Dr. Paulk"s Credentials

Ph.D., Counseling Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2003

Specialist in Education, Counseling and Human Systems, Florida State University, 1997

M.S. Counseling and Human Systems, Florida State University, 1997

B.A. Clinical Psychology and Music Therapy (Dual Major) Florida State University, 1989

About Dr. Paulk

Music and other art forms have played an important role in the development of Dr. Paulk’s character and life goals. She began to participate in concert piano competitions during elementary school, and continued to compete through her college years. School provided a forum for piano and vocal performances, and also afforded her opportunities to travel with singing groups to Jamaica, etc. as well as participate in producing educational music videos for children. She became a sign language interpreter in the eighth grade, and combined her music background with her signing skill to teach young children sign language through music activities. Today, Dr. Paulk enjoys participating in her church praise band and creating designs for her original pottery.

Dr. Paulk was fortunate to be allowed a double major at Florida State University in order to focus on Psychology as well as Music Therapy. A six month internship at Saint Luke’s Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio presented her with opportunities to work with various client populations, including chemical dependency, oncology, HIV/AIDS, and acute psychiatric clients.

Lake Erie Institute of Rehabilitation hired Dr. Paulk to design and create a Music Therapy program for their traumatically brain-injured and spinal cord clients. Part of her duties included speaking engagements to educate other professionals, such as presenting at the National Conference of the National Head Injury Research Foundation. She began working for Apalachee Center for Human Services in 1993, contracted by the public school system to focus strictly on counseling children with social/motional disorders and their families.

After two years of working with these children and their families, Dr. Paulk began nine years of graduate school, in which she obtained Master of Science (MS) and Education Specialist (EdS) degrees in Counseling and Human Systems, and a doctoral degree in Psychology (PhD). Dr. Paulk is now a Counseling Psychologist with expertise in the areas of mood disorders, physical and sexual trauma, and childhood aggression and delinquency. Over the last twelve years, she has provided a wide variety of psychotherapy, assessment, supervision, and outreach/consultation services in settings such as university counseling centers, a community mental health center, a rape/spouse abuse crisis center, and in the public school system. She has worked with various clients who presented with thought disorders, personality disorders, behavior problems, identity issues, career indecision, communication issues, relationship struggles, relationship violence, grief, depression, suicidality, and anxiety. She has also worked in consultation and coordination with other professionals to find ways to address the personal, professional, and academic needs of consultees.

Dr. Paulk was also a Research Assistant Professor with a dual appointment to the Department of Psychology and the Center for the Advancement of Youth Health (CAYH) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She has research interests in bullying and aggression, assessment and evaluation of child sexual abuse, etiology and counseling strategies for domestic violence, and the application of social capital research to U.S. public policy and juvenile violence. Dr. Paulk has received grants to study issues related to child sexual abuse from the National Science Foundation and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. She is also a National Certified Counselor (NCC) and a Licensed Psychologist in the State of Alabama