{"id":149347,"date":"2025-10-20T13:15:53","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T17:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=149347"},"modified":"2025-10-20T13:15:53","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T17:15:53","slug":"ucf-counselor-education-professor-receives-national-award-for-family-and-counseling-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-counselor-education-professor-receives-national-award-for-family-and-counseling-research\/","title":{"rendered":"UCF Counselor Education Professor Receives National Award for Family and Counseling Research"},"content":{"rendered":"
Sejal Barden<\/a>\u2019s commitment to advancing counseling research has once again earned her national recognition in the field.<\/p>\n Barden, who serves as chair of the College of Community Innovation and Education<\/a>\u2019s Department of Counselor Education and School Psychology<\/a>, recently received the 2025 Exemplary Research Practices Award from the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (AARC).<\/p>\n An organization within the American Counseling Association, the AARC works to promote and recognize excellence in assessment, research and evaluation in counseling. The Exemplary Research Practices Award honors AARC members who have helped to advance the field of counseling through impactful publications, rigorous research projects and the use of innovative research methods.<\/p>\n The professor of counselor education says that while she is honored to receive the award, she also dedicates it to the many collaborators and research participants who have helped advance her work.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s great to be recognized personally, but there are so many people behind the scenes who contribute to the success of my research,\u201d Barden says. \u201cThis award isn\u2019t just for me \u2014 it\u2019s for the hundreds of people who have helped serve our community throughout the years.\u201d<\/p>\n This is the second time Barden has been recognized by AARC. She first received the Exemplary Research Practices Award in 2016 for her scholarship related to couples, families and counseling. Barden says her research is rooted in AARC\u2019s goals of fostering community engagement and improving people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n \u201cAll my work stems from identifying the community\u2019s needs and finding how I, as a relational researcher, can help meet those needs,\u201d Barden says. \u201cProviding that support to couples and families who don\u2019t typically have access to interventions and psychoeducation to strengthen their relationships is what I\u2019m passionate about.\u201d<\/p>\n Barden is among the top 20 most-published scholars in her field, according to a 2023 review of over 20 counseling journals. She has led over $20 million in large-scale, federally supported research initiatives. That includes Project Harmony 2.0, \u00a0a randomized control trial investigating how a relationship education intervention can improve relationship satisfaction, emotional regulation and more.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a researcher, I\u2019m always asking myself how I can keep my work innovative and make an impact,\u201d Barden says. \u201cMy work focuses on expanding what we know and tackling the unanswered questions that limit the translation of research into community impact.\u201d<\/p>\n