Counseling Faculty
Sarah Criss, PhD, LMFT, AAMFT Approved Supervisor
Biography
Dr. Sarah Criss is a Licensed Marital and Family Therapist and American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) Approved Clinical Supervisor whose work focuses on the integration of neuroscience-informed perspectives into counseling practice, counselor education, and clinical supervision. Her scholarship and teaching examine how emotional regulation, relational processes, and emerging developments in neuroscience inform the development of clinical judgment and therapeutic presence in counselors-in-training. Dr. Criss’ clinical background includes experience in community mental health, university counseling settings, and private practice. Her work explores how clinicians develop emotional awareness, attunement, and decision-making capacities in complex clinical environments, and how insights from neuroscience and mind–body research can inform counselor training and supervision.
Dr. Criss teaches graduate counseling courses in counseling theory, clinical techniques, neurocounseling, and clinical supervision. She also teaches practicum and internship courses focused on developing clinical skills and professional identity among counselors-in-training. Her teaching emphasizes experiential learning, reflective practice, and the integration of neuroscience-informed perspectives with relational and systemic counseling approaches.
Dr. Criss’ scholarship focuses on neuro-informed approaches to counselor education and supervision, including the application of neuroscience and polyvagal-informed perspectives to clinical training and professional development. Her research interests include clinical judgment development, supervision processes, emotional regulation in therapeutic relationships, and the evolving role of emerging technologies in counselor training. She is particularly interested in interdisciplinary collaborations that explore mechanisms of emotional well-being and whole-person health through behavioral and neuroscience-informed approaches.
Dr. Criss contributes to the counseling profession through leadership in professional organizations, student mentorship, and service to the university and counselor education community. She has served as faculty advisor for Bradley University’s Beta Phi Chapter of Chi Sigma Iota (CSI), the international counseling honor society, since Fall 2023, mentoring graduate counseling students in professional development and leadership activities. Dr. Criss also serves as Chair of the Super Brain Summit, an interdisciplinary conference hosted by Bradley University that brings together clinicians, educators, and researchers to explore neuroscience-informed approaches to mental health and well-being. In addition to her program-level service, Dr. Criss serves on the Bradley University Commencement Speaker Selection Committee.
She is an active member of several professional organizations, including the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), the Tennessee Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (TNAMFT), the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES), the Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (SACES), and Chi Sigma Iota (CSI).