Alwin Wagener

Alwin Wagener

Director of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program,
Associate Professor

College of Psychology and Counseling

CONTACT INFORMATION

Courses

• Counseling Skills and Practice
• Fundamentals of Supervision in Counseling
• Ethical Issues in Counseling
• Practicum
• Internship

Research

• Understanding and Addressing Dreams and Nightmares in Counseling
• The Relationship of Dreams and Nightmares to Trauma
• Using Metaphor in Counseling
• Supervision approaches in counseling education
• Counseling Pedagogy

Education

• PHD, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Counseling and Counselor Education
• MS, Western Carolina University- Clinical Mental Health Counseling
• BA, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Philosophy

Academic Profile

Alwin E. Wagener, PhD, LPC, NCC, is a passionate counselor educator. He is from the mountains of Western North Carolina but relocated here in the Fall of 2019 to join FDU. Prior to joining the FDU faculty, he was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Counselor Education at UNC-Greensboro, which is also where he received his Doctoral degree in Counseling and Counselor Education. His primary research interest focuses on clients’ inner experiences, specifically their dreams and nightmares. This focus involves understanding the relationship of dreams and nightmares to trauma, as well as how counselors can work with clients’ dreams and nightmares to support psychological healing. His recent publications include a novel theory of dreaming, The Embodied Cognition Theory of Dreaming, a new approach to dreamwork that respects the cultural beliefs of clients, Culturally Responsive Dreamwork, and guidelines for incorporating Imagery Rehearsal Therapy into counseling sessions to alleviate PTSD  symptoms and decrease nightmare frequency and severity.

In the classroom, Alwin believes in the importance of bringing the individual experiences and interests of students into the room, so that engagement with course materials is better integrated into the perspectives and needs of students. Counseling requires communication skills, foundational mental health knowledge, and a high degree of self-awareness, so his classes create dynamic interactions with course materials, fostering growth in all three of those areas. Alwin finds it exciting and rewarding to watch the transformation of students from the beginning of the program to the point at which they graduate and leave to practice counseling professionally, and he deeply appreciates being a part of that process.