SMCM Mental Health Dir. Chosen to Lead American College Counseling Assoc.

ST. MARY’S CITY, Md. (July 14, 2010) — Dr. Mary-Jeanne Raleigh, director of Counseling Services at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, was elected president-elect of the American College Counseling Association (ACCA) for 2010-11, and will serve as president in 2011-12. The ACCA is made up of diverse mental health professionals from the fields of counseling, psychology, and social work who aim to promote ethical and responsible professional practice, promote communication and exchange among college counselors across service areas and institutional settings, and provide leadership and advocacy for counseling in higher education.

Raleigh has been director of the college’s Counseling Services since 2008. She has extensive experience in the field of mental health and over 20 years specifically in college mental health. She earned her Ph.D. in environmental studies from Antioch University New England with a dissertation that explored the relationship between childhood nature contact and coping strategies in college students. She received her master of education and psychotherapy degree from University of Colorado – Colorado Springs, her master of arts in literature from Stony Brook University-New York, and her bachelor of arts in psychology from Castleton State College in Vermont. She is a licensed clinical professional counselor in Maryland a Maryland Medical Corps Behavioral Health emergency responder, and a national certified counselor.

Source: SMCM