Shannon Karl, Ph.D., LMHC, NCC, CCMHC, ACS
Full-Time Faculty, Department of Counseling
Education:
- Ph.D. University of Central Florida
- M.A. University of Central Florida
- B. A. University of Central Florida
Professional Interests
After completing her M.A. in Counselor Education in 2001, and her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision in 2004 both from the University of Central Florida (UCF), Dr. Shannon L. Karl joined the faculty at UCF as a Visiting Instructor and Graduate Associate Faculty prior to her appointment to NSU in May 2006 as an Assistant Professor in the Center for Psychological Studies. She has also worked as a professional counselor in numerous clinical positions in the greater Orlando area, conducting individual, group, family, and couples counseling via in-home, school-based, and clinic-based settings focusing on a variety of clinical issues, including pain management, crisis intervention, behavioral issues, and suicide prevention. She became a Florida Licensed Mental Health Counselor and an NBCC National Certified Counselor in 2004, an NBCC Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor in 2006, and a CCE Approved Clinical Supervisor in 2015.
During her 19+ years at NSU, she has taught in both the Clinical Mental Health Counseling and School Counseling programs across all formats, most recently anchoring the NSU Orlando Regional Campus, in addition to other critical administrative roles. She has taught hundreds of sections of courses in the masters program during her tenure at NSU, seamlessly adapting her pedagogy for several clinical and core counseling courses for a traditional campus-based, intensive weekend hybrid, and fully online formats across six NSU campuses in the state of Florida. She has supervised hundreds of students through their practica and internships across a variety of clinical placements throughout the country. Her students consistently praise her passion for teaching, charisma, encouragement, professionalism, and ability to motivate students in their journeys as professional counselors.
Dr. Karl’s scholarly presentations and publications are too numerous to catalog. Her 2014 co-authored book, DSM-5 Learning Companion for Counselors, was a longtime American Counseling Association (ACA) bestseller. An updated version, Learning Companion for Counselors About the DSM-5-TR, was published by ACA in 2025. Her knowledge of diagnosis, clinical issues, spirituality, trauma, and addictive disorders has resulted in sharing this expertise internationally, nationally, regionally, and statewide, where she has conducted workshops, trainings, learning institutes, conference presentations, panel discussions, roundtables and posters at various professional conferences. She has received several funded research grants related to career counseling with veterans, treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder, assisting at-risk students, and utilizing art therapy in supervision.
Her history of professional service is exceptional. Dr. Karl served as President of the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC) and Secretary of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES), both national divisions of the American Counseling Association. Her national committee work includes ASERVIC Strategic Planning, two terms on the ASERVIC Board of Directors, ACA Awards, ACA DSM-5 Task Force, ACES Strategic Planning, ASERVIC Membership, and ASERVIC Awards committees, as well as several regional positions. She is frequently sought as a media contributor for her ability to translate her extensive clinical knowledge into real-world benefit.
Dr. Karl’s service as a CACREP Team Chair and Site Team Member has resulted in her shaping quality counseling masters and doctoral programs nationwide, where she has served on many national accreditation visits, and has been a mentor for new Team Chairs. Additionally, she has fulfilled consulting roles for both accreditation and external program review, in addition to conference program review for ACA, ACES, ASERVIC, and SACES conferences. Her administrative and organizational skills are highly sought, as evidenced by her Conference Coordinator roles for ASERVIC and many other counseling-related conferences.
Dr. Karl’s service to the NSU community spans almost two decades and has positively impacted the counseling programs, the College of Psychology, and several university units. She serves as Field-Based Clinical Coordinator, where she oversees field placements of counseling students in the Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville regional campus areas. She has chaired both the Faculty Search Committee and Departmental Curriculum Committee for several years, ushering in critical program improvements to align the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program with CACREP accreditation standards and the School Counseling program with DOE/CAEP standards. She has chaired numerous NSU Internal Review Committees, served on the Academic Review Committee, as a Quality of Life grant reviewer, and on the STUEY Awards Committee. Other service includes the Professional Standing Committee, Faculty Merit Review Committee, Admissions Committee, Sabbatical Committee, and SACS Reaccreditation Committees just to name a few. Her work has resulted in several accolades, including national and regional professional service awards for her work with ASERVIC and SACES, as well as a nomination for Distinguished Professor of the Year for the College of Psychology.