Mtisunge Kapalamula, Ph.D., LCPC, LMHC

OVERVIEW

Dr. Kapalamula is an assistant professor in the Online Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Adler University. She is licensed in Indiana and Illinois and works in both states providing clinical services to various populations. Her clinical focus is on grief and trauma, and she currently works with individuals and families presenting with different forms of psychopathology. Prior to becoming a counselor, she worked with the Society for the Advancement of Women in Malawi, Central Africa, advocating for abused women through a program that was sponsored by the United Nations. She later worked with the Department of Child Services in Indiana as an investigator of child abuse. She is also the president of Lakeshore Counseling and Consulting Group; an organization that provides counseling, psychoeducation and workshops to individuals in the community with a strong focus on destigmatizing mental health and educating communities of color on the importance of mental hygiene.

Dr. Kapalamula achieved her Associate’s degree from Davenport University and her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Indiana University. She completed her Ph.D. at Adler University and has focused her research on grief as it relates to police violence in African American communities. Her research interests include vicarious trauma as it relates to counselors in the field and grief in BIPOC communities. She has presented at counseling conferences and has served as an expert witness for the state of Indiana in jury trials. Her theoretical orientations are rooted in existentialism and phenomenology. She previously served as chair of the Black Caucus at Adler University and worked closely with cabinet in strategic planning. She currently sits on institutional boards of various organizations in the U.S. and in Malawi. Most recently, Dr. Kapalamula was the keynote speaker for the Illinois Counseling Association. When she is not doing work focused on the Adlerian concept of Gemeinschaftsgefuhl and the African philosophy of Ubuntu, she loves to travel and immerse herself in cultures in different parts of the world. She enjoys mentoring students involved in phenomenological research often sitting on their research committees.

MEMBERSHIPS + ASSOCIATIONS

• American Counseling Association.
• Illinois Counseling Association.

LEADERSHIP + ENGAGEMENT

• Midwest Center for Social Services (MCSS), Past President and Founding Member.
• Indiana Minority Mental Health Coalition (Psychoeducation on Maternal Mental Health).