Amber Pope

Profile

Dr. Pope is an Associate Professor in the Counselor Education program at William & Mary and program coodinator for the Relationship, Marriage and Family concentration. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Virginia, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Florida, and an approved supervisor for counselors seeking LPC and LMFT licensure in both states.

Dr. Pope specializes in the areas of LGBTQ+ affirming counseling, couples and relationship counseling, sexuality concerns, gender and sexuality development, , and culturally responsive counselor preparation. She is trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy for individuals, couples and families and utilizes third wave cognitive behavioral and interpersonal process techniques in therapy. An area of developing interest for Dr. Pope is the use of technology, virtual reality and AI in counselor training.

Dr. Pope has 40+ publications in the areas of LGBTQ+ affirming counseling, relationship and sexuality counseling, mental health counselor training, and clinical supervision. She is an active member of professional organizations, including the Association of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness (ACSSW), the Society for Sexual, Affectional, Intersex, and Gender Expansive Identities (SAIGE), the Virginia Association of Counselor Education and Supervision (VACES) and the Virginia Association of Couples and Family Counseling (VACFC). She currently serves on the editorial boards for the Journal of LGBTQ Issues in Counseling and the Journal for Counseling Sexology and Sexual Wellness.

Education

Ph.D. in Counseling & Counselor Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2010

M.S. in Community Counseling, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2007

B.A. in Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2005

Activities and Honors

Ned Farley Service Award, Society for Sexual, Affectional, Intersex, and Gender Expansive Identities (2026)

Past President, Association of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness (2026 - present)

Counselor Education Representative, Virginia Association of Couples and Family Counseling (2026 – present)

Inclusive Excellence Champion Award, William and Mary (2025)

Supervision Representative, Virginia Association of Counselor Education and Supervision (2023 - present)

Teaching with Technology Award, Old Dominion University (2022)

Appointed Chair, Association of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness Research & Scholarship Committee (2022 - 2024)

Editorial Board Member, Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness (2022 - present)

Teaching Innovation & Excellence Award, Old Dominion University Darden College of Education & Professional Studies (2021)

Editorial Board Member, Journal of LGBTQ Issues in Counseling (2012 - present)

Selected Publications

Pope, A. L., Murray, C. E., & Willis, B. T. (2026). Sexuality counseling: Research, theory, and practice (2nd ed.). Sage.

Pope, A. L., Hartzell, K., Siroty, M. B., Moe, J., St. Germain-Sehr, N., Augustine, B. R., St. Germain-Sehr, A., & Lexumé, T. (2026). Asynchronous LGBTQ+ affirming counseling training with early career counselors: A mixed methods program evaluation. Counselor Education & Supervision, 65 (2), 114-128. https://doi.org/10.1002/ceas.70020

Kuang, J., Pope, A. L., & Zhang, Y. (2026). Psychotherapists’ trust, distrust, and generative AI practices in psychotherapy: Qualitative Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 28. https://doi.org/10.2196/88932

Vasic, S., Pope, A. L., Adams, J., Snowden-Gregg, S., & Augustine, B. R. (2025). “Queer futures”: Towards LGBTQ+ responsive counselor preparation. Journal of LGBTQ Issues in Counseling, 19(4), 425-446. https://doi.org/10.1080/26924951.2025.2456299

Pope, A. L., Siroty, M., Vasic, S., & Lancaster, J. (2025). The state of sexuality counseling training in counselor education. Journal of Counseling Sexology and Sexual Wellness, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.34296/06012015

Moe, J., Pope, A. L., Perara, D., & Sparkman-Key, N. (Eds.) (2024). LGBTQ affirmative counseling: An evidence-based guide for students and practitioners. Cambridge University Press.

Pope, A. L., Parker, B., Ausloos, C., Augustine, B., & Lytle, J. (2024). Association for Counseling Sexology and Sexual Wellness exemplary practices for counseling sexology and sexuality counseling. Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness, 5(2), 2-29. https://doi.org/10.34296/05012006

Pope, A. L., St. Germain-Sehr, N., Augustine, B., St. Germain-Sehr, A., Lexumé, T., Moe, J., Snowden-Gregg, S., & Jackson, T. (2024). Developing an asynchronous LGBTQ+ affirming counseling training: A mixed methods study. Counselor Education & Supervision, 63(4), 350-363. https://doi.org/10.1002/ceas.12317

Schwitzer, A., Pope, A. L., & Rubin, L. (2024). Diagnosis & treatment planning skills: A popular culture casebook approach (3rd ed.). Sage.

 

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