Sunkyung Chung, Ph.D

Research Methods

Counselor Education and Supervision (CACREP-Accredited)
Concentrations: Marriage and Family Therapy and Play Therapy – St. Mary’s University, ’18

Sunkyung (Sun) Chung, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Counselor Education at St. Mary’s University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor (LPC-S), a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor (RPT-S), and a National Certified Counselor (NCC). Chung earned her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision at St. Mary’s University, with concentrations in Marriage and Family Therapy and Play Therapy.

Her teaching experience includes graduate-level courses in group counseling, child and adolescent counseling, abnormal human behavior, assessments, career development and trauma in counseling. She is passionate about mentoring and preparing culturally responsive counselors committed to social justice and ethical practice.

Chung’s specialties include trauma-informed care, play therapy, sandtray therapy, and cross-cultural counseling. Her research focuses on expressive therapies, cross-cultural supervision, counselor well-being, and the impact of microaggressions in graduate counseling programs. She frequently publishes and presents on multicultural counseling, play therapy, trauma and cultural humility at state, national and international conferences.

Watts-Figueroa, C., and Chung, S. (2024, March). Asian American and Pacific Islander Families in Play
Therapy [Review of Asian American and Pacific Islander Families in Play Therapy]. PlayTherapy Magazine, 19(1).

Mercado, M. and Chung, S. (2014). Association for multicultural counseling
and development. In L. H. Cousins (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Human Services and Diversity (Vol. 1, pp.118-120). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. doi: 10.4135/9781483346663.n53

Conference Presentations

National and International

Watts-Figueroa, C. and Chung, S. (October, 2023). Honoring cultural expressions: Asian American and Pacific Islander family in play therapy. Texas Association for Play Therapy, Pam Springs, CA.

Chung, S. (2022). Women Shaping a New Korean Peninsula. World Women’s Conference of NUAC(National Unification Advisory Council), Dallas, TX.

Chung, S. and Hightower, L. A. (October, 2021). Playfully breaking the silence: Group play therapy for male survivors of childhood sexual abuse. International Association for Play Therapy, Little Rock, AR.

Chung, S. and Hightower, L. A. (November, 2020). The color of expression: Creative play therapy for immigrant women with depressive symptoms [Conference workshop]. International Association for Play Therapy, Palm Springs, CA.

Chung, S. and Hightower, L. A. (October, 2020). Playfully breaking the silence: Group play therapy for male survivors of childhood sexual abuse. International Association for Play Therapy, Palm Springs, CA. (Conference canceled)

Lee, M., and Chung, S. (October, 2019). Building community capacity and engagement to reduce health disparities and increase health literacy in the Korean immigrant community. Annual Meeting of American Public Health Association, Philadelphia, PA.

Chung, S., Mercado, M., Roeynolds, M.S., and Strentzsch, J. (June, 2013). Dad, you never talked to me about sex: The role of father figures play in their daughters’ conflicts about sexuality. American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists’ 45th Annual Conference, Miami, FL.

State and Regional

Chung, S and Watts-Figueroa, C. (April, 2024). Playfully navigating: Cross-cultural supervision in expressive play therapy-Addressing microaggressions and fostering. Texas Association for Play Therapy, Arlington, TX.

Watts-Figueroa, C. and Chung, S. (April, 2023). The ethical practice of cultural humility with Asian American and Pacific Islander clients within play therapy. Texas Association for Play Therapy, San Antonio, TX.

Chung, S. and Novoa, S.A. (November, 2022). Effective play therapy for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adolescents. Central Texas Chapter of The Texas Association for Play Therapy, Belton, TX.

Chung, S. (November, 2022). Am I a Multicultural Counselor? The integration of ethical guidelines and cultural humility in multicultural counseling. Heart of Texas Counseling Association, Waco, TX.

Chung, S. (June, 2022). The color of expression: Creative play therapy for immigrant women with depressive symptoms. Central Texas Chapter of The Texas Association for Play Therapy, Belton, TX.

Chung, S. (November, 2021). Playfully Breaking the Silence: Group Play Therapy for Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse. Texas Counseling Association, Galveston, TX.

Lee, M., and Chung, S. (2019). Building community capacity and engagement to reduce health disparities and increase health literacy in the Korean immigrant community. Institute for the Integration of Medicine and Science (IIMS) Community Engagement Symposium, San Antonio, TX.

Chung, S. (December, 2018). Using play therapy with survivors of sexual abuse. Alamo Chapter Texas Association for Play Therapy, San Antonio, TX.

Chung, S., and Hightower, L.A. (November, 2016). Keep calm and have fun: Creative and expressive group therapy working with women survivors of sexual abuse. Texas Counseling Association, Dallas, TX.