Education

Ph.D. Counselor Education, University of Central Florida

M.A. Counselor Education, University of South Florida

B.S. Psychology, Florida State University

Research

School counseling; school mental health; holistic well-being; group work

Background

Jonathan Ohrt is Professor and program coordinator in the Counselor Education Program in the Department of Educational and Developmental Science. He completed his Ph.D. in Counselor Education at the University of Central Florida, his master’s degree in Counselor Education at the University of South Florida and his undergraduate degree in Psychology at Florida State University. He is a certified K-12 school counselor and has previous experience in high school, college, and residential settings. His research expertise includes school counseling and mental health, holistic well-being, and group work. 

Selected Publications

*Denotes student authorship on scholarly work

 Books
Ohrt, J. H., Clarke, P. B., & Conley, A. H. (2019). Wellness counseling: A holistic approach to prevention and intervention. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.

Journal Articles
Broda, M. D., Conley, A. H., Clarke, P. B., & Ohrt, J. H. (in press). Examining the Dimensionality, reliability, and invariance of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress – 21 (DASS-21) across age, race, ethnicity, and caretaking status. Psychological Reports.

Guest, J. D., Ohrt, J. H., & Wolfe, K. S. (2025). Managing negative countertransference when working with children exhibiting externalized behaviors. Single Case in the Social Sciences, 2(1), 26-42.

Castle, M., Gilreath, R., Fields, A. M., Smith Hill, R. B., Sookwah, R. D., Burdiss, A., & Ohrt, J. H. (2024). A wellness group protocol for college students with intellectual or developmental disability: A pilot study. Journal for Specialists in Group Work. 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/01933922.2024.2440461

Dastbaz, A., Lanz, M., Confalonieri, E., Soheili, F., & Ohrt, J. (2024). Psychometric assessment of the Persian translation of the school counselor noncognitive skillsscale SCNSS) based on high school students’ perceptions. Journal ofPsychologists and  Counsellors in Schools, 34(3), 306- https://doi.org/10.1177/20556365241273516

Ohrt, J. H., Clarke, P. B., Conley, A. H., & Broda, M. D. (2024). Mental health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: Examining wellbeing as a mediator of pandemic stress. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 46(1), 19-37.

*Jefferson, L., *Johnson, S., *Waddington, A., & Ohrt, J. H. (2024). The effects of hip hop and rap music interventions on mental health and well-being: A systematic review. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 1–15 https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2024.2305294

Deaton, J. D., & Ohrt, J. H. (2024). A preliminary validation of the vicarious posttraumatic growth inventory across helping professions and investigation of construct validity. Traumatology, 30(3), 356 365. https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000434

*Jefferson, L., & Ohrt, J. H. (2023). The effectiveness of a manualized hop-hop and rap intervention on well-being among Black emerging adult men: A multiple baseline design. Journal of Poetry Therapy, 37(4), 225-239.

Deaton, J. D., Ohrt, J. H., Linich, K., Wymer, B. *Toomey, M., *Lewis, O., Guest, J. D., & Newton, T. M. (2022). Teachers’s experiences with K-12 students’ mental health. Psychology in the Schools, 59(5), 932-949.

Ohrt, J. H., Deaton, J. D., *Gonzales, S, & Guest, J. D. (2022). Development and factor structure of the school counselor noncognitive skills scale: High school students’ perceptions of noncognitive skills services. Professional School Counseling, 26(1a), 1-9.

Deaton, J. D., Ohrt, J.H., Linich, K., McCartney, E., & *Glascoe, G. (2023). Vicarious posttraumatic growth: A systematic review and thematic synthesis across helping professions. Traumatology, 29(1), 17-26.

*Lewis, O., Ohrt, J. H., *Toomey, T. M., Linich, K. L., Ellis, B., & Newton, T. (2022). A systematic review of nature-based counseling interventions to promote mental health and wellness. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 44(3), 191-208.

Selected Awards

2023 College of Education Research Award, University of South Carolina College of Education 

2015 Outstanding Teaching Award, Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision

2015 Professional Advancement Award, Association for Specialists in Group Work