Dr. Mary Neal

Dr. Mary Neal, LPC-MHSP-S earned her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from the University of Memphis, her M.S. in Clinical-Counseling Psychology from Valdosta State University, and her B.S. in Psychology from Eckerd College. Dr. Neal is passionate about teaching, supervising, and mentoring students and new counselors. Dr. Neal teaches Group Counseling Process, Intervention of Mental Health, Foundations of Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Legal and Ethical Issues in Counseling, and Internship at CBU.

Dr. Neal also enjoys working in private practice since 2020 and specializes in counseling perinatal mental health parents with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, infertility, traumatic birth, and miscarriage or infant loss. Dr. Neal also works with students and young professionals in her private practice, as well as supervises new counselors working toward counseling licensure in Tennessee. Prior to private practice, Dr. Neal worked at a behavioral health hospital for 10 years, was an admissions director for four of those years, and worked in program and business development, and completing insurance reviews to advocate for patients’ treatment. Dr. Neal also previously worked as an ethics consultant for the American Counseling Association from 2023 – 2024.

Dr. Neal’s research has been focused on perinatal mental health and her dissertation for her Ph.D. was An Evaluation of a Perinatal Bereavement Treatment Program for Infant Loss: Risk Factors, Treatment, and Healing. Additionally, Dr. Neal is active on a Race-Based Trauma research team, and has also recently published with her other collaborative research teams on Stories from the “Pressure Cooker”: U.S. women navigating motherhood and work during the COVID-19 pandemic, Predictors of Intentional and Unintentional Firearm-Related Injuries among Pediatric Hospital Patients, and Mental health 911: Advocating for the integration of behavioral health services in hospital emergency departments. Dr. Neal has extensive experience presenting at local, regional, state, and national conferences.

Along with her teaching, private practice, and research interests, Dr. Neal is active in her local and state counseling associations and service organizations. Dr. Neal is currently serving as the Human Rights Chair for the Tennessee Counseling Association (2022 – Current), is the most recent past president and conference chair for the West TN Counseling Association (2023 – 2024), and the most recent past Chair of the Region 7 Policy and Planning Council (2019 – 2024). Dr. Neal is a member of the American Counseling Association, the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, the Association for Child and Adolescent Counseling, the Tennessee Counseling Association, the West TN Counseling Association, and the Region 7 Policy and Planning Council.

Dr. Neal enjoys traveling to the North Carolina mountains, New Orleans, and the beach with family. Dr. Neal also enjoys reading, yoga, and time outside in nature.