Dr. Lorraine Guth

211 Stouffer Hall
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana, PA 15705
724-357-5509 — Office
lguth@iup.edu 

“I help to foster the awareness, knowledge, and skills of my students by encouraging them to take an active role in their learning process. I primarily utilize experiential methods (i.e. cooperative learning groups, role-plays, guest speakers, case studies) in order to foster student growth and development. As students engage in the experiences related to the learning objectives, they apply and synthesize this learning in a meaningful way.”

Background

Lorraine Guth (she/her/hers) completed her PhD in counseling psychology at Indiana University in 1994 and her master's degree in counseling from the University of Memphis. Before arriving at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Guth was a counseling faculty member at Florida Gulf Coast University and the University of South Florida at Fort Myers. She has a wide range of counseling experiences, including a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Tennessee Center for Developmental Disabilities.

Guth has been with the Department of Counseling at IUP since 1998. She teaches a variety of counseling courses, including Basic Counseling Skills, Wellness Based Counseling, Human Sexuality Issues in Counseling, Individual Counseling Practicum, Group Counseling, Group Counseling Practicum, Diversity Issues in Counseling, and Field Experience. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Guth serves as practicum and field experience coordinator (assisting students, site supervisors, and faculty members in navigating through the practicum and field experience process) and is a member of the University Senate Research Committee and coordinator for the campus Digital Counselor Training Facility.

Presentations and Publications

Guth has numerous professional publications and presentations on the areas of diversity, sexuality, group work, and technology.

Most recently, she served as Chair of the Association for Specialists in Group Work's Special Initiatives Committee that created a new resource, titled “Ten Strategies to Intentionally Use Group Work to Transform Hate, Facilitate Courageous Conversations, and Enhance Community Building.” Group workers can utilize these methods and resources to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion among group members in all types of groups and in various settings.

Guth is also conducting a qualitative research study to investigate the key academic, career, emotional/social, and mental health issues of students and educators in the schools in Puerto Rico. Specifically, she is collaborating with three other researchers to interview key leaders, counseling professionals, teachers, and important stakeholders to obtain more information about the impact that Hurricane Maria has had on the academic, career, and emotional/social development of students at the elementary, secondary and university levels. The impact of the hurricane and post disaster response on educators is also being explored. The results will help to inform the development of counseling interventions that are desperately needed in the territory.

Her other scholarly endeavors have focused on international counseling outreach efforts in other countries such as Bhutan and Malawi. She provided service in local schools and interacted with key leaders to further develop the counseling profession using a culturally relevant approach. The experiences led to national/regional/local presentations and publications in journals such as the Journal for Specialists in Group Work and Journal for International Counselor Education. She returned to Malawi for a meaningful sabbatical project that included researching the growth/challenges associated with counseling, exploring the history of school counseling, and evaluating the impact of psychoeducational group lessons that she developed/implemented in two schools.

She has also participated in international conferences in Italy, Ireland, and Hong Kong. Guth attended the conference in Italy and offered a presentation on technology. After returning to the United States, she presented a paper on her experiences in Italy at the North Atlantic Regional Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Conference in Portland, Maine, and at the American Counseling Association Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. She attended an international conference in Ireland and presented on issues of intersexuality. She also conducted a study to examine the impact the Ireland study abroad institute had on the participants. She published several articles on the findings of this collaborative study abroad research. She also delivered international and national presentations on the research, including a talk at the Asia Pacific Rim International Counseling Conference in Hong Kong.

In addition to her interest in international experiences, Guth has published articles in such prestigious journals as the Journal for Specialists in Group Work, Journal of Gay and Lesbian Psychotherapy, International Journal of Special Education, Journal for the Professional Counselor, Journal of Homosexuality, Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, and Counseling Today. She also has numerous activities published in several Association for Specialists in Group Work activity books, and a publication in the ACA Encyclopedia of Counseling on Group Work Terminology.

Affiliations

Guth is a nationally certified counselor, licensed professional counselor, and licensed psychologist in the state of Pennsylvania. Additionally, she is a member of the Association for Specialists in Group the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision and of the American Counseling Association.

In 2016, Guth was selected by Dean Lara Luetkehans as the year's Outstanding Researcher recipient for the College of Education and Communications. Guth was selected for this award because of her international counseling outreach and research efforts in several countries including Bhutan and Malawi.

At the 2016 American Counseling Association Conference in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Guth became a Fellow in the Association for Specialists in Group Work.

Guth also has a registered therapy dog named Bubby who provides services to IUP and the local community.