this ground-breaking collaboration, Beeson’s students receive acting and improv experience while showing Coggins’ students what it’s like to work with victims in an emergency situation.
For more information on Austin Peay’s counseling graduate program, visit www.apsu.edu/mscounseling.
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