Rate My Professor latoya Smith

Dr. LaToya Smith is an Assistant Professor in the Counseling Department at Palo Alto University, where she also serves as Faculty Support Coordinator and Faculty Advisor for the Diaspora Student Organization. A Licensed Professional Counselor in Texas, she earned her PhD in Counseling and MEd in Counseling from the University of North Texas, both CACREP-accredited programs, with her master's program focused on Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She holds a BA in Criminal Justice from Texas State University. A native of San Diego, California, Dr. Smith resides in Houston, Texas. Her clinical experience includes positions as an outpatient counselor and Assistant Director at a university-based counseling clinic, PRN crisis counselor, private practice counselor, and IOP/PHP Counselor and Site Supervisor.

Dr. Smith's research has primarily focused on various topics in diversity. Her publications include Roller, K., Jacoby, R., Vaishnav, S., & Smith, L. (in press). Online preparation of counselors-in-training to work with non-suicidal self-injurious and suicidal clients. Journal of Technology in Counselor Education and Supervision; Chen, S.-Y., Lindo, N. A., Blalock, S., Yousef, D., Smith, L., & Hurt-Avila, K. (2021). Teachers’ perceptions of teacher-child relationships, student behavior, and classroom management. Journal of Educational Research and Practice, 11(1), 153–167; Smith, L., & Chen, S.-Y. (in press). Effectively Holding Space for Marginalized Clients Lived Experiences. In Gibbons, M. M., & Barrio Minton, C. A. (Eds.), Case studies in counselor education; and Cheng, Y., Smith, L., Ritzi, R., Wagner, T., & Pertuit, T. L. (2019). Counselor Preparation in Working with African American Adolescents in Group Counseling. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work. Her clinical interests include wellness and self-care, diversity issues, trauma, and creativity in counseling. Her areas of emphasis are culture, clinical supervision, crisis, and trauma. She co-presented the program Addressing Sexuality and Sexual Health with Adolescents.