Jenais Means, Jenais Y. Means, PhD, LPC/S (SC), LCMHC/QS (NC), NCC, BC-TMH
Assistant Prof of Counseling
Psychology, Professional Counseling, and Neuroscience Department
Ph.D., University of North Carolina Charlotte, 2024
- EMAIL:
- means@uwp.edu
Dr. Jenais Y. Means is an Assistant Professor in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. She is a licensed professional counselor and counselor educator whose work integrates teaching, clinical practice, and community engagement. Dr. Means brings experience across higher education, private practice, and community-based mental health settings, with a commitment to preparing counselors for ethical and culturally responsive practice.
Dr. Means has taught counseling courses across multiple institutions and modalities, with particular expertise in online and asynchronous instruction. Her teaching emphasizes the integration of counseling theory, applied skill development, multicultural perspectives, and evidence-based practice. She is especially interested in supporting students’ professional identity development and helping them connect academic learning across counseling work settings.
In addition to her faculty role, Dr. Means maintains an active clinical and consultative presence in the mental health field. Her professional background includes work in private practice, campus counseling, residential treatment settings, and community wellness initiatives. She has partnered with organizations across the Carolinas to provide counseling services, supervision, and psychoeducational workshops focused on mental health access, professional development, and community well-being.
Dr. Means’s broader professional interests reflect a commitment to advocacy, workforce development, and expanding access to high-quality mental health services. Through her teaching, scholarship, and service, she seeks to support students and communities while advancing culturally informed, evidence-based counseling practice. This work continues to inform her commitment to supporting students as they develop clinical competence, professional identity, and confidence as emerging counselors.
Areas of Expertise
- Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling
- Counselor Education and Supervision
- Career Development and Workforce Transitions
- Telehealth and Digital Mental Health
Teaching Interests
Dr. Means' instructional approach centers on structuring learning experiences that support students’ movement from foundational knowledge toward increasingly complex clinical reasoning and decision-making. She values the use of experiential activities, guided discussion, and structured feedback to foster student learning and professional growth. Dr. Means is particularly excited by courses that invite students to examine values, assumptions, and professional roles.
Teaching Interests Include:
Counseling Assessment and Diagnosis
Social and Cultural Foundations of Counseling
Career Development and Workforce Transitions
Counseling Theories and Techniques
Research Interests
Dr. Means’ research and creative activity interests focus on counselor development across training and early career stages, with particular attention to professional identity formation, clinical confidence, and workforce transitions. She is especially interested in how supervision, mentoring, and training environments influence counselors’ readiness for practice and long-term professional engagement. Her work also includes applied and creative scholarly activities that translate counseling concepts into accessible educational resources. Dr. Means values scholarship that informs teaching, supports clinical practice, and contributes practice-relevant knowledge to the counseling profession.
Consulting Interests
Dr. Means has contributed to community-based mental health infrastructure through projects such as establishing a telehealth counseling room for an afterschool program serving students from economically underserved backgrounds. This work expanded access to services for students and their families by addressing transportation, scheduling, and technology barriers. She also supports nonprofit initiatives that provide mentoring and supervision to practitioners and trainees, as well as low- or no-cost counseling services to community members. In addition, Dr. Means serves as Board Secretary for a federal credit union, where she contributes to organizational governance, strategic planning, and oversight of policies that impact large-scale community services.
CMHC 714 - Lifespan Develpmnt in Counslng
CMHC 716 - Social/Cultl Fndtn of Counslng
CMHC 722 - Rsearch/Evaluation in Counslng