Dr. Lotes Nelson

Associate Professor
Dr. Lotes Nelson

Lotes Nelson is an Associate Professor at the University of the Cumberlands. She is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor – Supervisor in North Carolina (LCMHC-S), a CCE Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS), and a National Certified Counselor (NCC). She is also an award recipient of the prestigious National Board for Certified Counselors Doctoral Minority Fellowship. Dr. Nelson was awarded the Florida Counseling Association’s 2023 Humanitarian Award.

Dr. Nelson maintains her clinical work as a counselor and supervisor in private practice to continue to exercise her skills. Her interest lies in serving the underserved and never served, marginalized, and oppressed populations. She has a particular interest in working with immigrants and refugees who are adjusting to life in the mainstream. As an Asian American, she also has a strong focus in Asian/Asian American mental health concerns/studies. Dr. Nelson’s specialization during her doctoral studies was in trauma and crises and has continued to make this a cornerstone of her clinical and teaching focus. She works in various areas of adolescent and adult mental health. As a culturally responsive counselor, she is passionate about integrating creativity into her counseling work to understand the individuals that she serves. Moreover, she holds strong interest in the topics of supervision and professional development.

You will often find Dr. Nelson in speaking engagements to help influence social change and advocacy for justice, both domestically and internationally. She is committed to continuing to strengthen her professional identity; therefore, maintains her active professional memberships in the following associations:

  • American Counseling Association (ACA), Member
  • Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES), past Chair of the ACES Anti-Racist Pedagogy Task Force
  • Association for Creativity in Counseling (ACC), Board of Trustee, Conference Planning Committee Member
  • Association for Humanistic Counseling (AHC), Co-Chair of the Conference Planning Committee
  • Chi Sigma Iota (CSI), Member
  • European-Branch - American Counseling Association (EB-ACA), Member
  • Florida Counseling Association (FCA), President of the FL Counseling Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Division (FACES); past Executive Board Member as Treasurer
  • National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), NBCC Foundation Mentor, NBCC Ethics Advisory Council
  • Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (SACES), Member

On a personal note, Dr. Nelson and her family are in sunny Florida where they are fond of the tropical atmosphere, especially the beaches, sand, and sun. They love walking on the beach with their Yorkie-Pup daughter, Lilly Belle.  Dr. Nelson and her husband enjoy playing tennis together and even dabble in competitive social tennis, while her husband and son take pleasure playing golf together. 

Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision, Walden University, 2015
M.S. in Mental Health Counseling, Walden University, 2011
B.S. in Business Management, Montreat College, 2006

Multiculturalism and Diversity in Counseling; Marginalized and Oppressed Groups; Underserved and Never served populations; Immigrants and Refugees; Asian/Asian American Mental Health; Acculturation; Trauma and Crisis; Adolescent health; Eating Disorders/Disordered Eating; Creativity in Counseling; Supervision.

Publications:  

  • Summers, L., & Nelson, L. (Eds.). (2022).  Multicultural counseling: Responding with cultural humility, empathy, & advocacy.  Springer.
  • Nelson, L. (2022). The Counselor: Becoming a culturally responsive counselor. In Summers, L., & Nelson, L. (Eds.). (2022).  Multicultural counseling: Responding with cultural humility, empathy, & advocacy.  Springer.
  • Nelson, L. (2020). Gaining clinical experience in and after graduate school. In Adekson, M. O. (Editor). Beginning your counseling career (pp. 158-170).  New York: Routledge Publishers. 
  • Nelson, L. (2019). Risk management and resilience in counseling. In Adekson, M. O. (Editor). Handbook of counseling and counselor education (pp. 305-319).  New York: Routledge Publishers.
  • Litam, S. D. A., Chan, C. D., Nelson, L., & Tuazon, V. E. (2022). Decolonizing the interpersonal theory of suicide with Filipinx American clients. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 13(1), 73–82. https://doi.org/10.1037/aap0000255
  • Nelson, L. (2020, February 01).  Fostering immigrant communities of healing (L. Phillips, Interviewer) Counseling Today, 62(8), 32-38.  Retrieved from https://ct.counseling.org/
  • Tuazon, V. E., Gonzalez, E., Gutierrez, D., & Nelson, L. (2019). Colonial mentality and mental health help-seeking of Filipino-Americans. Journal of Counseling & Development, 97(4), 352-363. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad/12284

Presentations:  

  • Nelson, L. (2023). Plenary Speaker: Resilience rocks: Surviving and thriving after adversity. Florida Counseling Association. Tampa, FL. September 29, 2023.
  • Hargett, B., Nelson, L. (2023). National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) Ethics Advisory Council Town Hall. National Board for Certified Counselors Symposium. Atlanta, GA. June 2, 2023.
  • Stretch, L.S., Nelson, L., Kimball, P., DiDiego, A. (2023). Creativity in counseling – The creativity quilting bee. American Counseling Association (ACA).  Toronto, Canada. March 31, 2023. 
  • Nelson, L., Sossin, L., Outz-Moore, R., Brown, A. (2022). Keynote Speaker: The creativity quilting bee: Coming together with resilience. Association for Creativity in Counseling (ACC). Melbourne, FL. December 9, 2022. 
  • Nelson, L. (2022). Applying creativity for counseling for men to foster deeper emotional exploration. Association for Creativity in Counseling (ACC). Melbourne, FL. December 9, 2022.
  • Nelson, L. (2022). Risk management and resilience in counseling. European Branch – American Counseling Association (EB-ACA). Athens, Greece. October 22, 2022.

Contact

704.965.2113