LORIANN STRETCH, PhD, LPCS, NCC, ACS, is the Program Director and Department Chair for Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Prior to this, she served as the Research Faculty Lead for Walden University’s CACREP accredited MHC program. Her past positions include leading Capella University’s Counselor Education PhD program, serving as  clinical director of a multidisciplinary mental health agency, teaching psychology and counselor education courses at several state and private universities, and counseling in a variety of settings including vocational rehabilitation, domestic violence/sexual assault support, court advocacy, college/university counseling, disability services, foster care group homes, child support services, clinical supervision, and private practice.

Dr. Stretch was awarded the first Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor license in North Carolina in recognition of her advocacy work in that state and has served as the Chair, Treasurer, and Ethics Chair for the North Carolina Board of Licensed Professional Counselors (NCBLPC). In addition, she served on the ACA Ethics Review Panel and is a CACREP Team Lead. She has also served as the Public Policy Chair for her state branch of AMHCA. She is trained as a Dialectical Behavioral Therapist and is an advanced practitioner of sandplay and play therapies. Her research interests include distance counseling and supervision, law and ethics, evidence-based practice, and the developmental process of becoming a therapist.