Shruti Poulsen to teach multi-cultural counseling in Turkey
Shruti Poulsen, a professor and researcher at the University of Colorado Denver, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to teach family and marriage counseling at Özyeğin University in Istanbul, Turkey over the 2016-2017 academic year. The prestigious grant is awarded to fewer than three percent of applicants each year.
Poulsen, an associate professor of counseling in the School of Education & Human Development, will use the grant to develop cross-cultural training opportunities to better prepare counselors to work with multicultural families. Among other research topics, Poulsen studies family and couple well-being in multicultural contexts. Throughout the year at Özyeğin, she will also be training couple and family therapy students in the Psychology department to work in a clinical setting.
“The Fulbright grant is a great opportunity to explore new techniques and to help grow the clinical teaching program at Özyeğin,” said Poulsen.” “I’m looking forward to developing study abroad opportunities for my students at CU Denver so that they may learn and experience counseling and therapy in a different cultural environment.”
Poulsen, who will depart for Istanbul in August, is one of over 1,200 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad this year through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership in their fields. The program operates in over 160 countries worldwide.
“I am very excited for Dr. Poulsen and look forward to hearing about her experiences in Turkey and potential partnerships for our students,” said Rebecca Kantor, Dean of CU Denver’s School of Education & Human Development. “Our counseling program has a strong commitment to multiculturalism and social justice. The students at Özyeğin University will experience personal growth and real-world practice by learning from Dr. Poulsen, a leader in the counseling field who is dedicated to counseling culturally diverse and underrepresented individuals and families.”