Associate Professor
Department
Counseling and Higher Education (CAHE)
Melissa J. Fickling, Ph.D. joined the NIU faculty in 2017. Her scholarly interests include advocacy and social justice, the history and philosophy of counseling, clinical supervision and career counseling. Fickling has practiced professional counseling in higher education, community mental health, and private practice settings and is a licensed clinical professional counselor and certified alcohol and other drug counselor in Illinois.
She is a member of the editorial review board for Career Development Quarterly, ACES Teaching Practice Briefs and an ad hoc reviewer for Counselor Education & Supervision and The Clinical Supervisor. Fickling was the 2016-2017 Edwin L. Herr fellow for Chi Sigma Iota, 2020 recipient of the National Career Development Association's Diversity Initiatives Award, and 2021 recipient of the Counselor Educator of the Year award by Illinois Counselor Educators & Supervisors.
Research Interests
- Professional development of counselors
- Career counseling
- Clinical supervision
- Addiction and co-occurring disorders
- Teaching and learning in counselor education
Education
- Ph.D., Counseling and Counselor Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
- M.A., Community Counseling, Roosevelt University
- B.A., University of North Texas