Dr. Van Brunt has worked in the counseling field for over fourteen years. He served as Director of Counseling at New England College from 2001-2007 and currently serves as Director of Counseling and Testing at Western Kentucky University. His counseling style draws from a variety of approaches, though primarily from the humanistic/person-centered style of treatment with its emphasis on warmth, compassion, empathy, unconditional positive regard, individual choice and personal responsibility. He is a certified QPR suicide prevention trainer and trained in BASICS alcohol intervention. Brian is also a certified trainer in John Byrne's Aggression Management program.
Brian has presented nationally on counseling ethics, mandated counseling, and testing and assessment for the American College Counseling Association (ACCA), Association of College and University Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD), American College Personnel Association (ACPA) and the National Association of Forensic Counselors (NAFC). He has presented on web site design at the Georgia College Counseling Association (GCCA) conference in 2007 and was awarded the American College Health Association Innovation Grant for his work on New England College’s website. He has taught graduate classes in counseling theory, ethics, testing and assessment and program evaluation. He has taught undergraduate classes in adjustment and personal growth, deviance and counseling theory.
He completed his doctorate from Argosy University in Sarasota Florida (formerly the University of Sarasota) in counseling psychology, finished his masters degree from Salem State College in counseling and psychological services and received a bachelors in psychology from Gordon College.
Presentations
Van Brunt, B.J. & Ebbeling, J. (2008). Resident Advisor Training: Best Practices and Essential Tools. Paper presented at Magna Publications. Madison, WI. Purchase from Magna.
Van Brunt, B.J. (2008). Innovations in College Counseling: QPR programing for incoming students. Paper presented at the American College Personnel Association convention. Atlanta, GA. Download word handout (55 KB)
Van Brunt, B.J. (2008). Practical Suggestion for Improving your Counseling Website. Paper presented at Magna Publications. Madison, WI. Purchase from Magna.
Van Brunt, B.J. & Raleigh, M.J. (2008). The ethics of mandated assessment, treatment and programming in college counseling: An argument for how to do it well. Paper presented at the 4th bi-annual American College Counseling Association (ACCA) convention. Savannah, GA. Download powerpoint (2.9MB)
Van Brunt, B.J. (2007). Discussion of mandated assessments and programming. Paper presented at the Association of University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD) national conference. Indianapolis, IN. Download word handout (2.2MB)
Van Brunt, B.J. (2007). The use of the Thematic Apperception Test in treatment planning, differential diagnosis and forensic assessment. Paper presented at the National Association of Forensic Counselors (NAFC) conference. Las Vegas, NV. Download word handout (2.45 MB)
Van Brunt, B.J. & Raleigh, M.J. (2007). Designing a website for college counseling centers. Paper presented at the Georgia College Counseling Association (GCCA) annual conference. St. Simons, GA. www.neccounseling.com – Winner of the American College Health Association (ACHA) Innovation Grant, October 2007. Download word handout (5MB)
Van Brunt, B.J. & Raleigh, M.J. (2007). The ethics of balancing clinician and administrator responsibilities for counseling center directors. Paper presented at the Northeast Counseling Center Directors (NECCD) regional conference. Hampton, MA. Download word handout (416K)
Van Brunt, B.J. & Francis, P. (2006). Ethical practice in using assessment and evaluations in a college setting. Paper presented at the 3rd bi-annual American College Counseling Association (ACCA) convention. Reno, NV. Download word handout (296K)
Van Brunt, B.J. (2005). Psychological testing for college and university counseling centers. Paper presented at the Northeast Counseling Center Directors (NECCD) regional conference. Hampton, MA. Download word handout (218K)
Publications
Van Brunt, B.J. (in press). “Mental Status Exam”, “Validity Scales”, “Key Figures in Research and Evaluation” in American Counseling Association Encyclopedia of Counseling. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
Van Brunt, B.J. & Ebbeling, J. (2008). “Seven Components of an RA Training Program.” Student Affairs Leader, 36(11). Download PDF file
Van Brunt, B.J. (2008). “Retention and College Counseling Centers.” Recruitment & Retention in Higher Education, 22(5). Download PDF file
Van Brunt, B.J. (2008). “Extending Your Counseling Center’s Resources: Adding an Online Q&A Page.” Student Affairs Leader, 36(4). Download PDF file
Van Brunt, B.J. (2007). “How to make the most of Your Depression Screening.” Student Affairs Leader, 35(23). Download PDF file
Van Brunt, B.J. (2007). "Preparing for College” www.mentalhealthoncampus. Click here to view
Van Brunt, B.J. (2007). “The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): Administration and interpretation.” Prescott, AZ. Borrego Publishing. ISBN: 978-0-9778545-1-6. Purchase book
Van Brunt, B.J. (2005). “A desk reference for the TAT: Narrative interpretation strategies for the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT).” Unpublished manuscript. Argosy University. Download word file (3.51MB)