Sahana Sen

Dr. Sahana Sen joined Western Michigan University in 2025 as tenure-track Faculty Specialist and Clinical Coordinator in the Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology. She earned her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from Auburn University and brings four years of teaching experience as an instructor, covering areas such as diversity and multiculturalism, counseling theories and techniques, LGBTQ studies, career development, and professional orientation. Her teaching emphasizes inclusive pedagogy and cultivation of equitable learning environments for students.

Her clinical and supervisory experience spans both US and India. She has provided counseling across diverse marginalized communities, including university counseling centers, substance use rehabilitation programs, youth shelters, and community clinics, addressing presenting concerns like relapse prevention, personality disorders, gender and identity expression, and family conflicts. In her supervisory role, she has trained master’s-level students in Clinical Mental Health and School Counseling programs, employing trauma-informed and culturally responsive frameworks to support professional development.

Her research, grounded in qualitative phenomenology, explores belongingness, resiliency, and identity development among marginalized communities, with a particular focus on women of color in academia and students of color at predominantly white institutions. She has published in the Alabama Counseling Association Journal and the Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin and has additional manuscripts underway examining Black women’s experiences with anxiety and depression in higher education, as well as the sense of belonging among students of color.

Dr. Sen has presented nationally and regionally at the American Counseling Association Annual Conference on cultural humility in migration counseling, the Alabama Counseling Association Annual Conference on inclusive pedagogy, Auburn University’s Inclusive Excellence Conference on creating inclusive classrooms, the Georgia Addiction Counselors’ Association Fall Conference on trauma-informed supervision, and the Alabama Counseling Association Annual Conference on treatment considerations in substance use recovery.

• Courses Taught
• Living & Communicating in a Diverse Society (Undergraduate)
• Introduction to LGBTQ Studies (Undergraduate)
• Introduction to Counseling and Psychotherapy (Undergraduate)
• Career Orientation Exploration (Undergraduate)
• Orientation to Professional Counseling (Graduate)
• Advanced Counseling Practices (Graduate)
• Foundations of Substance Abuse Counseling (Graduate)
• Clinical Residency Practicum/Internship (Undergraduate/Graduate)
• Rehabilitation and Disability Studies Practicum (Undergraduate)

• Sense of belongingness and ego-resiliency among students of color in higher education
• Inclusive pedagogy and equity-driven teaching practices
• Feminist and multicultural frameworks in counselor education
• Cultural humility and advocacy in working with immigrant and marginalized populations
• Trauma-informed counseling and supervision practices