Mercedes Ballbé ter Maat, Ph.D., LPC, ATR-BC
Full-Time Faculty, Department of Counseling
Education:
- Ph.D. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- M.Ed. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- M.A. George Washington University
- B.A. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Professional Interests
Mercedes ter Maat, Ph.D., LPC, ATR-BC is a professor in the Department of Counseling at Nova Southeastern University’s College of Psychology in Ft. Lauderdale. Prior to joining NSU she was the director of the school counseling graduate program at the George Washington University, Alexandria, VA campus and an assistant professor at Virginia Tech. She has over 33 years of combined working experience as a counselor educator, mental health counselor, school counselor, and art therapist. Dr. ter Maat participates in local, state, national, and international leadership undertakings for the fields of mental health counseling, school counseling, and art therapy, and has presented and published articles and book chapters on topics related to multicultural counseling, ethics, motivational interviewing, and the use of art in counseling and therapy. She actively participates in humanitarian work, most recently in Peru, Argentina, Swaziland, and Lebanon, and her research interests are in enhancing the quality of life of immigrant, minority families, and refugees in crisis by identifying risk and promoting protective factors through school- and community-based interventions. She is a past-president of the American Art Therapy Association, a past president of the European Branch of the American Counseling Association, and the current honorary president of the Croatian Art Therapy Association. Dr. ter Maat is a licensed professional counselor and a board-certified/registered art therapist.