Ana Puig
Clinical Professor
About
I am currently a Clinical Professor and Research Director in the Office of Educational Research, College of Education at the University of Florida (UF) and Affiliate Faculty in the School of Human Development and Organizational Studies in Education, Counselor Education unit. I am a licensed mental health counselor and qualified supervisor in the state of Florida and a National Certified Counselor. I also hold a Spirituality and
Health certificate from the Center for Spirituality and Health at UF. I have taught courses in Brief Therapy, Counseling Theories, Social and Cultural Foundations (Multicultural Counseling), Research Methods and Program Evaluation, Counseling in Community Settings, Clinical Internship Supervision in Community Counseling, School Counseling and Marriage & Family Therapy, and Mindful Living. My areas of specialization are multicultural spirituality and religion in counseling; complementary
therapies and mental health; creativity in counseling and supervision; and counselor burnout.
Health certificate from the Center for Spirituality and Health at UF. I have taught courses in Brief Therapy, Counseling Theories, Social and Cultural Foundations (Multicultural Counseling), Research Methods and Program Evaluation, Counseling in Community Settings, Clinical Internship Supervision in Community Counseling, School Counseling and Marriage & Family Therapy, and Mindful Living. My areas of specialization are multicultural spirituality and religion in counseling; complementary
therapies and mental health; creativity in counseling and supervision; and counselor burnout.
Affiliations
- School of Human Development and Organizational Studies in Education
Research Interests
Complementary Therapies, Creativity, Group Counseling, Individual Mental Health, Multicultural Competencies, Qualitative Research, Race / Ethnicity Issues, Spirituality and Religion
Education
- Ph.D. Mental Health Counseling and Counselor Education University of Florida, Gainesville, FL Department of Counselor Education (CACREP Accredited) December 2004
- M.A. Mental Health Counseling University of South Florida, Tampa, FL Department of Counselor Education December 1992
- B.A. Sociology (French Minor) University of (Southwestern) Louisiana, Lafayette LA May 1985
Professional Appointments
- Clinical Professor, 2022-Present
- Scholar and Research Director, Office of Educational Research, College of Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 2015-Present
- Associate Scholar and Research Director, Office of Educational Research, College of Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 2010-2015
- Assistant Scholar and Research Director, Office of Educational Research, College of Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 2006-2010
- Affiliate Faculty, School of Human Development and Organizational Studies in Education, Counseling and Counselor Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 2005-Present
Activities and Honors
- Association for Specialists in Group Work, Fellow, 2023
- American Counseling Association Fellow, 2020
- Associate Director for Research, Mindfulness Program, University of Florida, 2015-Present
- Associate Director, Executive Board, Center for Spirituality and Health, University of Florida, 2006-Present
- Compadrazgo/Comadrazga (Godparent) Mentoring Leadership Award, 2016
- Outstanding Research Award, National Research Foundation of Korea, 2013. For the following study: Lee, J., Puig, A., & Lee, S. M. (2012). The effect of the demand control and effort reward imbalance models on the academic burnout of Korean adolescents. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 32(1), 113-123.
Selected Grants
Unlocking Creativity through Mindfulness
Role
- Co-PI
Funding Agency
- UF Catalyst Fund
Project Period
- 2015-2016
Award Amount
- $10,000
Play and Creativity across the Lifespan: A Photographic Journey
Role
- Co-PI
Funding Agency
- UF Catalyst Fund
Project Period
- 2012-2013
Award Amount
- $10,000
Selected Publications
Books / Book Chapters
- Grunwald, S., Wang, Y., & Puig, A. (Eds.). (2025, Under Contract). Personal and Institutional Transformation in Higher Education through Mindfulness. London, U.K.: Cambridge.
- Puig, A., Swank, J., Haynes-Thoby, L., & Paladino, D. (2022, October). Foundations in becoming a professional counselor: Advocacy, social justice, and intersectionality. New York, N.Y.: Springer.
- Puig, A., Skudrzyk, B., Monteiro-Leitner, J., & Hutchins, A. M. (Eds.). (2016). International perspectives on group work: Leadership, practice, research, and teaching. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
- Washington, E.Y., Da Costa Leite, M.C., & Puig, A. (2022). Mindfulness Practice: Fighting Systemic Racism with Courage and Compassion. In Mindful Social Studies: Cultivating Social and Emotional Development for 21st Century Citizenship. 2023 First Place, UF Mindfulness Best Conceptual Paper Award.
- Puig, A., & Adams, C. M. (2018). The Delphi technique. In B. Frey (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of educational research, measurement, and evaluation (pp. 479-480). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781506326139.n190
- Lenes, E., Baggs, A., & Puig, A. (2016). Multicultural supervision training: A creative and mindful exploration of spiritual diversity. In M. Luke & K. M. Goodrich (Eds.), Group work experts share their favorite activities for supervision (Vol. 2, pp. 197-204). Alexandria, VA: Association for Specialists in Group Work.
- Fukuyama, M. A., & Puig, A. (2016). Religion, spirituality and culture- oriented counseling. In P. B. Pedersen, W. J. Lonner, J. G. Draguns, J. E. Trimble, & M. R. Scharrón del Río (Eds.), Counseling across cultures: Toward inclusive cultural empathy (7th ed., pp. 477-498). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Articles
- Rujimora, J., Walker, A., Swygert, A., McNiece, Z., Yoon, E., Machado, M., Myers, K., Richardson, E., Lenes, E., Hebert, L., Marchi, E., Arthurson-McColl, Z., Lagmay, J., & Puig, A. (2023). “It becomes a family I’m a part of... we get to carry each other”: Themes from qualitative interviews of patients enrolled in an inpatient care support program for adolescents and young adults. Journal of Palliative Medicine. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2022.0482
- Taylor, G.T., Vasquez, T.S., Kastrinos, A., Fisher, C.L., Puig, A., & Bylund, C.L. (2022). The adverse effects of Meditation Interventions and Mind-Body Practices: A Systematic Review. Mindfulness, 13, 1. doi: 10.1007/s12671-022-01915-6
- Taylor, G.T., Bylund, C.L., Kastrinos, A., Alpert, J., Puig, A., Krajewski, J., Sharma, B., & Fisher, C.L. (2022). Practicing Mindfulness through mHealth Applications: Emerging Adults’ Health-Enhancing and Inhibiting Experiences. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19, 5, 2619. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19052619
- Walker, A. L., Marchi, E., Puig, A., Slayton, W., Dodd, V., McVay, M. A., & Livingston, M. D. (2022). A Novel Palliative Care Peer Support Program for Adolescents and Young Adults: Survey and Factor Analytic Study. Journal of Palliative Medicine. doi: https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2021.0426
- Guth, L.J., Surinon, C., Puig, A., Nitza, A., Georgianna, B., & Freytes, I.M. (2021, Fall). Perceived Impact of Hurricane Maria on Educators and Students in Puerto Rico. Centro Journal, 33, 3, 65-98.
- Swank, J., *Houseknecht, A., & Puig, A., (2020, October). A Qualitative Exploration of Counselor Educators’ Authorship Practices and Beliefs. Counseling & Values Journal. doi: 10.1002/cvj.12139
- Lenes, E., Swank, J., Hart, K., *Machado, M., Darilus, S., Ardelt, M., Smith, S., Lane, M., Puig, A. (2020). Color-Conscious Multicultural Mindfulness (CCMM) Training in the Counseling Field: A Randomized Control Study. Journal of Counseling & Development, 98, 147-158. doi: 10.1002/jcad.12309