Dr. Shannon Shoemaker
Dr. Shannon M. Shoemaker joined Shippensburg University in 2025 after serving in faculty roles across a range of educational and clinical settings, including CACREP-accredited counseling programs, K-12 school systems, and private clinical practice. Her academic career reflects a sustained commitment to counselor education, with experience in both teaching and administrative leadership at the master’s and doctoral levels.
In her work as a counselor educator, Dr. Shoemaker is guided by feminist theory, social justice frameworks, and relational-cultural theory. She approaches teaching as a collaborative and developmental process, emphasizing experiential learning, critical reflection, and the creative application of clinical skills. At Shippensburg University, she teaches across both the master’s and doctoral programs in counseling, contributing to the preparation of future counselors and counselor educators.
A licensed clinical professional counselor in multiple states (MD, MA, VA, and WV), Dr. Shoemaker brings over 15 years of counseling experience across college counseling centers, private practice, outpatient dual-diagnosis, and community mental health. She is a Maryland Board Approved Supervisor and National Certified Counselor. Her clinical expertise includes couples counseling, sexual wellness, and working with LGBTQIA+ populations, and she has specialized training in Internal Family Systems and creativity in counseling.
A passionate advocate for the integration of research and practice, Dr. Shoemaker serves as the Editor of the Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness. Her research trajectory includes scholarship on gender and sexuality, culturally sustaining practices, AI in mental health care, and innovative counselor training methods. She is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences and serves as a CACREP Site Team Leader. She has co-authored book chapters on AI and therapeutic outcome monitoring and contributed to encyclopedic and scholarly texts on cultural competence and sexual wellness in counseling.
Dr. Shoemaker holds a Ph.D. in Counselor Education from Pennsylvania State University, where she completed her dissertation on the help-seeking experiences of the Southeast Asian Indian diaspora. She earned her M.Ed. in Counselor Education completing a dual license in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and School Adjustment Counseling, and B.S. in Psychology from Bridgewater State College. Her commitment to counselor education is grounded in preparing students to meet the evolving demands of a diverse and technologically shifting profession.
Dr. Shoemaker lives in Hagerstown, Maryland with her partner, their daughter, and two dogs. A lifelong reader with a love for all genres, she finds joy in getting lost in everything from literary fiction to psychological thrillers. She has traveled extensively both domestically and abroad, experiences that continue to inform her culturally sustaining lens as an educator and clinician. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, kayaking, and camping—especially when she can be off the grid and immersed in nature.