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A close up of pink flowers on a tree blooming on Regent University's Virginia Beach campus.
Ashleigh Bruns, Ph.D.Assistant ProfessorAdjunct Coordinator, Counseling DepartmentSchool of Psychology & CounselingMore about Ashleigh Bruns, Ph.D.

Ashleigh Bruns, Ph.D.

Bio

Dr. Ashleigh Bruns is an Assistant Professor in the School of Psychology & Counseling within the College of Health & Behavioral Sciences, and the Adjunct Coordinator for the counseling department. She has clinical experience working with couples, children, adolescents, adults, and groups with a variety of counseling needs, including depression, sexual abuse, addictions, anxiety, grief, marital distress, assessments, and adjustment issues. She has worked in diverse settings, including an inpatient psychiatric unit, a student counseling center, and a trauma-specialized private practice.

She sees change as a multifaceted process that requires a holistic view of a person. Dr. Bruns takes into account the spiritual, physical, cognitive, and emotional makeup of an individual. With this in mind, she believes change happens through researched therapeutic practices, creative interventions, God’s healing, and human connection and relationships. She also believes change takes time and cannot be forced, but occurs as a person desires to change.

Dr. Bruns has had the opportunity to present at numerous state and national conferences on topics such as creativity in counseling, resilience, addictions, healing after trauma, wellbeing, and facilitating change through expressive means. Her research investigates the intersection of diverse expressive modalities and resilience from a holistic framework, encompassing art, music, nature, nutrition, creativity, spirituality, and wellness. Through the research and validation of psychometric instruments and clinical practices to assess resilience, wellness, antifragility, and post-traumatic growth (PTG) specifically related to creativity, her work seeks to enhance clinical responsiveness to mental health needs and provide a research basis for creativity in counseling, while simultaneously advancing andragogical methodologies within Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) graduate counseling programs and the supervision of clinical practitioners.

Credentials

Education

  • Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision. Regent University, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Aug. 18, 2008-May 4, 2013.
  • M.A. in Community Counseling. Focus on Community Mental Health Counseling and Trauma Care. Denver Seminary, Denver, Colorado. Jan. 24, 2006-May 17, 2008.
  • B.A. in Psychology and Fine Arts (Art History). University of Colorado at Boulder, Colorado. Aug. 27, 2001-May 6, 2005.

Certifications and Licenses

  • Wisconsin Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) 6165-125, Aug. 1, 2016-Renewal Feb. 28, 2027
  • Wisconsin Licensed Authorized to Perform Psychometric Testing, Aug. 1, 2016-Renewal Feb. 28, 2027
  • Eye Movement and Desensitization and Reprocessing Certification (EMDR) Level II Certified, July 2, 2008-April 30, 2027
  • Trauma-Focused CBT-Granted, May 16, 2016-Present
  • National Certified Counselor, June 23, 2008-April 15, 2027
  • Certificate Pastoral Crisis Intervention, 2008-Present
  • Certificate to Administer PREPARE/ENRICH, 2008-Present

Memberships and Affiliations

  • American Counseling Association (ACA), April 1, 2010-April 30, 2027
  • Association for Creativity in Counseling (ACC), June 30, 2020-April 30, 2027
  • Association of Counselor Educators and Supervisors (ACES), July 3, 2011-April 30, 2027
  • Association of Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC), July 20, 2020-April 30, 2027
  • International Association of Addictions and Offender Counselors (IAAOC), Jan. 7, 2016-April 30, 2027
  • International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors (IAMFC), Oct. 7, 2014-April 30, 2027
  • International Association for Resilience and Trauma Counseling (IARTC), April 6, 2023-April 30, 2027
  • North Central Association of Counselor Education and Supervision (NCACES), Feb. 27, 2017-April 30, 2027
  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing International Association (EMDRIA), April 9, 2010-April 30, 2027
  • Chi Sigma Iota (Counseling Honor Society), May 14, 2010-June 8, 2027
  • American Association for Christian Counselors (AACC), Aug. 21, 2020-Nov. 11, 2026
  • Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS), Jan. 1, 2006-Oct. 14, 2026
  • Wisconsin Counseling Association (WCA), July 26, 2022-July 25, 2027

Research Interests

  • Creativity in Counseling: encompassing art, music, nature, nutrition, creativity, spirituality, and wellness
  • Resilience and Antifragility
  • Addictions treatment and andragogy

Publications

Scholarly Works

  • Bruns, A. (2023). Posttraumatic Growth and Spiritual Well-Being in Survivors of the Columbine High School Shooting. Wisconsin Counseling Association Journal.
  • Bruns, A. and McLean, E. (2022). Groups in Addictions Treatment. In Williams, C., (Ed.)  Addictions, God and Mental Health Counseling.  San Diego, CA: Cognella Academic Publishing.
  • Bruns, A. (2013). Posttraumatic growth and spiritual well-being in survivors of the Columbine High School shooting. (Doctoral Dissertation). Available in ProQuest.
  • Bruns, A. (2008). Adoption and attachment: The compensation and correspondence hypothesis in relation to God and adoptive parents. (Unpublished master’s thesis). Denver Seminary, Denver, Colorado.
  • Bruns, A., Childers, S., and Senyonyi, R. (2009). Online peer supervision of group leaders: Can this work?. SACES Newsletter, 5(2), 7. Available at http://www.saces.org/Resources/Documents/newsletter_summer_2009.pdf

Presentations

  • Bruns, A. (2025, November 8). Cranes and Poems: Addressing Anxiety and Resilience in an Age of Uncertainty- Creative Interventions Fair. Association for Creativity in Counseling (ACC division of ACA). Annual National Conference.
  • Bruns, A. & Wilkerson, K. (2025, October 9) Working with counselors-in-training to assess resilience in incarcerated persons: implications for supervisory and clinical practice. 50-minute presentation at ACES in Philadelphia, PA.
  • Bruns, A. (2025, October 3). Origami and hope: Developing resilience through poems and cranes. [Conference presentation]. Wisconsin Counseling Association 2025 Annual Conference Madison, WI.
  • Bruns, A., & McLean, E. (2025, March). Counselor wellness as a lens to healthy interactions: Facilitating tough conversations with clients, overcoming burnout, ethical attunement, and rupture repair [Conference]. CAPS Annual Conference Denver, CO.
  • Bruns, A. (2024, November 22). An invitation to exhale: workshops on somatic and creative aspects of self-care. [kintsugi origami workshop with students as an invited speaker]. Regent Chapter of AACC. Online.
  • Bruns, A. (2024, November 14, 2024). Restore our tanks: Engaging in re-storying stressors through collaborative storytelling. [3-hour pre-conference presentation]. Association for Creativity in Counselling (ACC division of ACA). Annual National Conference.
  • Bruns, A. (2024, November 7). The art of restoration: Kintsugi. [Conference presentation]. Wisconsin Counseling Association 2024 Annual Conference Madison, WI.
  • McLean, E., & Bruns, A. (2024, March 21). Addiction and the healing journey: View of self and the world [Conference presentation]. CAPS Annual Conference Atlanta, GA.
  • Bruns, A. (2023, November 4). Trauma, PTG, and resilience through expressive therapies: Using the Reflective Self Activity with mason jars to facilitate healing [Conference Presentation]. Wisconsin Counseling Association 2023 Conference, Madison, WI.
  • Runyan, H., Lynch, M. Knight, J., Bruns, A., Walley, C., & Gaboton-Swift, M. (2023, October 14). School Counselor Retention [Conference presentation]. ACES Biannual National Conference, Denver, CO.
  • Bruns, A. (2022 November) The Clinical Use of Collaborative Games in Diagnosis, Treatment, and Management of Clinical Mental Health for Children, Adolescents, and Families. 50-minute presentation at the Wisconsin Counseling Association in Madison, Wisconsin.
  • Bruns, A., Bruns, C., and Kuhnley, A. (2021 October) Utilizing Dr. Edward De Bono’s hats and tele-supervision with the Integrative Developmental Model and considering attachment on the effect on counselor trainee self-efficacy. 50-minute presentation at ACES Leadership in Atlanta, GA.
  • Bruns, A. (2015 October) Posttraumatic growth and spiritual well-being in survivors of the Columbine High School shooting. Poster presented at ACES Leadership for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Practice, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.