Suzy Thomas

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Suzy Thomas

Faculty Member

Personal profile

About

Dr. Suzy Thomas is a Professor in the Counseling Department at Saint Mary’s College of California, where she teaches foundational counseling and school counseling specialization courses and serves as the School Counseling Program Director. Dr. Thomas has a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and is a credentialed school counselor (PPS), a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), and a former middle and high school counselor and teacher. She has been a supervisor for pre-service school counselors and a school-based consultant on school-based mental health issues. A leader and advocate for school counselors and school-based reform in local, statewide, regional, national, and international venues, Dr. Thomas presents regularly at counselor educator and school counseling conferences and has publications in the areas of mentoring, professional development for counselors, collaboration and school-university partnerships, LGBTQIA+ youth, school-based mental health, legal and ethical issues, group counseling, action research, anti-racist pedagogy and practice, and school counseling reform. Dr. Thomas developed a model for school counselor peer consultation that has been adopted in several settings for the training and practice of school counselors. She was also a member of a team of educators that wrote the 2023 California Standards for the School Counseling Profession, an evidence-based and culturally responsive set of guidelines for practice. Dr. Thomas was inducted into the H.B. McDaniel Hall of Fame in 2013, recognized in 2017 as the School Counselor Educator of the Year by the California Association of School Counselors, given the 2021 Saint Mary’s College Pandemic Pedagogic Excellence Award, and honored with the 2023 Action Research Network of the Americas (ARNA) Community Development Award. 
 
Research Projects, Ongoing and Completed:
  • Researcher, Saint Mary’s College of California (10/15-present). Member of qualitative research team led by Dr. Rebecca Proehl, examining student success and organizational effectiveness at DeMarillac Academy in San Francisco; research team received 2015-16 Provost’s Faculty Research Grant to support the project.
  • Researcher, Saint Mary’s College of California (9/14-5/16). Designed original survey for department faculty, with IRB approval, on curriculum, teaching style, and mentoring skills and needs. Project resulted in presentation at the 2015 Conference of the Action Research Network of the Americas (ARNA), Toronto, Canada. 
  • Researcher, Saint Mary's College of California (February 2014 - June 2014). Designed original surveys on personal/social counseling, self-disclosure, and LGBTQ youth for graduate students, practicing school counselors, and counselor educators in the United States. Project resulted in presentation at the 2014 conference of the Western Association of Counselor Education and Supervision (WACES), Anaheim, CA.
  • Research Coordinator, AB1802 Joint Project with University of San Diego (February 2007 - December 2008). Provided oversight for graduate student action research projects; collaborated with researchers in Southern California to develop a statewide evaluation of the school counseling bill AB1802; assisted with meta-analysis of results from eight schools, which were shared at Summit II in 2007, followed by a publication in 2008 and a presentation at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in 2009 in San Diego, CA.
  • Researcher, California School Counseling Research Summits I and II (March 2004 - December 2007). Co-designed statewide online and evaluation surveys for participants in the California School Counseling Research Summits I and II.
  • Supervisor of Collaborative Action Research Projects (February 2003 - 2017) Supervised collaborative action research projects, including research design, implementation, and data analysis for graduate students placed in K-12 school settings in the larger Bay Area. Projects have resulted in numerous presentations at local, state, regional, and international levels.
  • Researcher, Joint Project between Saint Mary's College and University of San Diego (5/05). Conducted pilot study of school counselor perceptions of research and role issues using an original questionnaire. Project resulted in a presentation at the annual meeting of the California Association of School Counselors (CASC), Pomona, CA
  • Focus Group Leader, The College Preparatory School, Oakland, CA (1/02). Conducted focus groups with high school students to explore the usefulness of college Internet search engines. Project resulted in a paper presented at the 2002 meeting of the Western Association of College Admissions Counselors (WACAC), Stockton, CA.

Contact Information

Office
Filippi Academic Hall - 263--Office hours arranged via e-mail
Contact:
Phone: 4539
Fax: 376-8379
Mail: P.O. Box 4350

Related documents

Education/Academic qualification

Ph.D. Education (Educational Psychology), University of California, Davis

… → 2001

M.A. Counseling, with Honors, Saint Mary's College of California

… → 1997

B.A. English, Phi Beta Kappa, University of California - Berkeley

Research Interests

  • School counseling and school counseling reform
  • Collaborative action research as a tool for advocacy and social justice in K-12 schools
  • Mentoring and professional development
  • Socialization and induction
  • Child and adolescent development issues

Disciplines

  • Counseling
View all 116 Research outputs
View all 57 activities
View all 15 prizes