
Dr. Christian D. Chan and Dr. Jennifer D. Deaton, assistant professors in the Department of Counseling and Educational Development, received a UNCG New Faculty Internal Grant to fund the research project titled “Investigating the Impact of Relational Satisfaction and Identity Affirmation on the Relationship Between LGBT-Based Oppression and Help-Seeking Behaviors.”
This project involves two research studies that examine the factors of relational satisfaction and identity affirmation to explain how LGBTQ+ oppression and race-based trauma can affect help-seeking behaviors among sexual and gender minority (SGM) intimate relationships. The research team includes Dr. Chan and Dr. Deaton as co-investigators, and CED graduate students Nicole Silverio and Jasmine L. Garland McKinney.
Dr. Chan is also the President of the Association for Adult Development and Aging (AADA). As a scholar-activist, his interests revolve around intersectionality; multiculturalism in counseling practice, supervision, and counselor education; social justice and activism; career development; critical research methodologies; and couple, family, and group modalities with socialization/communication of cultural factors. Dedicated to mentorship for leaders and scholars, he has actively contributed to over 43 peer-reviewed publications in journals, books, and edited volumes and has conducted over 120 refereed presentations at the national, regional, and state levels. Learn more.
As a counselor educator, Dr. Deaton facilitates culturally responsive pedagogy that builds self-awareness, fosters a multicultural lens, and promotes evidenced-based practitioners. She aims to drive interdisciplinary collaboration in areas of trauma-informed care, posttraumatic growth, and vicarious posttraumatic growth with methodology expertise in program evaluation and instrument development. Through her research, she aspires to extend a trauma-informed lens to K-12 educational institutions. Dr. Deaton has served as an evaluator for externally funded research and evaluation projects, including university-based teacher induction programs. Learn more.