Meet the Researchers

Stacy Henning is a Doctoral Candidate (Ph.D. August 2007) and faculty member in the Division of Counseling and Family Therapy at the University of Missouri - St. Louis. Her research interests include integration of religion and spirituality in a secular setting; religion, counseling and the gay population; and supervision of counseling practice. Stacy is currently working with the university to create a counseling center that will offer counseling to underserved populations in the metro St. Louis area. She identifies as heterosexual and has been married for 14 years. Although her religion of origin was Catholic, Stacy and her family have practiced with the Unitarian-Universalist Church (UUC) for over 10 years. After years of feeling incongruent and as though too many were unwelcome in her former church, she and her family made the switch to UUC.

Susan Kashubeck-West is a psychologist and faculty member in the Division of Counseling and Family Therapy at the University of Missouri - St. Louis. Her research interests include issues related to sexual identity and sexual orientation. For example, she is interested in internalized homophobia, risky sexual behavior, and how LGB individuals cope with oppression. Personally, Susan identifies as a lesbian and she and her partner have been in a committed relationship for 18 years. Susan was raised an Episcopalian. As an adult, she identifies as spiritual but not religious.

Kathryn Stinson is a Masters level student in the Community Counseling program at the University of Missouri - St. Louis. Her interests include working with sexual minorities, integrating spirituality with counseling, dying and bereavement, and rites of passage. She grew up in a non-denominational Christian church and has explored Presbyterian, Quaker, Buddhist and Native American spiritual practices. Currently, she does not identify with any one tradition or denomination. Personally, she identifies as heterosexual.