Biography
Professor Finnell is a licensed mental health counselor and qualified supervisor in the State of Florida and has additional coursework, training, and experience in play therapy and school-based counseling. She is a compassionate, bilingual counselor with a successful record in helping individuals and families. She is most passionate about working with children and engaging their caregivers, particularly those that identify in the Latine population. Laura has one book chapter and five peer-reviewed publications in print and has presented over thirty papers/posters at national, regional, state, and local conferences, including presenting as an invited keynote speaker at the 4th Annual Undergrad Psychology Conference at the University of Central Florida. She is an active member of the American Counseling Association (ACA), the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES), the Association for Child and adolescent Counseling (ACAC), the Association for Multicultural Counseling & Development (AMCD), the Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (SACES), The Florida Counseling Association (FCA), and the Florida Association for Child and Adolescent Counseling (FACAC). She was selected as a 2016 SACES Emerging Leader, served as the AMCD Vice President of Latino/a Concerns (2020-2023). She begins her two-year term as President of FACAC in July of 2024. It is her passion to train counselors to work with children in a variety of settings, as well as to develop bilingual counseling and play therapy competencies in Spanish that are culturally responsive and developmentally appropriate, and to promote education and research related to these areas.
Degrees
PhD-ABD in Counselor Education, University of Central Florida | MS in Mental Health Counseling, Palm Beach Atlantic University | BA in Psychology, University of Central Florida