New Faculty Spotlight: Meet Eric Brown

Dr. Eric Brown serves as program director of Wheaton's Clinical Mental Health Counseling M.A. program and assistant professor of counseling.

Name: Eric Brown

Education:

• B.A. Psychology, Texas A&M University
• M.Div., Abilene Christian University
• M.Ed., Mental Health Counseling, University of Florida
• Ed.S. Mental Health Counseling, University of Florida
• Ph.D. Counselor Education and Supervision, Old Dominion University

Philosophy of Education:
I prepare clinicians to serve a diverse clientele with wisdom, intellectual rigor, and spiritual integrity.

Before Wheaton, I was:
Pastoring a university church across the street from the University of Florida. Most recently, I finished my Ph.D. from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, where I did trauma counseling in a hospital setting.

Right now I'm working on: 
My research interest centers on interpersonal trust, particularly within relationships where one person is in a power position over another (for example, supervisor-supervisee, mentor-mentee, teacher-student, etc.).

I wish I could teach everyone that:
The work of a mental health counselor is preventative as much as it is restorative. Counseling is for everyone, not simply those with clinical concerns.

Last book I read for fun:
The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs. This is the biography of a young man who doesn't neatly fit into preexisting stereotypes. There is something beautiful yet haunting about his life, a story that has stayed with me much longer than most.

If I could travel anywhere, I'd go to:
Jerusalem. I have visited most of the cities that Paul wrote to, I now want to see where Jesus lived and taught.