Clifford "Ford" Brooks, Ed. D.

Clinical Experience and Expertise

Ford has been a faculty member in the department since 1997. Prior to his tenure here he worked as an addiction counselor in Richmond, Virginia beginning in 1984. His areas of interest include relapse prevention, surrender, spirituality and co-occurring disorders. Ford has worked in hospital detoxification, inpatient and outpatient treatment as well as partial and private practice settings. His expertise is in relapse prevention and working with clients who have significant treatment histories. He has practiced as a counselor for over 30 years and spent three months in Thimphu, Bhutan (Spring 2016) as the counselor in residence through NBCC treating psychiatric and addicted patients.

Scholarship

Ford has co-authored one book on addiction and publications regarding addiction, surrender, relapse, spirituality or co-occurring disorders. He has significant presenting experience regionally, nationally and internationally and for six years was an editorial board reviewer for the Journal of Counseling and Development. He was also the co-editor and co-initiator of the Journal of the Pennsylvania Counseling Association. Ford has provided training and supervision for the past 30 years locally, regionally as well as internationally.

Education

While a full-time counselor, Ford attended The College of William and Mary and obtained his educational specialist degree (Ed.S.) and his doctoral degree in education (Ed.D.) both in counseling. His Master’s degree is in rehabilitation counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University/Medical College of Virginia where his concentration was in alcohol and drug counseling. Ford’s undergraduate degree (B.A.) is from the University of Richmond in psychology. He has specific training in clinical supervision, relapse prevention, motivational interviewing and hypnotherapy. He is licensed as a professional counselor (LPC) in Virginia and Pennsylvania and is a certified addiction counselor in Pennsylvania and an international certified addiction counselor. He is also a Nationally Certified Counselor through the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC).

Courses Taught

Ford teaches numerous courses in the department: Introduction to Helping Services, Pre-Practicum Skills, Counseling Strategies, Group Counseling, Drug and Alcohol Counseling, Counseling and Spirituality, Professional Orientation to Clinical Mental Health, Practicum, Field Internship I and II, and Advanced Practice Seminar.

Personal

Ford lives in Shippensburg and has two children. He enjoys the outdoors, music and the martial arts.