• Doctor of Philosophy May 2023, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, Counselor Education and Supervision (CACREP)
  • Dissertation: Through the Eyes of the Future: A Phenomenological Study Exploring the Development of Conceptual Client Frameworks in Generation Z Counselors-in-Training
• Master of Arts May 2019, Rollins College, Winter Park, FL, Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CACREP), Certificate in College and University Counseling
• Bachelor of Science May 2016, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, Psychology

Bell hooks offered the perspective of education as…

“The classroom, with all of its limitations, remains a location of possibility. In that field of possibility we have the opportunity to labor for freedom, to demand of ourselves and our comrades, an openness of mind and heart that allows us to face reality even as we collectively imagine ways to move beyond boundaries, to transgress. This is education as the practice of freedom” (hooks, 1996).

Thus, I believe that learning is a practice of connection between the instructor/facilitator and students that harnesses the power to liberate all. I believe the responsibility of the educator is to lead with nurturance, inspiration, and development in mind, so that students may contextualize and assign personal meaning; thus, creating an embodied understanding of counseling practice. It is my goal that the learning community equates to one of both responsibility and freedom; freedom in knowing that self-growth and humility are beautiful, critical parts of the developmental process, and accessing the personal responsibility to do the work to uncover it.

I believe that teaching, much like counseling, is both a skill learned, and an art practiced. The education of adult students is indeed a process that is enacted “with”, rather than “to”, as andragogy invites a level of humanism and respect in learning. Jane Vella’s (2002) nine principles for adult education encompasses the essence of the educational process through her emphasis on establishment of relationships as a prerequisite to learning mutual respect and empathy, reinforcement of knowledge through encouragement and application, and maintenance of an equitable, collaborative space for learning to occur (McAuliffe & Eriksen, 2011). I believe that the knowledge process is a collaborative pursuit, marked by interpersonal applications, experiential learning, and ongoing reflective awareness of the self as it relates to others, seated within the context of culture. My philosophy is influenced by Vygotsky’s (1986) ideas that knowledge is socially constructed, paired with Crenshaw’s (1989) intersectionality theory that our personhood influences how we experience the tension between power, privilege, and oppression. It is my primary goal as an educator to empower students to apply the intrinsic knowledge that has developed out of their own lived experiences (personal and professional) in order to integrate new information. This practice of student-as-expert is rooted in feminist teachings cultivated by counselor education scholars over the last few decades (Smith-Adcock, Ropers-Huilman, & Choate, 2004).

Now that we’ve covered all the foundational bases, students should know that I’m funny, fiercely passionate and compassionate, and strive for meaningful relational connections in the classroom space. I strive to empower students to know themselves in the company of community tenderly and deeply, so that we may offer forth this energy to clients and global change efforts.

When we ask good questions, we open ourselves to understanding lived experiences, highlighting voices of the historically excluded, challenging and updating our “truths”, and inspiring curiosity. Research is a vessel in which we can narrate the actions we take toward problems in our respective fields and invest our efforts toward creative problem-solving and critical thinking. Research generally exists as cultural artifacts in modern history, offering snapshots of current global and social issues. My research interests are inclusive of anti-oppressive counselor education pedagogy and practice, intersectionality in justice and social change activism, identity development in traditional and post-traditional college students, and generational landscapes that affect faculty-student relationships and learning outcomes. When exercised together, my research agenda is shaped by community healing; how faculty clinicians can come alongside adult student learners in their own processes of reflexivity, humility, and understanding of counselors’ responsibility to community action, which they then offer to clients, and clients offer to the world.

In my dissertation research, we explored three major areas: 1) examining the current state of counselor education as it has shifted theoretical “waves” of thought; 2) contextualizing sociocultural and political landscapes affecting learning outcomes for Generation Z students; and 3) investigating experiences and clinical conceptualizations of Generation Z counselors-in-training. The purpose of this phenomenological research was to explore narratives and lived experiences of this age group within counselor education programs following the specific contextual challenges of 2020 (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic, police brutality, ongoing effects of climate change) and to position these within the generational frame of social movements in which Generation Z counselors-in-training experienced throughout the lifespan. The outcome of this work illuminated the opportunities for counselor educators to sit more deeply into anti-oppressive and systemic pedagogies as a response to paradigmatic shifts in counselor conceptualization, which echoes the calls to action of historically excluded communities of Black and brown scholars over the last few decades. The goals for this continued line of research are to identify strategies of connection in counselor education through research guided by relational-cultural (RCT) and liberation psychology models, which includes understanding the bridging moments across generations of faculty, staff, and students that encompass a campus community. Other published research in my background has been the use of RCT to manage and recover ecological systems in college counseling communities to better support the undergraduate and graduate population. I expect to continue this line of research with counselors-in-training and college student communities using critical theories, Black feminist writings, and indigenous wisdom to decolonize and recenter healing practices through culturally meaningful interventions (as both educator, researcher, supervisor, and clinician).

My research aims to examine how we as counselors and counselor educators acknowledge the historical harm of our field in order to offer education, insight, and action to marginalized communities wherein therapy has not been emotionally, physically, socioeconomically, or culturally accessible. I personally aim to use my education, position(s) of power, and counseling experience as narratives to my research in championing wellbeing and community care for students, clients, and colleagues in this work.

• Elmaoued, A., White, R., Hassan, O., & Sweet-Cosce, T. (2024). Establishing inclusion safety in pharmacy education: Wielding psychological safety as a tool to address student burnout. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning.
• Paladino, D. A., Bennett, C. M., & Sweet-Cosce, T. (Contract secured – In Progress). Introduction of brief therapy through a multicultural and social justice lens. In D.A. Paladino & C.M. Bennett (Eds.), Brief Counseling: Principles and Practice. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
• Sweet-Cosce, T. (2023). “Through the eyes of the future”: A phenomenological study exploring the development of conceptual client frameworks in Generation Z counselors-in-training. University of Florida ProQuest Dissertations. https://doi.org/30316817
• Sweet, T. & Avadhanam, R. (2023). Stronger together: Supporting generation Z students through relational-cultural therapy. Journal of Humanistic Counseling. Special Edition: Humanistic Systems Disruptions and Recovery. https://doi.org/10.1002/johc.12201

• Sweet-Cosce, T. & Schuermann, H. (October 2023). “Through the Eyes of the Future”: A Phenomenological Study Exploring the Development of Conceptual Client Frameworks in Generation Z Counselors-in-Training. Association of Counselor Education and Supervision Conference: Denver, Colorado.
• Sweet-Cosce, T. (April 2023). “Through the Eyes of the Future”: A Phenomenological Study Exploring the Development of Conceptual Client Frameworks in Generation Z Counselors-in-Training. Dissertation Defense. University of Florida: Gainesville, FL.
• Avadhanam, R. & Sweet, T. (November 2022). Stronger Together: Supporting Generation Z College Students through Relational-Cultural Theory. Systemic Family Therapy Conference: American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Alexandria, VA (virtual).
• Sweet, T., Mike, J., Huang, P., Slimak, S., El Sheikh, A., & March, B. (September 2022). The Use of Relational Cultural Supervision to Empower and Support Counselors-in-Training. Cross-Cultural Counseling and Education Conference for Research, Action, and Change: Georgia Southern University, Savannah, GA.
• Sweet, T., & Page, N. (2022). Stronger Together: Supporting Generation Z College Students through Relational-Cultural Theory. American College Counseling Association Conference: Las Vegas, NV.
• Huang, P., Sweet, T., & Lockett, G. (2022). Group Facilitation Workshop. Created by Jeannette Mejia, adapted by Social Justice Consultation Corps members. University of Florida Gatorship student organization. Institute of Black Culture: Gainesville, FL.
• Schuermann, H., Sweet, T., Moss, A., & Machado, M. (2021). Utilizing an 8-Week Mindfulness Intervention with Counseling Students: Impacts on Empathy and Anxiety. Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Conference: Atlanta, GA.
• Sweet, T., Warfield, M., & Jasmin, G. (2021). “Campus Heroes”: Exploring Identity and Self-Authorship Among Black Student Athletes. Cross-Cultural Counseling and Education Conference for Research, Action, and Change in Savannah, GA (virtual due to COVID-19).
• Sweet, T., Warfield, M., & Mike, J. (2021). Addressing Systemic Impacts of Psychiatric Hospitalization for Marginalized College Students. Cross-Cultural Counseling and Education Conference for Research, Action, and Change: Georgia Southern University, Savannah, GA (virtual due to COVID-19).
• Sweet, T., dos Santos, B., Seago, M., & Paladino, D. A. (2020, February). Understanding and Supporting the Transition of Marginalized Students Entering College. Cross-Cultural Counseling and Education Conference for Research, Action, and Change: Georgia Southern University, Savannah, GA.
• Griffin, T., Luchner, A., Paladino, D., Strater, P., Sullivan, T., & Sweet, T. (2019). It’s Real: College Students and Mental Health – A Film and Discussion. Presentation sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Rollins Psi Chi, & Rollins Wellness Center at Rollins College in Winter Park, FL.
• Norsworthy, K., Dos Santos, B., Ilugbusi, M., Moore, S., Senesi, C., & Sweet, T. (2019). Exploring Gender Justice in Counselor Education: Counseling Students Speak Out. Cross-Cultural Counseling and Education Conference for Research, Action, & Change: Georgia Southern University, Savannah, GA.
• Long, P., Sullivan, M., & Sweet, T. (2018). Consent: It’s Not What You Think! Presentation for CPY662: College Counseling and Outreach at Rollins College in Winter Park, FL.
• Chase, R., Rettinger, R., & Sweet, T. (2018). Let’s Talk about (Teenage) Sex: Advocating Facts and Sex-Positivity. Presentation for the Fourth Annual Spring Symposium on Human Sexuality: Rollins College, Winter Park, FL.

• American College Counseling Association Emerging Leader Award (2020-2021)
• Grinter Fellowship (2020), University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

• National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, member
• Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development, member
• Counselors for Social Justice, member, mentor (22-23)
• Chi Sigma Iota (Beta chapter), member, Advocacy chair (21-22)
• Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, member
• Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, member
• National Certified Counselor, member
• American College Counseling Association, member
• American Counseling Association, member

Past: Multicultural Counseling, Community Counseling and Crisis Intervention, Counseling LGBTQIA+ Clients, Counseling Skills, Advanced Family Counseling, Counseling in Community Settings