Background

Dr. Kerrigan has 20 years of clinical experience in various settings around the US and the globe, working in community mental health, church settings, and private practice. She holds counseling licenses in South Carolina and Washington state. Her most recent experience includes founding a private counseling practice in Kigali, Rwanda, and teaching at Regent University in their Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. Her professional and research interests include clinician trauma competency, Christian faith integration, mental health underutilization, and cross-cultural adjustment. She has been married for twenty years to her husband Sean, and together, they have four children, ages 10, 12, and 14-year-old twins. Dr. Kerrigan enjoys hiking, biking, cooking, and exploring new places in her free time.

Academic Presentations

Kerrigan, R. & Runyan, H. (2024). The addition of trauma-focused CACREP standards in 2024: How to operationalize them [Educational session]. Western Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, Tucson, Arizona, United States.

Kerrigan, R., Compton, L, Runyan, H. (2022). What Experts Say Every Counselor Should Know about Trauma [Paper presentation]. Christian Association for Psychological Studies Annual Conference, Virtual Conference, United States.  

Suggs, B. G., Kerrigan, R., Cannedy, M., Robins, L. B., & Buquo, M. (2021, June 4-5). Barriers unearthed: Thematic views of African American emerging adults [Poster presentation]. Association for Humanistic Counseling Annual Conference, Virtual Conference, United States. 

Cannedy, M., Kerrigan, R., Suggs, B. G., & Robins, L. B. (2021, June 4-5). Acknowledge and empower: A prevention initiative for countering generational racial injustice and vicarious trauma [Poster presentation]. Association for Humanistic Counseling Annual Conference, Virtual Conference, United States.  

Robins, L. B., Suggs, B. G., Cannedy, M., & Kerrigan, R. (2021, February 27). Acknowledge & Empower: A Youth and Teens’ Guide to Understanding and Overcoming Racial Injustice and Secondary Trauma. Poster presented at Virginia Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Conference, Virtual Conference, United States.  

Kerrigan, R. (2018, October). Invited Guest Speaker. “Young People and Mental Health in a Changing World”. African Leadership University, Kigali, Rwanda

Peer-reviewed Publications

Kerrigan, R., Compton, C., Runyan, H. (2024). What the experts say is essential for counselor trauma education: A delphi study. Virginia Counselor’s Journal, 39, 55-66.

Suggs, B. G., Robins, L. B., Kerrigan, R., Cannedy, M., Buquo, M., Savinsky, D. M. (2022). Barriers unearthed: Thematic views of help-seeking and services utilization among African American emerging adults. Journal of Human Services, 41, 31-48.

Robins, L.B., Cannedy, M. Kerrigan, R. & Suggs, B.G. (2021). Empowerment pathways: A prevention approach to child and adolescent racial stress. Journal of Human Services, 40(2), 105-115.

Professional Associations

• American Counseling Association
• Christian Association for Psychological Studies