Coffman-Crothers Training Program

About

Martha C. Crothers, Ph.D., founder of the Coffman-Crothers Training Program for Trauma and Psychological Health, is a three-degree alumnus of SIUC.  She received her B.S. in Recreation for Special Populations in 197,3, working with the consulting founder of the Special Olympics, Dr. Bill Freeberg.  She began her counseling career working for the South Carolina Department of Mental Health as a Behavioral Counselor at a residential treatment summer camp for children with behavioral disorders. She worked as a Special State Consultant for the HeadStart Training Center at Kentucky State University.  While working for KSU, she provided consultant services to teachers in the eastern Kentucky Appalachian school systems, helping to mainstream children with disabilities into HeadStart classrooms.  She returned to SIU to complete her Master's degree and worked as the Clinical Director of Aeon Alternatives Program, Inc. Aeon specialized in using group therapy to provide drug abuse treatment and early intervention services to the residents of Carbondale, Illinois.  She completed her M.S. degree in Educational Psychology in 1980. While studying for her Ph.D., she worked in adult literacy and helped establish several local not-for-profit agencies.  She taught psychology and sociology courses at John A. Logan College.  She completed her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision in 1998.  She began working at SIUC in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education, teaching education and counseling classes in 2003, retiring as a Senior Lecturer in 2014.  She was a Licensed Professional Counselor.   

Janet M. Coffman, Ph.D., retired from Southern Illinois University in 2007 as the Director of the Counseling Center.  She was a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in private practice in Carbondale, Illinois, for many years. She began her career at SIU as the Director of Career Counseling in 1980.  She was appointed the Director of the SIU Counseling Center in 1985. She received the SIUC Women of Distinction award in 1990.  She received her B.A. from McMurry University in Abilene, T,x and her M.S. in 1978 and Ph.D..D..D.in 1980 in Counseling and Personnel Services from Purdue University.  During her career, Dr. Coffman was a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and Counseling at Pittsburg State University, and a Medical Sociologist Research Assistant, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York.