Julia Whisenhunt had submitted her application to the College of Education's Counselor Education and Practice program and had already scheduled her admissions interview when she and other potential doctoral students were invited to a social in their honor.

  

The event offered prospective students the opportunity to learn more about the COE's Department of Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS), and Whisenhunt's conversations with CPS faculty solidified her belief that Georgia State University was the right place for her.

  

"The faculty were so warm and open - it was really moving," she explained. "When I was looking for a doctoral program, I wanted to find one that would help me learn and grow, and I knew I'd found it at Georgia State." 

While in her doctoral program, Whisenhunt focused her research on self-injury and suicide, conducting a study to determine whether those areas are related and how their connection shapes treatment for people who self-injure.

 

"I surveyed different kinds of counselors about their experiences with clients who self-injure," she said. "There's not a consensus among people who are actually working with these clients - some counselors believe that people who self-injure are inherently at risk for suicide, but some said they didn't think they were always related." 

 

To read more about Whisenhunt and her experiences in the COE, click here.