Dr Johnson received her B.S. in Psychology at James Madison University and completed her Master's in Psychology at George Mason University , both in Virginia . She then received her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Loyola University of Chicago in 1989. She did my post-doctoral training at the New Orleans V.A. Medical Center and then relocated to Philadelphia where she obtained her first academic position at Villanova University . From Villanova, she went to Louisiana Tech University to head the new Ph.D. program in Counseling Psychology. When she decided to return to Virginia , she was excited to receive an appointment as Associate Professor at Regent in 2001. In addition to being a professor, she is the Director of Clinical Training which involves oversight of practicum and internship experiences for the Psy.D. program.

Since coming to Regent, Dr Johnson has taught the following doctoral courses: Intelligence Testing & Psychometrics, Dissertation Proposal, Psychotherapies I, Research Design, Advanced Personality Assessment, and Clinical Practicum. She developed the course in Program Development & Evaluation and currently teach this course. Her philosophy of teaching involves mastery learning and the integration of faith and learning. She sees students as collaborators in the learning process, and creates an interactive classroom environment that promotes discussion.

Dr Johson has recently co-authored a publication on the integration of research training in a Christian environment for the Journal of Psychology and Christianity . Her recent journal article submissions typically include Regent doctoral students whom she has chaired through their dissertation process. For example, there are copies of Personality contributions to belief in paranormal phenomena (presented at the Southwestern Psychological Association in April, 2004 and submitted to Personality and Individual Differences ), Treating Major Depression through integration of secular and Christian techniques (submitted to Journal of Case Studies ), and Soldier perception of effective leadership (presented at the International Leadership Conference in November, 2004 and to be submitted to Military Psychology ). Co-authors Cara Smith, Connie Borden , and Ron Hill are all Regent Psy.D. students.

Dr Johnson's current research team has 10 members, and she is supervising all of these students in their dissertation work. She has gratefully been awarded two Regent University faculty research grants to perform research in the areas of personality, health and forgiveness and has presented some of their findings at the annual conference of the Christian Association of Psychologists (2002). Her research team has focused specifically on the integration of important psychological concepts such as individual differences within the realm of forgiveness as a fundamental Christian tenet.

Dr Johnson has also published in international journals such as the Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology , Psychological Assessment, Journal of Personality Assessment, and Personality and Individual Differences. She has co-authored/edited four books with reputable publishers (Haworth Press, Plenum Press, and American Psychological Association Press) within the general areas of Neuropsychology and Personality. More research involvement has occurred through being selected for the past nine years to serve as a Senior Faculty Researcher for the U.S. Department of Defense. Dr Johnson has many peer-reviewed technical reports widely disseminated through the DoD which reflect another research interest of hers in Consulting Psychology and program development/evaluation.

Dr Johnson's professional service activities include appointments to the editorial boards of three journals and ad hoc review for several other journals. Each year she serves as an invited panelist to review grants submitted to the National Defense Science and Engineering Grant committee. As with editorial service, this activity enhances her professional development regarding nationally accepted state-of-the-art research activities. She also gets a sense of what other universities require for their doctoral students, and of the level of expertise that is standard in the field

Dr Johnson has recently been honored to be awarded the Faculty Excellence Award (December, 2004) from Regent University .

Dr Johnson's philosophy of teaching involves creation of a unity of faith and learning.