Research & Grants
Research that connects relationships, trauma healing, and the training of the counselors who provide it
Dr. Powell’s research and funded work focus on the questions she meets every day as a counselor educator, clinician, and EMDR trainer: How do we prepare counselors to deliver effective trauma care? How can relational approaches strengthen supervision and learning? How do we bring mental health services to rural and underserved communities?
Her work centers on:
EMDR therapy and EMDR training outcomes, including how basic training shapes counselors-in-training’s readiness and self-efficacy
Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT) in counselor education, supervision, and digitally delivered programs
Rural and community mental health access, including library-based tele-mental health
Counselor preparation and CACREP standards
| $342K+ | 31 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| in grant funding | professional presentations, including an invited keynote | publications | current research projects |
NOW RECRUITING · RESEARCH VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
How Does EMDR Therapy Work in the Brain?
EMDR is a well-established, evidence-based therapy for trauma, but researchers are still learning how it works in the brain. This UTSA study gently records brain activity (EEG) during EMDR sessions to help improve trauma care and guide future research. Participation is completely voluntary.
You may be eligible if you:
- Are 18 or older and are receiving, or about to begin, EMDR therapy for a single distressing or traumatic experience
- Are comfortable wearing an EEG cap during sessions and can give written consent in English
What's involved (5 sessions total):
- A brief screening with questionnaires
- 1 intake session
- 3 EMDR sessions (each visit lasts about 2–2.5 hours)
- 1 follow-up session
Your care comes first: The EEG recording is passive and painless and does not change how your therapy is delivered. You may pause, decline recording, or withdraw at any time, and your decision will never affect your care.
Where: UTSA Sarabia Family Counseling Center, Downtown Campus (Durango Building)
Contact: Dr. Huda Shaikh, huda.shaikh@tamuk.edu · Questions about your rights as a participant: IRB@utsa.edu
Approved by the UTSA IRB: FY25-26-420. Scan the QR code on the flyer to complete the eligibility survey.
Grant Funding
Dr. Powell has secured more than $342,000 in grant funding to expand trauma-informed, community-based mental health services.
| Project | Funder | Role | Years | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rural Library-Based Tele-Mental Health Project with Taft Public Library and Alice City Library | Hogg Foundation for Mental Health (Libraries Supporting Community Mental Health program) | Principal Investigator | 2026– | $92,000 |
| Support for families formed through adoption and kinship (renewal) | The Heart Galleries of Texas | Principal Investigator & Project Director | 2026–2027 | $85,000 |
| Support for families formed through adoption and kinship, Region 11 (Nueces County) and Region 4 (Hunt County) | The Heart Galleries of Texas | Principal Investigator & Project Director | 2025–2026 | $95,000 |
| Support for families formed through adoption and kinship, Region 11 (Nueces County) | The Heart Galleries of Texas | Principal Investigator & Project Director | 2024–2025 | $70,000 |
| Texas Counseling Association Educational Endowment Fund | Texas Counseling Association | Recipient | 2022 | $500 |
Current Research Projects
1. How Does EMDR Therapy Work in the Brain? (UTSA EMDR & EEG Study) Partner: The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) · Study contact: Dr. Huda Shaikh
This IRB-approved study gently records brain activity (EEG) during EMDR therapy sessions. The goal is to help improve trauma care and guide future research. Dr. Powell collaborates with the study team and supports participant screening. The study is now recruiting volunteers (see "Now Recruiting" above).
2. Rural Library-Based Tele-Mental Health (Taft & Alice) Partners: Hogg Foundation for Mental Health; Taft Public Library; Alice City Library
As Principal Investigator, Dr. Powell leads this Hogg Foundation–funded project to expand access to mental health care in rural communities through library-based tele-mental health at the Taft Public Library and the Alice City Library. The project launches in fall 2026.
3. CACREP Standards & Program Compliance Research Home institution: Texas A&M University–Kingsville · Collaborator: K. Garza
Dr. Powell leads an ongoing qualitative research project that analyzes patterns in 2016 CACREP citations across faculty, doctoral program, and student evaluation standards, and maps them to the 2024 CACREP Standards. The goal is to give counselor education programs practical guidance for accreditation. Related research funding proposals are pending.
4. Evaluating EMDRIA-Approved EMDR Training with Rural Counselors-in-Training (Lead author) Collaborators: J. Carbajal; A. Quaranta-Leech
This study examines how EMDRIA-approved EMDR therapist training affects rural counselors-in-training's trauma treatment readiness, self-efficacy, and PTSD knowledge.
5. Six Hats and Sandtray Use in Supervision Collaborators: M. K. Baraka; V. F. Colburn
This study explores how six hats and sandtray techniques in supervision relate to supervisees' cognitive complexity, self-efficacy, and compassion. Preliminary findings were presented at the 2025 ACES conference.
6. Effectiveness of the EMDR Negative Affect Protocol Collaborators: J. Carbajal; W. Ponder
A collaborative study of the effectiveness of the EMDR Negative Affect Protocol.
7. UTRGV Research Collaboration
Research collaboration with The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
Publications & Presentations
| 5 | 31 |
|---|---|
| publications in peer-reviewed journals and SAGE reference works | presentations: 1 invited keynote, 9 invited, 3 national, 3 regional, and 5 state peer-reviewed, 3 local, and 7 university-level |
Selected Publications
- Powell, J. V., Bradley, N., Patton, J., Bailey, C. L., Szirony, G. M., & Levingston, K. (2024). The application of relational cultural theory in digitally delivered CE programs. Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision, 18(2). https://research.library.kutztown.edu/jcps/vol18/iss2/9
- Sutherland, S., & Powell, J. V. (2022). Common factors theory. In SAGE Encyclopedia for Multicultural Counseling, Social Justice, and Advocacy.
- Sutherland, S., Argueta, J., & Powell, J. V. (2022). Black racial identity. In SAGE Encyclopedia for Multicultural Counseling, Social Justice, and Advocacy.
- Lenz, A. S., Speciale, M., & Aguilar, J. V. (2012). Relational-cultural therapy intervention with incarcerated adolescents: A single-case effectiveness design. Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation, 3(1), 17–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/2150137811435233
- Aguilar, J. V. (2010). "Boys Don't Cry," a movie review: Implications for counseling persons who are transgendered. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 5(4), 440–446.
Dr. Powell published as Jinnelle V. Aguilar before 2017.
Selected Presentations
- Invited Keynote: Powell, J. V. (2026, April). Connection is the intervention: The power of relational healing and brain-based change. 44th Annual Woodall Conference, Delta State University, Cleveland, MS.
- Invited: Powell, J. V. (2026, April). Connection under pressure: Trauma-informed strategies for supporting mental health in child welfare. The University of Texas at El Paso.
- National: Baraka, M. K., Powell, J. V., & Colburn, V. F. (2025, November). Preliminary findings on six hats and sandtray use in supervision: Exploring supervisee cognitive complexity, self-efficacy, and compassion. Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES), Philadelphia, PA.
- State: Powell, J. V., & Ramirez, G. (2026, March). Igniting Advocacy in Counselor Education: Preparing Counselors in Training for Service in Rural Latinx. 2026 Texas Association for Counselor Educators & Supervisors Mid-Winter Conference, Georgetown, TX.
- Regional: Powell, J. V. (2024, November). Relational health, minority stress, and well-being of sexual orientation and gender minority CITs [Poster]. SACES Conference, Dallas, TX.
- Invited (EMDR): Powell, J. V. (2022, 2024). Introduction to EMDR. Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi TX-CHIP Program, Corpus Christi, TX.
Let's Build Something Together
Dr. Powell welcomes partnerships with universities, agencies, community organizations, and funders on research, program evaluation, and grant-funded projects in trauma care, EMDR, counselor education, and rural mental health.