In Memoriam: UTSA remembers counseling professor, section chair Thelma Duffey | UTSA Currently | UTSA
“Dr. Duffey embodied just about every single quality one particular would want in a professor and chief,” explained Mario Torres, dean of the UTSA School of Schooling and Human Progress. “She was fantastic at her craft, an extremely selfless chief, a tireless advocate for her college, team, students and colleagues, and addressed each and every individual with grace, care and compassion. She experienced a distinctive and purely natural reward for inspiring some others to understand their guarantee and possible both personally and skillfully. It’s a devastating decline for COEHD, the college group and the counseling industry at large.”
Duffey was passionate about mentoring, relational counseling and trauma-knowledgeable care. She had unique passions in helping family members as a result of grief and reduction and served supply guidance and session solutions for the people impacted by the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary and Sutherland Springs as element of her work.
Duffey located inspiration in creativity and her really like for new music and bundled these in her observe and exploration. To assist promote these kinds of progressive counseling tactics, Duffey founded the Association for Creativity in Counseling in 2004 as a new division of the American Counseling Affiliation (ACA). Her target was to provide jointly gurus, educators and students in the counseling industry to investigate new and relational methods to counseling. In addition to her purpose as founding president of the affiliation, she served as editor of the division’s peer-reviewed journal, the Journal of Creativity in Mental Wellness.
She was also included in the ACA in the course of her job and served as its 64th president from 2015-2016 and treasurer from 2018-2020. In addition, she championed countrywide attempts to acquire interstate counselor licensure portability. For her considerable contributions to the counseling occupation, Duffey was picked as an ACA Fellow in 2010 and acquired the Presidential Award and the Life time Membership Award from the corporation. In 2008 she was awarded the inaugural Thelma Duffey Eyesight and Innovation Award, recognized that 12 months by the Association for Creative imagination in Counseling at the ACA’s convention in Hawaii.
Additionally, Duffey cared deeply about anti-bullying study and advocacy, and these were being essential elements in her perform for the duration of her time as ACA president.
“Dr. Duffey was a visionary leader who wholeheartedly supported students, personnel and faculty both equally in the Department of Counseling and throughout the complete counseling career,” claimed Heather Trepal, professor of counseling and the college’s affiliate dean for tutorial systems and pupil success. “I pass up my beloved good friend and colleague. The impression of her existence and function are unable to be understated.”
Duffey was born in Brownsville, Texas, and came to San Antonio to go after greater schooling. She been given a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and a Master of Schooling diploma from Trinity College. She afterwards gained a master’s degree in psychological wellbeing counseling and a doctorate in counseling from St. Mary’s College.
Duffey was a lifelong educator and began her instructing vocation in 1976 at Wrenn Junior Substantial College in San Antonio. Following spending a ten years in key and secondary education and learning, Duffey transitioned into faculty instruction, and spent time teaching at Texas State University and her alma mater St. Mary’s University. She joined UTSA in drop 2004 and was promoted to full professor and counseling section chair in 2009.
All through her professional job, Duffey manufactured sizeable contributions to the counseling subject and received many awards for her training and investigation. She authored around 40 peer-reviewed articles, co-authored lots of publications and ebook chapters, and introduced at each nationwide and global conferences.
Duffey was also a licensed experienced counselor and a accredited relationship and loved ones therapist, functioning a thriving private practice in San Antonio for more than 20 a long time.
Duffey is survived by her little ones, Madelyn and Rob, and their father, Mike Duffey her grandson, Max her father, Richard brothers, Richard and John niece, Olivia and her stepfather, Jim. She was preceded in loss of life by her mother, Mary.
A memorial support for Duffey will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 19, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 315 E. Pecan Street, San Antonio, Texas 78205.