Stella Beatríz Kerl-McClain

Dr. Stella Beatríz Kerl-McClain is an Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Education and Counseling and has been teaching at Lewis & Clark College since 2006. Prior to joining the faculty at Lewis and Clark, she spent ten years teaching at Texas State University — San Marcos. Although she has been working in academe a long time, she identifies primarily as clinician/psychotherapist.

Dr. Kerl-McClain is a first-generation college student and a first-generation American. The child of two immigrant parents (Colombia and Germany), she attended Highline Community College after high school and transferred to the University of Washington without a clear idea of what she wanted to do. When it was suggested that obtain a doctorate, she replied that she didn’t want to be a doctor because she was a nurse aide already and didn’t care for all the blood, etc. When it was explained to her that she could get a doctorate in anything, not just medicine, she thought about other doctors she had seen on television (her mother thought watching tv was a good way to learn English), and said, “Like Dr. Bob from the Bob Newhart Show?” She applied and was accepted into the Counseling Psychology doctoral program at the University of Texas at Austin.

Prior to and concurrent with her academic appointments, she worked in many different community mental health agencies and settings performing family, couples, and individual therapy. She is bilingual (English and Spanish) and has experience working with a broad range of clients:  college students, children, adolescents, older adults, couples and families, and people with chronic mental illness. She also has experience in time-limited individual and group therapies, forensic issues and with a wide range of presenting problems. She currently carries a small client load.

Dr. Kerl-McClain loves seeing her students grow as professional counselors, especially as they reach the moments when they begin understanding and making sense of their intuitive processes, i.e., why they believe counseling works. 

Dr. Kerl-McClain is proud of being a founding board member and past President of the Association for Creativity in Counseling,  a division of the American Counseling Association, and two-term representative of the Governing Council of the American Counseling Association.

Areas of Expertise

Older Adults; Couple and Individual Therapy; Diagnosis; Supervision

Publications

• Kerl-McClain, S. B., Dorn-Medeiros, C. M., & McMurray, K. (2022). Addressing Anti-Fat Bias: A Crash Course for Counselors and Counselors-in-Training. Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision, 15(4).
• Juarez, A., Kerl-McClain, S., and Gallardo, S. (2016). Theoretical Shifts in the Analysis of Latina Sexuality: Ethnocentrism, Essentialism, and the Right (White) Way to be Sexual. In Hobson, J. (2016). Are all the Women Still White? New York: SUNY Press.
• Dickerman, C., Christensen, J., & Kerl-McClain, S. B. (2008). Big Breasts and Bad Guys: Depictions of Gender and Race in Video Games.  Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 3, 1, 20 – 29.
• Duffey, T., & Kerl-McClain, S.B. (2008). History of the Association for Creativity in Counseling: The evolution of a conference, division, and journal.  Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 2, 3, 61 – 70.
• Kerl-McClain,  S.B. & Eichler, M. (2007).  Loss of innocence:  The emotional consequences of gatekeeping.  Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 1, 3, 71-88.
• Kerl-McClain,  S.B. & Eichler, M. (2007).  Loss of innocence:  The emotional consequences of gatekeeping.  In Duffey, T., (2007).  Creative Interventions in Grief and Loss Therapy:  When the Music Stops, a Dream Dies.  Binghamton, NY:  The Haworth Press. 
• Kerl, S.B. (2006). [Review of the book Cellular Wisdom: Decoding the Body’s Secret Language]. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 1, 2.
• Kerl, S.B. (2005). Outside the box. Association for Creativity in Counseling Newsletter, 1, 2.
• Kerl, S. B. & Juárez, A. (2005). Sexuality across the lifespan. In Comstock, D. (Ed.). Diversity and Development: Critical contexts that shape our lives and relationships. Belmont, CA: Thompson Brooks/Cole.
• Kerl, S.B. (2005). [Review of the book Redemption of the Shattered: A teenagers healing journey through sandtray therapy]. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 1, 2, 123-124.
• Kerl, S.B. (2005). [Review of the book Cellular Wisdom: Decoding the Body’s Secret Language]. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 1, 1, 154-155.
• Kerl, S.B. (2005). [Review of the book Creativity in Psychotherapy: Reaching New Heights with Individuals, Couples, and Families.] Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 1, 1, 153-154.
• Juárez, A. & Kerl, S. B. (2003). What is the right (white) way to be sexual? Latina Sexuality. Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies, 28, 1, 7-37.
• Kerl, S.B. (2002). Narrative approaches to teaching multicultural counseling. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 30, 2, 135-143.
• Kerl, S.B., Garcia, J., McCullough, C. S., & Maxwell, M. E. (2002). Systematic evaluation of professional performance: Legally supported procedure and process.Counselor Education and Supervision, 41, 4, 321-333.
• Sharma, P. & Kerl, S.B. (2002). Suggestions for psychologists working with Mexican American individuals and families in health care settings. Rehabilitation Psychology, 47, 2, 230-239.
• Kerl, S. B. (2001). Sweepstakes. Journal of Poetry Therapy, 15, 2, 117.
• Kerl, S. B., and Duffey, T. (2001). Do relational views of self support hierarchical systems?Professional Issues in Counseling 1, 1.
• Kerl, S. B. & Moore, P. R. (2001). Women of color on campus: Coalitions and alliances for survival and success. Advancing Women in Leadership, 9, 1.

Presentations

• Kerl-McClain, S. (2024). How Has the Concept of Neurodiversity Changed Your Practice?. Roundtable presentation for the American Counseling Association, New Orleans, LA. March, 2024
• Kerl-McClain, S. (2023). Exploring the Power of Sandtray to Integrate and Empower Developing Counseling Identities. Presentation for the Association for Creativity in Counseling, Melbourne, FL. November, 2023.
• Kerl-McClain, S. (2022). Creativity Meets Body Liberation: Interventions for Promoting Size Acceptance/Diversity. Presentation for the Association for Creativity in Counseling, Melbourne, FL. December, 2022.
• Kerl-McClain, S. and Dorn-Medeiros, C. (2022). Body Positivity, Size Diversity, HAES, and Fat Studies: Educating Counselors to Avoid Harm. Presentation for the American Counseling Association Virtual Conference Experience. Virtual, October, 2022.
• Noble, M. and Kerl-McClain, S. (2022). Fat Studies 101 for Counselors andPsychotherapists. Presentation for the Center for Community Engagement, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR. September, 2022.
• Kerl-McClain (2022). Size Diversity, HAES & “Body Positivity” and Fat Liberation: Educating Counselors to Avoid Harm. Presentation for the 2022 Association for Women in Psychology annual conference. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2022.
• Kerl-McClain, S. (2022) Creativity as a Critical Challenge to White Supremacy in Counselor Education. Presentation for World Day of Creativity Celebration (virtual). April, 2022.
• Kerl-McClain, S. (2021) Creativity as a Critical Challenge to White Supremacy in Counselor Education. Presentation for the Association for Creativity in Counseling Conference (virtual). December, 2021.
• Kerl-McClain, S., and Dorn-Medeiros, C. (2019) Bringing Body Positivity and Size Diversity into Counseling. Presentation for the Oregon Counseling Association, Cannon Beach, Oregon. November, 2019
• Kerl-McClain, S., and Dorn-Medeiros, C. (2019) Bringing Body Positivity, Size Diversity and Health At Every Size into Counseling. Roundtable presentation for the American Counseling Association, New Orleans, LA. March, 2019
• Doyle, C., Brown, N., Kerl-McClain, S., DeLeon, A., and Dorn-Medeiros, C. (2019). CACREP for Small Liberal Arts Colleges: Our Process. Roundtable presentation for the American Counseling Association, New Orleans, LA. March, 2019.
• Duffey, T., Haberstroh, S., and Kerl-McClain, S. (2018). Creative Uses for the Enneagram. Presentation for the Association for Creativity in Counseling National Conference, Clearwater, FL. September, 2018.
• Kerl-McClain, S. (2017). Diagnosis with Integrity: A Critical Framework Supporting The Ethical Use Of Diagnosis. Presentation for the American Counseling Association conference, San Francisco, CA. March, 2017.
• Kerl-McClain, S. and Doyle, C. (2017) Shame or Gratitude? Lessons about Privilege from the Marriage Equality Movement. Roundtable presentation for the American Counseling Association conference, San Francisco, CA. March, 2017.
• Kerl-McClain, S. (2016). Shame or Gratitude: Explorations in Teaching about Privilege using a Marriage Equality Perspective. Paper presented at the Mid-America American Studies Conference, Lawrence, KS. March 2016.
• Kerl-McClain, S. (2016). Developing Creative Interventions in Counseling and Counselor Education by Understanding and Honoring Relational Intuition. Presented at the Association for Creativity in Counseling conference, Savannah, GA. September 2016.
• Kerl-McClain, S., Porter, J., Moore, R. O., Lawrence, C. (2015). Creative Techniques to Use in Required Courses in CACREP-Accredited Counseling Programs. Presented at the American Counseling Association conference, Orlando, FL, March 2015.
• Kerl-McClain, S.B. (2014).  Playing the Race Card:  Exploring Facilitative and Detrimental Dialogical Practices in Conversations about Race.  Poster presentation at the American Counseling Association Convention, Honolulu, HI, March 2014.
• Kerl-McClain, S.B. (2014).  Five Creative Techniques for Teaching Key Concepts in Required Courses in Counselor Education Programs.  Presentation at the American Counseling Association Convention, Honolulu, HI, March 2014.
• Kerl-McClain, S.B. (2013).  Integrating a Critical Theory Component into a Mental Health Diagnosis Class. Poster presentation at the American Counseling Association Convention, Cincinnati, OH, March 2013.

• Kerl-McClain, S.B., Duffey, T., Haberstroh, S., Trepal, H.  (2013). Report from the Task Force for Ethics in Creativity in Counseling. Presentation at the American Counseling Association Convention, Cincinnati, OH, March 2013.
• Kerl-McClain, S.B. (2012).  The Emerging Field of Fat Studies and Its Relevance to Counselors and Counselor Educators Interested in Social Justice. Poster presentation at the American Counseling Association Convention, San Francisco, CA, March 2012.

• Kutcher, J. and Kerl-McClain, S.B. (2012). Letting Go: Exploring Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder in Women.  Presentation at the American Counseling Association Convention, San Francisco, CA, March 2012.
• Porter, J. and Kerl-McClain, S.B. (2012). Creative Techniques for Teaching Key Concepts in Required Courses in Counselor Education Programs.  Presentation at the American Counseling Association Convention, San Francisco, CA, March 2012.
• Kerl-McClain, S.B. and Porter, J. (2011). Five Creative Techniques to use in Required Courses in Counselor Education.  Presentation at the American Counseling Association Convention, New Orleans, LA, March 2011.
• Kerl-McClain, S. B., Hammer, T., Doyle, C., Sawyer, C., Farn, V. (2010). Celebration of Creativity in Counseling: Research and Practice.  Presentation at the American Counseling Association Convention, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 2010.
• Kerl-McClain, S.B., & Pidcock, B. (2010). The CARE and the CARE-S Supervision Notes: Concise Forms and Format for the Documentation of Supervision. Juried poster presented at the American Counseling Association Convention, Pittsburgh, PA, March 2010.
• Kerl-McClain, S.B. (2010). Fat Bias, Fat Acceptance, and Health at Every Size: A Counselor’s Guide to the Fatosphere. Juried poster presented at the Association for Women in Psychology, February, 2010.
• Kerl-McClain and Maher, M. (2010). Sacrificial Pedagogy: Personal Costs and Rewards of Teaching Diversity. Guided discussion presented at the Association for Women in Psychology Convention, Portland, Oregon. February 2010.
• Kerl-McClain, S.B., & Pidcock, B. (2009). The CARE Supervision Note: Developing a Concise Form and Format for the Documentation of Supervision. Juried poster presented at the American Counseling Association Convention, Charlotte, North Carolina. March 2009.
• Kerl-McClain, S.B., Trepal, H., Haberstroh, S., Duffey, T., Valadez, A., Eichler, M. (2009). Experiential Approaches for Connection, Creativity, and Growth. Presented at the American Counseling Association Convention, Charlotte, North Carolina. March 2009.
• Duffey, T., & Kerl-McClain, S.B. (2008). History of the Association for Creativity in Counseling: The evolution of a conference, division, and journal. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 2, 3, 61 – 70.
• Dickerman, C., Christensen, J., & Kerl-McClain, S. B. (2008). Big Breasts and Bad Guys: Depictions of Gender and Race in Video Games. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 3, 1, 20 – 29.
• Kerl-McClain, S.B. & Eichler, M. (2007). Loss of innocence: The emotional consequences of gatekeeping. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 1, 3, 71-88.
• Kerl-McClain, S.B., Eichler, M., and Doyle, C. (2007). Creativity in counseling as hermeneutic dialogue: Understanding diverse worldviews through creative practice. Juried poster presented at the American Counseling Association Convention, March 2007.
• Kerl-McClain, S.B. (2006). Parenting diverse families creatively. Juried poster presented at the American Counseling Association Convention, March 2006.

Academic Credentials

PhD 1995, MA 1991, University of Texas at Austin,  BA 1988 University of Washington—Seattle