Jorge Rosales Lopez

Jorge Rosales Lopez, PhD, CRC, LPC, NCC, is an Assistant Professor in the Counseling Department at Palo Alto University (PAU), where he contributes to teaching, research, clinical training, and community engagement. A bilingual (English/Spanish) licensed professional counselor, he is deeply committed to advancing culturally sensitive and socially just mental health services for marginalized communities, particularly Latinx and disabled populations.

His academic journey includes a PhD in Counselor Education & Counseling from Idaho State University, an MS in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling from Georgia State University, and a BA in Psychology from the University of California, Riverside—all from CACREP-accredited programs.

Dr. Lopez’s research and professional interests center on multicultural sensitivity, Relational Cultural Theory, liberation-oriented research, social justice, disability awareness, and mentorship of BIPOC and Latine students and faculty. He emphasizes collaborative community efforts (comunidad) as a pathway to effective service delivery. His work reflects a commitment to inclusive excellence in counselor education and supervision.

His recent publications span topics such as cultural competence in rehabilitation counseling, religious coping in cancer patients, suicide intervention, and healing dialogues within Latine communities. These works reflect interdisciplinary engagement across counseling, health psychology, and social justice frameworks.

• NBCC Doctoral Minority Fellow (2022–23)
• Rehabilitation Services Administration Scholarship Program (U.S. Department of Education)

Dr. Lopez actively mentors future counselors through the NBCC Foundation and serves in leadership roles, including Western Regional Representative for the Association of Multicultural Counseling and Development. He is faculty advisor to the Latinx student organization PULSO and serves on the Latinx Task Force at PAU. He is also involved in collaborative research projects with colleagues and participates in doctoral admissions. Dr. Lopez is establishing a private clinical practice with his wife, also a counselor, and advocates for expanding Spanish-language clinical training at PAU. He is passionate about reducing power differentials in education and values lived experience as a form of wisdom.

He is actively engaged in labs and teams focused on multicultural counseling research, social justice initiatives, and community-based partnerships such as Immigrant Justice Idaho during his doctoral studies. His future work aims to further integrate community collaboration, bilingual services, and liberation-oriented frameworks into counselor training and practice.