Kelly Wester

Dr. Kelly Wester is a Professor and Department Chair of Counseling and Educational Development at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) in the College of Education. With a distinguished career in counselor education and research, she has established herself as a leading scholar in the areas of self-injury, research integrity, and counseling methodology.

Her educational background includes:

• PhD in Counseling and Human Development from Kent State University
• MA in Criminal Justice from Kent State University
• BA in Psychology from Bowling Green State University

Dr. Wester is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a National Certified Counselor, bringing clinical expertise to her academic work. Her research primarily focuses on self-injury behaviors (particularly nonsuicidal self-injury), suicide prevention, research integrity in counseling, and methodological approaches to counseling research. She has published extensively on adolescent and college student mental health, trauma exposure, and multicultural issues in counseling. Her recent work shows a growing interest in digital mental health, examining NSSI content on social media platforms like Instagram, and nature-based mindfulness interventions for college students with anxiety.

Dr. Wester's scholarly contributions include 66 publications that demonstrate methodological sophistication across both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Her work on imposter phenomenon among counselor educators and the development of the Faculty Research Self-Efficacy Scale (FaRSES) has advanced understanding of factors influencing scholarly productivity in the field.

As Department Chair, Dr. Wester plays a significant role in shaping counselor education at UNCG. Her research on dissertation chair success, research mentorship, and faculty development reflects her commitment to supporting the next generation of counselor educators. Her leadership extends to professional service, including editorial work for the journal Teaching and Supervision in Counseling, where she has promoted quality scholarship in teaching, supervision, and mentorship.