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July 12, 2012

ɫAV assistant professor earns National Certified Counselor credential

Dr. John-Nelson Pope, MDiv, Ph.D., and assistant professor of Mental Health Counseling at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, has attained certification as a National Certified Counselor through the National Board for Certified Counselors.

Pope joins the more than 48,000 NCCs certified by NBCC in the United States and more than 50 countries.

After serving Presbyterian churches as a pastor in the South and Midwest, and as a chaplain in the U.S. Navy, Pope decided to pursue a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

Pope’s research interests include the therapeutic aspects of spirituality in client mental health, traumatic brain injury, PTSD in military personnel and veterans, and the efficacy of pastoral care. 

“The College of Education and Human Development offers a high quality nationally accredited Counseling program,” said Dr. Sandra Lemoine, dean of the College of Education and Human Development.

“Certification as a National Certified Counselor provides recognition of Dr. Pope’s outstanding qualifications.  Our students and clients directly benefit from personnel who have attained this prestigious certification.”

As the director of the Community Counseling Clinic, located in Strauss Hall on the ɫAV campus, Pope particularly enjoys working with his practicum students who are developing their skills as counselors.

National certification promotes professional accountability and provides clients with a method to have concerns reviewed in regard to the NBCC code of ethics.

Pope has successfully completed the application requirements for the NCC credential.

Those requirements include a graduate degree in counseling from a regionally accredited institution, supervised post-master's counseling experience, and a passing score on a national counseling examination published by NBCC.

Founded in 1982 as an independent, not-for-profit credentialing body for counselors, NBCC is the nation's premier and largest counselor certification organization.

NBCC's primary mission is to promote counseling through quality certification programs.

NBCC's activities encourage quality assurance in counseling practice, promote the value of counseling, and create public awareness of quality counseling practice, professionalism in counseling and leadership in credentialing.

To learn more about NBCC certification visit

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