Melissa C. Henry

Dr. Melissa C. Henry is an Assistant Professor in Rehabilitation, Mental Health, and Counseling in the Department of Disability and Psychoeducational Studies in the College of Education at the University of Arizona. She earned a B.A. in Psychology and an M.S. in Counseling with an emphasis in Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling from California State University, Fresno, and a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from the University of New Mexico, where she also completed a minor in Quantitative Methods in Education and a graduate certificate in Race and Social Justice. Dr. Henry is a licensed mental health counselor with clinical experience in couples and relationship counseling, trauma, substance use treatment, and community mental health. 

Dr. Henry teaches and advises graduate students in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Counselor Education and Supervision programs. Her teaching areas include diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, clinical assessment, research and program evaluation, trauma and crisis counseling, group counseling, and couples and family counseling. She views counselor education as an opportunity to build students’ clinical knowledge, professional identity, and critical reflection, emphasizing experiential learning and an understanding of the broader social and systemic factors that shape mental health and counseling practice.

Dr. Henry's research and scholarship focus on three interconnected areas: (1) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), trauma, and their relationship to interpersonal functioning and mental health; (2) counselor education and training, including experiential learning, multicultural counseling competencies, and professional development; and (3) intersectionality, structural inequities, and culturally responsive approaches to mental health and counseling. Her scholarship incorporates quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches to examine how individual experiences intersect with relational, cultural, and systemic influences. Her work has been published in counseling and interdisciplinary journals, including Counselor Education and Supervision, The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, Journal of Addictions & Offender Counseling, Women & Therapy, British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, and Journal of Affective Disorders. Prior to joining the University of Arizona, Dr. Henry served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Louisville, where she also held leadership roles as Interim Department Chair, Assistant Chair, and Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program Director. Through her scholarship, teaching, leadership, and professional service, Dr. Henry seeks to advance counseling practices and training approaches that recognize the complexity of human experiences and promote more equitable and responsive mental health care.