julia conroy
Julia Conroy, a graduate of the College of Education and Health Professions, was recently named the recipient of the 2024 American Counseling Association Research in Best Practices Counseling Practitioner Award.
Mr. Conroy was awarded this honor by the American Counseling Association, a nonprofit organization of counseling professionals. The organization provides a variety of opportunities and education to its members and hosts an annual conference.
“This award is an incredible encouragement for me as a mental health counselor. I love combining my roles as a practicing counselor and a researcher, so it’s great that an organization like ACA supports that work, especially as a research… The team I lead plans to launch another data project in the fall of 2024,” Conroy said.
The award was presented to Mr. Conroy for a research paper published in September 2022 that highlighted the co-regulatory effects of emotion-focused therapy. This work is co-authored with Ryan Lana, executive director of Joshua's Center, and faculty members in the School of Education and Health Professions, Christy Perryman, Samantha Robinson, Paul Brizard, and Michelle Gray.
“Julia is the first University student to receive this award, and we are thrilled that her outstanding work has been recognized by the American Counseling Association,” said Kristi Perryman, chair of Conroy's dissertation committee. Ta. “Her paper, published in our flagship journal, is the first study of its kind and has important implications for the field.”
Conroy said the study examines emotionally focused therapy and how it affects couples therapy patients. Clients wore wristbands that tracked their heart rates during sessions, through which researchers investigated their physiological synchrony.
Conroy has always focused his work on the impact his research has on the people involved.
“This research sheds light on how to more effectively manage the counseling process for counselors who want to instill new patterns of healthier functioning,” she said. “Ultimately, we hope that the physiological research will encourage insurance companies to expand coverage of mental health care and make mental health care more accessible.”
After earning her doctorate in counselor education and supervision from the University of California in 2021, Conroy worked as an adjunct faculty member. She currently works as a licensed professional counselor at Joshua Her Center and spends her days doing what she loves: helping people.
“My desire for counseling originally arose while working as a counselor at a summer camp near Siloam Springs, Arkansas. It was difficult to send home campers who needed more support. .I felt so helpless that there was nothing more I could do,” she said. “Becoming a counselor gives me the opportunity to support hurting people through difficult seasons in a more sustainable way.”