Meet the Faculty Ombudsperson
Christine Schimmel, Ed.D.
Professional Biography
Dr. Christine J. Schimmel is an associate professor and former associate department chair in the School of Counseling and Well-Being at West Virginia University. Schimmel coordinates the counseling program and specifically focuses her energies working with and training pre-service school counselors. In that role, Schimmel provides supervision to students in field experiences.
A former school counselor herself, Schimmel has spent the last 20 years providing staff development and conference workshops on topics relevant to school counselors, clinical mental health counselors and teachers. She has presented on topics such as impact therapy, creative counseling techniques, counseling theory, dealing with students who exhibit problematic behaviors, growth mindset, protective factors, and group counseling.
Schimmel has published more than 10 articles, books, book chapters, and monographs on these subjects as well. Along with her colleague, Dr. Ed Jacobs, they have published one of the most widely used group counseling textbooks on the market, “Group Counseling: Strategies and Skills,” which is now in its 9th edition. In December of 2018, her textbook with co-editor Dr. Ann Vernon, “Counseling Children & Adolescents,” was released. It is currently Cognella’s number-one selling textbook. Her most recent texts, “A School Counselor’s Guide to Small Groups (2022, 2nd ed.)” and “Applying Neuroscience to Counseling Children & Adolescents: A Guide to Brain Based Experiential Interventions” were recently released by Cognella.
Schimmel has contributed to faculty search, college and department promotion and tenure, and other committees across multiple units at WVU. She has also served two terms on WVU Faculty Senate. Schimmel has served as a reviewer for the Journal for Specialists in Group Work. She brings the knowledge and skills developed and honed through these and other activities to the Faculty Ombudsperson position.
In her work with clients, Schimmel often employs strategies from both cognitive behavioral counseling approaches as well as solution focused approaches. She believes that individuals can often find solutions to their problems when offered the opportunity to share in a safe and encouraging space. In her role as the University’s Faculty Ombudsperson, Schimmel looks forward to working with members of the WVU community to find resolution to conflicts in a way that balances getting the individual needs met while also thinking strategically about the impact of all potential options.
On a Personal Note
Chris is a life-long resident of West Virginia, having grown up in Glenville. She currently lives in Buckhannon with her husband Steve and their boxer, Axel. They have one son, Austin, who is an alumnus of the WVU Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.
Chris is an avid WVU sports fan and can be found at football, basketball and baseball events. On weekends when the weather cooperates, she and her family enjoy touring the highways around the state via motorcycles, and they have been known to accumulate up to 1,000 miles in a weekend when time and weather permit.