Groups: A Counseling Specialty

Samuel T. Gladding is a professor in the Department of Counseling at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He is a fellow in the American Counseling Association and its former president (2004—2005). He has also served as president of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES), the Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW), the American Association of State Counseling Boards, and Chi Sigma Iota. He is the former editor of the Journal for Specialists in Group Work, a past member of the American Counseling Association Foundation, and a past member of the North Carolina Board of Licensed Professional Counselors.Dr. Gladding has authored numerous professional publications, including 45 books. In 1999, he was cited as being in the top 1% of contributors to the flagship periodical of the American Counseling Association: the Journal of Counseling and Development. A National Certified Counselor (NCC), a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CCMHC), and a Licensed Professional Counselor (North Carolina), Dr. Gladding’s specialty in counseling is creativity. He is married to Claire Tillson Gladding and is the father of three adult sons. In his spare time, he enjoys swimming, writing poetry, listening to music, and reading humor and history.Deborah W. Newsome is an associate professor in the Department of Counseling at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where she serves as the clinical mental health program director. She served on the Executive Board of the Association for Assessment in Counseling and Education (AACE) for 6 years and is a member of several divisions of the American Counseling Association (ACA). She is a National Certified Counselor (NCC), a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), and a Licensed North Carolina School Counselor. She teaches courses in clinical mental health counseling, counseling skill development, assessment, and career development and counseling. She also supervises graduate students’ clinical experiences and volunteers at a local nonprofit counseling center.Dr. Newsome has coauthored three books and over 25 book chapters and journal articles. In 2005, she received Wake Forest University’s Graduate Student Association Faculty Excellence Award. She and her husband, David Newsome, are the parents of two young adults–David, Jr., and Jennifer. Debbie is an avid runner and swimmer and enjoys playing the flute for various community organizations.