Assistant Professor Receives Counselor Educator of the Year Award

Zoya A. McCants, Ed.D., LMHC, LPC-ACS, RYT, Assistant Professor of Clinical Mental Health Counseling in the Counselor Education Department in The School of Education at St. John’s University, was recently recognized by the American Mental Health Counselors Association as the Dr. Linda Seligman Counselor Educator of the Year.

“As a counselor educator, I carry the sacred responsibility of shaping how future clinicians hold space for pain, for healing, and for transformation,” Dr. McCants said. “This award honors not just my individual contributions, but the collective work we do as a field to make mental health care more inclusive, trauma-informed, and justice-oriented.”

This award is given to people who spend 51 percent of their time in academic pursuits; teaching, training, consulting, supervising, researching or program development. It also recognizes outstanding and humanitarian service to others.

“To be recognized for work that bridges clinical excellence, advocacy, and education is incredible,” she said. “It is a reminder that when we dare to speak the unspeakable, we create room for others to breathe, to grieve, and to heal. I am profoundly grateful for my students, colleagues, and clients—each of whom have shaped my voice and my purpose in this field.”

Receiving this award in Las Vegas, NV, was an incredibly humbling and affirming moment for Dr. McCants. It reminded her why she chose this path—to stand in the gap for those navigating invisible wounds, to train the next generation of counselors to do this work with compassion and courage, and to center stories often left untold.

“The Counselor Education department is so incredibly proud of Dr. McCants for being recognized by AMHCA with this award,” said Heather C. Robertson, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Counselor Education Department. “Among the nearly 500 accredited mental health counseling programs in the country, Dr. McCants has been recognized as the outstanding educator and leader among her peers. Her dedication to her students and helping them become exceptional counselors is evident in her classrooms. We are so fortunate that our students benefit from her clinical expertise and stellar teaching that she brings to each classroom."