Emily Brown is an Associate Professor of Counseling at UMSL, and serves as the Interim Department Chair for Education Sciences & Professional Programs (ESPP). She also is the Counseling Program Coordinator and Director of the Play Therapy Institute @ UMSL. She received her bachelor's degree in English and Religion from Wake Forest University and her Master's in School Counseling from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She obtained her Ph.D. in Counselor Education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She has a graduate certificate in Grief, Loss, and Trauma. Dr. Brown has prior experience as a professional school counselor and career interventionist in North Carolina and Tennessee. She has been a licensed professional counselor since 2010 and a National Certified Counselor since 2008. She is also credentialed as a Registered Play Therapist - Supervisor from the Association for Play Therapy. Dr. Brown's research interests include counseling services connected to loss, crisis, and trauma, with a particular focus on children of incarcerated parents, and play therapy. She is the co-PI on a five-year, $3 million Department of Education grant focused on expanding school mental health support in the local Riverview Gardens School District. At UMSL, Dr. Brown teaches courses in the Counseling Program including Foundations of School Counseling, Counseling for Loss, Crisis, & Trauma, Introduction to Play Therapy, Advanced Play Therapy, and Advanced Theories and Practice of Counseling. She was recognized in 2017 as she received The Gerald and Deanne Gitner Excellence in Teaching Award.
