The Urban Education Counseling Psychology Ph.D. program at the Cleveland State University (CSU) Levin College of Public Affairs and Education made its presence felt at the longest running regional counseling psychology conference in the Midwest. It was an opportunity Dr. Casey Hinger and her students fully embraced. 

The 36^th Annual Great Lakes Regional Counseling Psychology Conference took place March 21-22, 2025 at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Its theme was Counseling Psychology Rooted in Community: Advancing Critical Consciousness and Systemic Change. 

“This conference was a great opportunity to highlight the student-led research in our program,” said Hinger, an assistant professor of counseling psychology in the School of Education and Counseling (SEC). “Our students had their research seen by the president in our field (Dr. Mel Wilcox of the Society of Counseling Psychology, APA Division 17) and had the opportunity to chat with her about their experiences and concerns as we navigate what ‘advancing critical consciousness and systemic change’ means in our current world.” 

Hinger advised and mentored five student-led research presentations featuring first and third-year doctoral counseling psychology students at CSU while in the Motor City. That wasn’t all as Hinger presented a roundtable discussion titled Counseling Psychology & Social Justice in Challenging Times in collaboration with CSU colleagues Drs. Julia Phillips and Tawanda Greer-Medley, and Dr. Sharon Bowman from Ball State University. 

“There’s a lot of legislation being considered or passed combined with changes at the national level that make this a challenging time for higher education and counseling psychologists,” Hinger said referring to the recent passage of Ohio Senate Bill 1. “The roundtable provided a forum for discussion and gave students and faculty the opportunity to voice how they have been impacted by these policies as well as strategies for advocacy and self and community care.”  

There’s plenty of work to be done and it’ll continue at next year’s conference which is targeted for Cleveland. The Great Lakes Regional Counseling Psychology Conference rotates annually among the Midwest colleges and universities with counseling psychology programs. CSU’s Levin College of Public Affairs and Education is tapped to host the conference in Spring 2026. 

“The counseling psychology faculty and students will be planning and organizing the conference when it comes to CSU,” Dr. Hinger noted. “It’ll be a really cool opportunity for our students to get a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into hosting a regional conference, particularly one that is so integral to our professional identity as counseling psychologists.” 

Details for the 2026 Great Lakes Regional Counseling Psychology Conference at CSU are still being finalized, but there will be an open window for students and community members to submit proposals for consideration to present at the conference. 

“Our students do incredible work and research around social justice. We at CSU want to continue to support and empower them going forward,” Dr. Hinger added.