Jane E. Okech

BIO

Jane Okech, Ph.D., is a Professor of Counselor Education and Supervision, and was named Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs effective July 1, 2022. Dr. Okech earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Kenyatta University (Kenya), where she majored in Philosophy of Religion and History, and a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from the United States International University-Africa (Kenya). She earned her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Counseling from Idaho State University (USA) in 2003. 

Dr. Okech joined UVM as a tenure track assistant professor in the Department of Counseling, Human Development and Family Science (then known as Integrated Professional Studies, and more recently, Leadership and Developmental Sciences) in 2003. She earned tenure and was promoted to the rank of associate professor in May 2009, and was subsequently promoted to the rank of full professor in May 2017. 

Dr. Okech has served UVM in multiple leadership capacities, including serving as the Coordinator of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program [2003-2012; AY 2016; AY 2017], as Counseling Program Coordinator [2012-2015], as interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Research in the College of Education and Social Services (CESS) [2015-2016], as Chair of the Department of Leadership and Developmental Sciences (DLDS) [2017-2021], and  as the CESS Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs (2021-2022). Dr. Okech has also served her affiliated professional organizations in multiple capacities. She is the Editor-elect for the Journal for Specialists in Group Work (JSGW) with her executive editorship taking effect on July 1, 2023.

Dr. Okech’s scholarship primarily focuses on the advancement of proficiencies in the practice of group psychotherapy and clinical supervision with diverse populations. She examines counseling micro skill and advanced skill acquisition processes, and their contributions to the development of complex relational dynamics that advance the efficacy of the therapeutic process in individual and group contexts. 

She also explores models of clinical supervision and the development of core supervision intervention proficiencies across various domains of clinical practice. Associated aspects of this scholarship foci is its intersection with counselor training, professional ethics, and standards of practice. 

As a faculty member at UVM, Dr. Okech has taught over 70 courses using multiple modalities, including in-person, hybrid, and online courses (asynchronously and synchronously), and engaged in high impact teaching practices with relatively positive peer and student evaluations. Her body of work has received professional accolades including recognition with the 2017 “Article of the Year” award by the Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW) and the 2019 “Counselor Education and Supervision Publication of the Year Award” by the Association for Counselor Educators and Supervisors (ACES). 

Courses

• Advanced Group Counseling: Theory & Practice
• Advanced Group: Theory & Practice
• Clinical Mental Health Internship
• DBT: Fundamental Change Strategies
• DBT: Origins & Theory
• DBT: Validation and Dialects
• Developmental Perspectives in Counseling; Internship in Clinical Mental Health
• Internship: Clinical Mental Health; Laboratory Experience in Counseling; Professional Issues in Counseling
• The Practice of Mental Health Counseling

Publications

Google Scholar

Awards and Achievements

• Counselor Education and Supervision Publication of the Year Award (2019). Awarded by the Association for Counselor Educators and Supervisors (ACES) in recognition of the edited volume,  (Okech, J. E. A & Rubel, D. J. (Eds). (2018). Counselor Education in the 21st Century: Issues and Experiences. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
• Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW) Fellow (2018). Awarded by the Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW).
• Article of the Year Award (2017). Awarded by the Association for Specialists in Group Work in recognition of “ Okech, J. E. A., Pimpleton, A., Vannata, R., & Champe, J. (2016). Intercultural conflict in groups. Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 41(4), 350-369. doi:10.1080/01933922.2016.1232769.” Selected by the editorial board members of the Journal for Specialist in Group Work.
• Outstanding Article Award (2015). Awarded by the Association for Specialists in Group Work in recognition of “Okech, J. E. A., Pimpleton, A., Vannata, R., & Champe, J. (2015). Intercultural communication: an application to group work. Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 40, 268-293. doi: 10.1080/01933922.2015.1056568.” Selected by the editorial board members of the Journal for Specialist in Group Work.
• Outstanding Faculty Award from ALANA Center (2014). Awarded by the ALANA Center at the University of Vermont to a faculty member who has displayed continual commitment to leadership, advocacy, and social justice. 
• John Dewey Educator’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (2014). Awarded by the College of Education and Social Services (CESS), University of Vermont.

Area(s) of expertise

• Clinical supervision
• Diversity, access and equity
• Ethics
• Group co-leadership
• Group psychotherapy
• Mental health
• Multiculturalism
• Social justice