Influential Women spotlights Helena Stevens, a counselor educator focused on trauma-informed care

Influential Women featured Helena Stevens, PhD, LPC, LSC, PPS, NCC, an associate professor at Bethany Lutheran College who trains future counselors while providing trauma-informed mental health care. Her work spans counseling, psychometric testing, and advocacy for underserved populations in education and mental health.

Why it matters: - Helena Stevens works at the intersection of counselor training, clinical care, and mental health advocacy. - Her role shapes both the next generation of counselors and the standards used to prepare them. - Her focus on trauma-informed care and underserved populations reflects a broader need for more equitable mental health systems.

What happened: - Influential Women featured Helena Stevens, PhD, LPC, LSC, PPS, NCC, in a profile published July 22, 2026. - Stevens is an associate professor in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Bethany Lutheran College. - She is based in the Greater Minneapolis–St. Paul Area. - She teaches foundational counseling courses, oversees residency components, provides academic advising, and contributes to accreditation and assessment development. - She also provides virtual outpatient mental health counseling and facilitates group counseling for people in drug and alcohol inpatient treatment.

The details: - Stevens is a Nationally Certified Counselor with training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy, mindfulness, and experiential learning. - Her clinical work centers on trauma-informed care. - Her background includes school counseling across kindergarten through postsecondary education, therapy, and counselor education. - She serves as a senior test developer for a calibration engineering education company, where she supports psychometric testing and accreditation initiatives. - She is authoring her first textbook on university-level supervision in counseling programs. - Her research interests include mindfulness, wellness, social justice advocacy, school counseling, assessment development, program evaluation, and experiential interventions. - She said her commitment to advocacy was shaped by growing up in a trauma-affected household with parents facing addiction. - She said that experience drove her focus on overlooked and underserved populations. - Her stated values include service, integrity, resilience, courage, mindfulness, and self-care. - She emphasizes that professional excellence depends on personal balance and wellness. - Readers can find her profile here: Dr. Helena Stevens profile.

Between the lines: - Stevens’ career blends practice and pedagogy, which can help bridge the gap between academic training and real-world counseling needs. - Her emphasis on systemic barriers in higher education points to ongoing equity challenges, especially for women of color. - Her focus on evidence-based interventions suggests a push for stronger outcomes in counseling and education settings. - The textbook project signals an effort to shape supervision standards beyond her own classroom.

What's next: - Stevens is continuing her teaching, clinical work, research, and mentorship. - Her textbook on supervision in counseling programs is in development. - Her ongoing research and leadership work are aimed at improving counselor preparation and expanding access to quality mental health care.

The bottom line: - Stevens is using a multi-part career in education, counseling, and assessment to train more effective mental health professionals while advocating for more equitable systems.