2026 Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling...

2026 Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling Conference

We appreciate our sponsors for their contributions to AARC!
If you are interested in sponsorship, please reach out to Leigh Holman, [email protected].

Xihe (Aimee) Tian

Syracuse University

PhD Candidate

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=k1W8RNUAAAAJ&hl=en&authuser=2

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About me

Xihe Tian is a fourth year PhD candidate in CES at Syracuse University. Her research interest includes integrating AI as an accessible andragogical tool in counselor education, as well as college student mental health and help-seeking. She is also interested in learning and applying research methodologies including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods.

1:00pm CDT

AARC Executive Board Meeting SabineAmanda Rumsey

7:00am CDT

MECD & CORE Journal Editorial Board Meeting & Breakfast Trinity 3 & 4 Friday Registration Check In Trinity Lobby

8:00am CDT

Outcomes of “Integrated Behavioral Health” Training: A Multi-Year Follow-up Study Willow CreekVaibhavee Agaskar • Yung-Wei Lin When Self-Report Fails: The Impact of Gaslighting and Reality Distortion on Assessment Validity Trinity 2 Poster 11Hazel Zhang Initial Psychometric Evaluation and Applied Utility of the Counselor Self-Discrepancy Inventory Trinity 2 Table 12Seth Robinson • Christina Daou • Donghun Lee Teaching Program Evaluation: Challenges, Resources, and InnovationsQu Chen • Jasmine Reynolds

9:05am CDT

Collaborative Autoethnography in Social Justice Research: A Study Example Sabine AYu Pan • Daisy Zhaoxuan Zhou • Yu Hsun Peng Decoding Affect: Automated Sentiment Analysis and Interaction Regimes in Psychotherapy Process Willow CreekPaul Peluso What does it Take to Publish in MECD or CORE? Meet the Editors Trinity 3 & 4Joshua C. Watson & A. Stephen Lenz Can Artificial Intelligence Reliably Code Counseling Microskills? A Comparison with Human Raters Trinity 2 Poster 11Dasol Hwang • Hyunjy Kim • Chloe Kang Enhancing Diagnostic Accuracy in Mental Health: A Comparative Study of Human Therapists and AI Trinity 2 Poster 5Ibrahim Bukhari

10:10am CDT

Beyond Database Searches: Comprehensive Approaches to Article Collection in Systematic Reviews Willow CreekCatherine Griffith • George McMahon

11:05am CDT

Are Participants Using AI? Implications for Qualitative Research Practice Trinity 2 Table 12Yun-Ru Huang • Ashley Williams-Whitley • Patrice Parkinson At the top of the evidence hierarchy: Advancing randomized controlled trials in counseling Trinity 2 Table 10Yixin Xu Designing and Refining Culturally Responsive Scales: Applications of IRT and Measurement Invariance Trinity 2 Table 18Ching-Chen Chen • degree • title Enhancing Counselor Trainee Crisis and Trauma Competency Through Artificial Intelligence Simulations Trinity 2 Table 1Aishwarya Joshi • Seneka Gainer

11:15am CDT

Assessing Community Readiness to Inform Mental Health Strategies in Asian American Communities ComalSang Qin Navigating AI in Counselor Education: Expert Perspectives on Pedagogy, Ethics, and Practice Sabine AYiying Xiong • Yusen Zhai A 10-Year Topic Modeling Analysis of Counseling Research in the Journal of Counseling & DevelopmentHayoung Jung • Isak Kim A longitudinal qualitative analysis of early counselor trainee professional identity development Trinity 2 Poster 1Sebastiana Halpin The Impact of Marriage Equality for Thai LGBTQ+ Mental Health: A Longitudinal Study Trinity 2 Poster 9Gon Ratanashevorn

12:45pm CDT

Keynote: The Importance of Data-Driven Legislative Advocacy: A Curated Conversation with Dr. Octavio Martinez, Executive Director of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health Trinity 3 & 4Ms. Patsy Cunningham • L.C.P.C. • Jr. M.D. • M.P.H. • M. B.A. • F.A.P.A. • Executive Director of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health

1:45pm CDT

Association for Assessment & Research in Counseling Annual Member Business Meeting Trinity 3 & 4Amanda Rumsey

2:35pm CDT

International Panel Willow CreekAmanda Giordano Loneliness and belonging among undergraduate students: A dual continuum approach Trinity 2 Poster 2Hayoung Jung • Minjoo Kang • David Duys Measuring Mentorship: A Psychometric Meta-Analysis of the Mentoring Competency Assessment-21 Trinity 2 Poster 8Stephen Lenz • Eunae Han A Two-Phase Qualitative Design for Mapping ChatGPT Adoption Trajectories Trinity 2 Table 3Fan Fan

3:40pm CDT

AI-III Workshop: A Scalable Model for Integrating Generative AI in Counselor Training Canyon LakeL. Avery Moore • Lindai Xie • Jared Lau I made an Instrument, Now What? Testing Four Methods to Determine Scoring Procedures and Thresholds Sabine BNatalie Ricciutti • Scarlett Zhang International Panel Willow CreekAmanda Giordano School-Based Interventions to Reduce School Absenteeism: A Meta-Analysis Trinity 2 Poster 2Dan Li AI in Assessment: Ethical, Clinical, and Educational Applications Trinity 2 Table 15Laura A. Bailey Smith • Sarah J. Fucillo Self-Report vs. Simulation-Based Assessment of Suicide Gatekeeping Competence among YouthsIsak Kim • Minjoo Kang

4:30pm CDT

Welcome Reception Trinity 3 & 4

8:00am CDT

Ten years of randomized controlled trials in counseling journals: Scope, quality, and insights Rio Grande AYixin Xu • Zeming Wang

9:05am CDT

Causal Machine Learning for Precision Counseling: From Average to Individual Treatment Effects Willow CreekYusen Zhai • Yung-Wei Lin Understanding and Applying Multilevel SEM to Address Cross-Cultural Measurement Noninvariance Rio Grande AXihe (Aimee) Tian

11:15am CDT

Beyond the Numbers: The Impact of Student-to-School Counselor Ratio on Student Success Sabine BYanhong Liu

12:00pm CDT

Graduate Student Luncheon - Off Site at Ringos RingosHeather Mack • AARC Grad Student Representative on the Executive Board Lunch on your own TBA

1:30pm CDT

Effectiveness of an AI Simulation and Feedback Intervention on CITs' Broaching and Self-Efficacy San AntonioXihe (Aimee) Tian • Yanhong Liu Quasi-Experimental Design: How to Best Address the Lack of Randomization in Your Counseling Research Willow CreekDeanna Chrones Recommendations for conducting a longitudinal study in counseling research Rio Grande AHeather Fye • Ryan Cook

2:00pm CDT

Snack Break Trinity 3 & 4 Foyer

3:40pm CDT

Final Results from a Randomized Clinical Trial for Gottman Method Couples Counseling for Infidelity Canyon LakePaul Peluso • Taylor Irvine Leadership in AARC: A Gathering Space for Graduate Students & New Professionals Willow CreekMatthew L. Nice • Lara Strate • Hayoung Jung • Christa Vento-Jones • Rachel Jacoby