Christine Suniti Bhat

Dr. Christine Suniti Bhat was the elected President of the American Counseling Association (July 2024 – June 2025). She currently serves as the ACA Immediate Past President (July 2025 – June 2026) and is a member of the ACA Governing Council. She chairs the ACA Nominations & Elections committee and serves on the ACA Ethics Revision Task Force and the Governance and Board Operations Committee. Dr. Bhat’s previous leadership roles include President of the Ohio Counseling Association, President of ASGW, and Treasurer of Chi Sigma Iota, Counseling Academic and Professional Honor Society.

Dr. Bhat earned her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from Ohio University. Her prior qualifications include a B.A. and an M.A. from Bangalore University, India, and a Master's of Organizational Psychology from Monash University, Australia. Dr. Bhat has extensive experience in the USA and internationally as an educator, counselor, and psychologist in diverse work environments such as the Australian military, non-profit agencies, schools, and universities. Before coming to Ohio University, she was a tenure-track professor at California State University, Long Beach. Dr. Bhat teaches in the master’s and doctoral programs in Counselor Education. She is licensed as a professional counselor and a school counselor in Ohio. She has an extensive publication and invited and peer-reviewed presentation record.

Research, Engagement, and Outreach Interests

Leadership; Group Counseling; School Counseling; Positive and Strengths-Based Counseling Interventions; Cyberbullying Prevention.

Selected Publications

^#Graduates of the program 
*Students in the program at the time of publication

^#Chamberlain, K., Bhat, C. S., & *Danquah, D. (in press). Adverse Childhood Experiences: Relationships with Psychological Capital and Well-being in University Students. Illness, Crisis & Loss.

^#Prasath, P. R., ^#Maccombs-Hunter, S., & Bhat, C. S. (2025). Strategies to Foster COVID-19-Related Post-Pandemic Growth Among College Students. Journal of College and Character, 26(4), 341–355.

Bhat, C. S., *Lyngdoh, A. C., ^#Prasath, P. R., & ^#Stevens, M. M. (2025). Strengthening Professional Counselor Identity Using the Framework of the ACA Advocacy Competencies. Journal of Counselor Leadership and Advocacy, 12(2), 1–13.

^#Isiko, J. O., & Bhat, C. S. (2025). Predictors of Social Justice Interest and Commitment in Counselor Trainees. Journal of Counselor Leadership and Advocacy, 12(1), 1–17.

Bhat, C. S. (2024). Process observation in non-therapeutic settings. In D. D. Choudhuri & C. J. McCarthy (Eds). Fundamentals of Group Process Observation. Routledge.

^#Prasath, P. R., James, J. J., Samuel, A. R., Bhat, C. S., & Paramasivan, M. (2023). The moderating role of psychological capital on the association between psychological distress and well-being among college students in India. Journal of Asia Pacific Counseling,13(2), 1-19.

^#Prasath, P. R., Bhat, C. S., & Manyam, S. (2023). Married Asian Indians on H-1B and H-4 visas in the USA: An exploration of depression, anxiety, stress, well-being, and marital satisfaction. International Journal for the Advancement of Counseling, 45(3), 518 – 536.

^#Maccombs-Hunter, S., & Bhat C. S. (2022). Exploring psychological distress and impulsivity as predictors of undergraduate problematic alcohol use. The Journal of Addictions and Offender Counseling, 1-14.

^#Chang, S-H, & Bhat, C. S. (2022). A group counseling model based on Bowen Family Systems Theory for college students with codependency in Taiwan. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work.

^#Prasath, P. R., & Bhat C. S. (2022). Psychological capital as an antecedent to servant leadership in the counseling profession. Journal of Counselor Leadership & Advocacy.

Urkmez, B. I., *Pinkney, C., *Amparbeng, D., *Gunawan, N., *Isiko, J. O., *Tomlinson, B., & Bhat, C. S. (2021). Experience of graduate counseling students during COVID-19: Application for group counseling training. The Professional Counselor, 11(4), p. 475–492.

^#Prasath, P. R., Bhat, C. S., Mather, P. M., James, J., & Foreman, T. (2021). Wellbeing, psychological capital, and coping of university employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of the Professoriate,12(1).

^#B. Asempapa, R. S. Asempapa, Bhat, C. S. (2021). Integrated care competencies: Self-Assessment by graduate counseling students. SN Social Sciences.

^#Prasath, P. R., Mather, P. M., Bhat, C. S., & James, J. (2021). University student wellbeing during COVID-19: The role of psychological capital and coping strategies. The Professional Counselor, 11(1). doi:10.15241/prp.11.1.46.

Bhat, C. S., & *Stevens, M. M. (2021). College and career readiness group interventions for early high school students. Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 46(1), 20-31.

^#Kalkan, B. & Bhat, C. S. (2020). Relationships of problematic internet use, online gaming, online gambling with depression and quality of life among college students. International Journal of Contemporary Educational Research, 7(1), 18-28.

*Maccombs, S., & Bhat, C. S. (2020) The women’s inclusive mentoring framework: developing strong female leaders in counselor education. Journal of Counselor Leadership and Advocacy, 7(1), 30-41.

^#Alvarez, J. M., Bhat, C. S., & Landmark, L. J. (2020). Are school counselors sufficiently prepared to serve students with disabilities? Journal of School Counseling.

^#Selvaraj, P. R., & Bhat, C. S. (2018). Predicting the mental health of college students with psychological capital. Journal of Mental Health, 27(3), 279-287.

Bhat, C.S. (2017). Proactive cyberbullying and sexting prevention in Australia and the USA. Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools, 28(1), 120-130.