Originally from Colombo, Sri Lanka, Dr. Vitro graduated from Texas Tech University as an international student with her PhD in Counselor Education. Dr. Vitro’s research interests are grief, complicated grief, and cultural components associated with grief. Dr. Vitro is a recipient of the 2023 AADA Outstanding Adultspan Article Award, a national research award received by scholars with outstanding research work. Currently, in addition to serving as faculty, Dr. Vitro is the Assistant Editor of The Family Journal- The flagship journal of the International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors. Her clinical experience predominately stems from working at a psychiatric correctional facility in Texas, where she provided treatment to inmates of all security levels. Dr. Vitro lives in New York City with her family.
- PhD- Texas Tech University
- Bradley, L., Mendoza, K., & Witanapatirana, K. (In Press). Spoonful of Humor: Humorous Thoughts for Counselor Educators. In K. Vaidya (Ed.), Teaching counseling with a sense of humor. Creative Academic Press.
- Bradley, L., Noble, N., Spinks, D., & Witanapatirana, K. (Submitted). BHEC: The Basics. The Professional Counselor.
- Bradley, L., Noble, N., & Witanapatirana, K. (2022). Complicated grief: Counseling issues and techniques. Adultspan Journal.
- Noble, N., Hamrick, J., Lock, R., Lei, X., Witanapatirana, K., & Sosa, S. (In progress). Career assistance for individuals with autism: Observations and interviews with job coaches and job candidates.
- Palmer, D., Noble, N., & Witanapatirana, K. (2021). STOP the threat: A school’s mission for mental health promotion. Educator Perspectives, 1(1), 15-22.
- Palmer, D., & Witanapatirana, K. (2020). Exposing bias through a deficit thinking lens using content- analysis of macro-level policies. Research in Educational Policy and Management, 2(1), 23-39.
- AADA Outstanding Adultspan Article Award (2023)