Lauren Melamed, with curly brown hair, wearing glasses and a patterned sweater, stands smiling in front of a plain gray background.

Lauren Melamed, Ph.D.

Director of Training + Associate Professor

Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Chicago

“We have much to learn from lobsters. As they only shed their exoskeleton, that which may have served them well, once they experience the discomfort of a too-hardened shell. They know that the stimulus for change and growth is discomfort. Once they feel it, they must retreat to a safe place to shed and grow a new shell, over and over again throughout their lifespan.”

Lmelamed@adler.edu (312) 662-4331 Connect on LinkedIn Connect on Research Gate Curriculum Vitae

OVERVIEW

Dr. Lauren Melamed is the Director of Training and an Associate Professor in the Online and On-Ground Modalities of Clinical Mental Health Counseling. In her clinical work, Dr. Melamed utilizes postmodern approaches to process in addition to third-wave behavioral interventions. An interpersonal take on narrative therapy serves as a primary guide to her work with individuals. She received her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from Penn State University, where she researched qualitative understandings of the experiences of tension and conflict within conversations about diversity, privilege and oppression. Her clinical expertise focuses on identity development, grief and bereavement, and issues pertaining to Jewish identity.

MEMBERSHIPS + ASSOCIATIONS

  • Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA)
  • Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)
  • American Counseling Association (ACA)
  • Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES)
  • Sexual Health Alliance (SHA)

PUBLICATIONS + PRESENTATIONS

Publications

Teaching Strategies for Incorporating the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies

2020 The Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision, 13(2)
Author(s): Melamed, L., Casado Pérez, J. F., and Hunt, B.

Is This What Counselors Are? A Narrative Inquiry about Conflict in Multicultural Courses

2020 Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision
Author(s): Melamed, L. B.

Affirming Counseling for Jews-by-Choice

2022 Counseling and Values
Author(s): Melamed, L. B. and Fulton, C.

Ethno-religious engagement, minority experiences, and strengthening American Jewish identity

2024 Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 46(3), 233–258
Author(s): Fulton, C. L., Melamed, L., and Lambert, A.

Presentations

Social Justice Mixer: Radical Decisions for Effective Inclusive Relationships

2023 American Counseling Association (ACA) – Toronto, Ontario
Author(s): Boyd-Layne, M., Johnson, B., & Melamed, L. B.

Understanding American Jewish Identity: What Sustains it? What Challenges it?

2023 American Counseling Association (ACA) – Toronto, Ontario
Author(s): Melamed, L. B., Fulton, C., & Lambert, A.

Sexual Competency is Missing: Incorporating Sexuality into Clinical Training

2020, 2021 American Counseling Association (ACA) – San Diego, California
Author(s): Melamed, L. B., & Thompson, J.

Critical Incidents and Shared Experiences of Jewish People

2019 Illinois Counseling Association (ICA) Annual Conference – Skokie, Illinois
Author(s): Melamed, L. B.

“I Want to See a Counselor Who is More Like Me”: Ethical Issues in a Training Clinic

2018 North Central Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (NCACES) – Cincinnati, Ohio
Author(s): Daniels, A., Benoist, L. N., & Kostohryz, K.

Conflict Stories in Multicultural Counseling Classrooms: Results of a Narrative Analysis

2017 Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Conference (ACES)
Author(s): Benoist, L. N.

Multicultural and Accessibility Considerations for University Training Clinics

2017 Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Conference (ACES)
Author(s): Kostohryz, K., Daniels, A., & Benoist, L. N.

Client-Oriented Spaces: The Therapeutic Value of Inpatient Facility Design

2017 Illinois Counseling Association – Lisle, Illinois
Author(s): Ravitz, A., & Benoist, L. N.

LEADERSHIP + COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

  • 2020 – Present: Editorial Board Member, Journal of Counseling Sexology and Sexual Wellness
  • 2020 – Present- Editorial Board Member, Journal of Feminist Family Counseling
  • 2017-2018 – ACES Qualitative Interest Network: Teaching subcommittee
  • 2017 – Counselors for Social Justice Task Force: Ethics subcommittee
  • 2017-2018 – CICO/ICES Liaison
  • Member at Large for Illinois Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling and Education (IAARC)
  • Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, Member of the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability

CURRENT RESEARCH + OPPORTUNITIES

Primary Investigator: How Jews-by-Choice Experience Historical Trauma Narratives: Understanding how Jews-by-choice experience public narratives of historical Jewish trauma may offer insight regarding the transmission of historical traumas as relayed and connected to present-day contexts, controlling for genetic inheritability. Jews-by-choice are uniquely positioned to illuminate how an adopted trauma narrative is represented, interpreted, and experienced in the present.