Rate My Professor Dilani Perera

Dilani Perera, PhD, LPC, LADC, NCC, MAC, BC-TMH, serves as Professor and Chair of the Counselor Education Department in the School of Education and Human Development at Fairfield University. She completed her doctoral degree in Counselor Education and Supervision at the University of Toledo. Her professional credentials include Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor, National Certified Counselor, Master Addictions Counselor, and Board Certified-Telemental Health Provider. As CACREP Liaison, she oversees graduate programs in clinical mental health counseling and school counseling. Previously, she held positions as an assistant professor in counseling programs, contributing to the training of professional counselors and counselor educators.

Perera's research interests encompass counselor education, school counselor supervision practices, duties performed by school counselors, consultation engagement in school counseling, holistic wellness in counseling, accountability practices of school counselors, mentoring in counselor educator doctoral training, Adult Children of Alcoholics, LGBTQQI ally development, substance-related disorders screening, mindfulness techniques for culturally appropriate engagement, and posttraumatic stress disorder assessment and treatment. She has authored more than 40 publications in areas including addictions, assessment, multicultural issues, and counselor training. Key publications include "Formative and summative assessment in online education" (Perera-Diltz & Moe, 2014, Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching), "A National Survey of School Counselor Supervision Practices: Administrative, Clinical, Peer, and Technology Mediated Supervision" (Perera-Diltz & Mason, 2012, Journal of School Counseling), "Ideal to real: Duties performed by school counselors" (Perera-Diltz & Mason, 2008, Journal of School Counseling), and "Counseling for wholeness: Integrating holistic wellness into case conceptualization and treatment planning" (Moe, Perera-Diltz, & Rodriguez, 2012). Her work has influenced practices in school counseling supervision and online counselor education. Perera received the Graduate Alpha Sigma Nu Teacher of the Year award from Fairfield University's Jesuit Honor Society chapter in 2024, recognizing her commitment to students, scholarship, loyalty, and service. She serves as Assistant Editor for the Journal of Addictions & Offender Counseling, reviewer for counseling journals, and immediate past president of the Connecticut Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. Additionally, she has provided legislative testimony on children's mental health and participated in faculty research presentations and committees.