Erin Dean Ph.D., LPCC-S, Counselor Erin is a licensed professional clinical counselor and supervisor (LPCC-S) in the State of Ohio with over 22 years of experience in the counseling profession. She is a Kent State University (KSU) alumna having earned her Ph. D. in Counselor Education and Supervision, Master’s in Clinical/Community Counseling, and Bachelor’s in Psychology. Over the past two decades she has had a variety of experiences in the mental health field including working with couples, families, children, and young adults at Child Guidance and Family Solutions in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, college aged students, LGBTQ+/queer students, and community members at KSU’s Counseling and Human Development Center, persons infected and affected by HIV/AIDS at AIDS Holistic Services/Violet’s Cupboard in Akron, Ohio, and adults of all ages living with Severe and Persistent Mental Illness (SPMI) at Harbor Behavioral Healthcare in Toledo, Ohio. In addition to currently working part-time with Grow Well Cleveland since 2021, Erin holds a full professor position and serves as an assistant dean at a small private university. For the past 17 years, she has taught an array of undergraduate and graduate psychology and counseling courses and helps prepare students to become chemical dependency counselors. Before joining academia, she served as the Project Director at KSU for a large National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) HIV prevention for inner-city women grant. She has presented at the local, state, regional, and national level on HIV prevention, art & activism, gender, sexuality education, working with queer youth, and other topics. Erin has experience with EMDR, Solution Focused, Adlerian, Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral, Person-Centered, Queer, Feminist, and other therapeutic approaches. She has helped people navigate life’s questions, changes, and challenges, including but not limited to stress, grief, anxiety, depression, oppression, sex and sexuality, gender identity, coming out, gender transitions, substance use, dual diagnoses, and other facets of life. As a queer woman, she emphasizes an intersectional lens, prioritizes advocating for the LGBTQ+ and queer community, and specializes in working with gender creative, gender fluid, non-binary, gender non-conforming, and transgender children, adolescents, and adults. Erin is a self-proclaimed pushover for homeless animals, although currently claims that the Inn is full. When she is not busy being teacher, counselor, or mom, she enjoys cooking, spending time with family and friends, admiring the beauty in nature, or hanging out with her dog and streaming a good drama series. Erin’s pronouns are she/her/hers. Erin sees clients virtually.