Influential Women spotlights Helena Stevens, PhD, LPC

Influential Women featured Helena Stevens, PhD, LPC, an associate professor at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minnesota, for her work in counselor education, trauma-informed care, and mental health advocacy. Stevens also highlighted the barriers facing women in higher education and the need for stronger training, research, and support systems.

Why it matters: - Dr. Helena Stevens is helping train future mental health counselors while also working directly with clients in trauma-informed care. - Her career spans education, clinical practice, assessment, and advocacy, putting her at the intersection of workforce development and mental health access. - Stevens also points to systemic barriers in higher education that can limit mentorship, resources, and leadership opportunities for women, especially women of color.

What happened: - Influential Women featured Dr. Helena Stevens, PhD, LPC, LSC, PPS, NCC, in a profile published July 22, 2026. - Stevens serves as an associate professor in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Bethany Lutheran College. - She is based in the Greater Minneapolis–St. Paul area. - The profile highlighted her work as a counselor educator, mental health counselor, school counselor, and psychometrician. - The profile also noted her role as a senior test developer for a calibration engineering education company.

The details: - At Bethany Lutheran College, Stevens teaches foundational counseling courses and oversees residency components. - She provides academic advising and contributes to program accreditation efforts and assessment development. - Stevens provides virtual outpatient mental health counseling with a trauma-informed focus. - She also facilitates group counseling for people in drug and alcohol inpatient treatment. - Her training includes Dialectical Behavior Therapy, mindfulness, and experiential learning methodologies. - Stevens has worked as a school counselor across educational levels from kindergarten through postsecondary education. - She has held leadership roles in local, state, and national counseling organizations. - Stevens is authoring her first textbook on university-level supervision in counseling programs. - Her research interests include mindfulness, wellness, social justice advocacy, school counseling, assessment development, program evaluation, and experiential interventions. - Her work in assessment development supports psychometric testing and accreditation initiatives.

Between the lines: - Stevens ties her advocacy to her own childhood experience in a trauma-affected household with parents facing addiction. - That background shaped her focus on underserved populations and her emphasis on empathy, resilience, and service. - Her comments on professional advice suggest a disciplined approach to career decisions and a preference for work that aligns with long-term goals. - Her emphasis on authenticity, mentorship, and networking reflects a broader message to women entering counseling and education: growth often depends on community as much as individual effort. - Her critique of higher-education barriers points to an ongoing talent pipeline problem, not just an individual career challenge.

What's next: - Stevens is continuing to teach, mentor, counsel, and develop assessment tools while advancing her research agenda. - Her textbook project suggests a broader effort to shape how counselor supervision is taught at the university level. - She plans to keep focusing on scholarship, practitioner-focused research, and training programs that bridge research and real-world practice. - More information is available through her Influential Women profile.

The bottom line: - Dr. Helena Stevens is building a career around one core mission: preparing compassionate counselors and strengthening the systems that support mental health, education, and equity.