Janice Miner Holden grew up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, USA. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology with honors from the University of Illinois, she taught high school psychology for 11 years and was a high schoo...More
Janice Miner Holden grew up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, USA. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology with honors from the University of Illinois, she taught high school psychology for 11 years and was a high school counselor for one year while she earned her master's and doctoral degrees in counselor education at Northern Illinois University. Since completing her EdD in 1988, she was a member of the University North Texas (UNT) Counseling Program faculty for 31 years, where she served 12 years as chair of the Department of Counseling & Higher Education and retired as professor of Counseling on August 31, 2019. Beginning with her doctoral dissertation Dr. Holden's primary research focus has been counseling implications of near-death experiences, after-death communication, and other transpersonal experiences--those that transcend the usual personal limits of space, time, and identity. In this research area she has over 50 refereed journal publications and over 100 national and international refereed and invited presentations. She served as lead editor of the 2009 Handbook of Near-Death Experiences: Thirty Years of Investigation, and she co-edited the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling's (ASERVIC's) 2017 book Connecting Soul, Spirit, Mind, and Body: A Collection of Spiritual and Religious Perspectives and Practices in Counseling. Among her professional service was three years as president of the International Association for Near-Death Studies, and since 2008 she has served as editor-in-chief of that asociation's scholarly Journal of Near-Death Studies. She is a Texas Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor, a National Certified Counselor, and an American Center for the Integration of Spiritually Transformative Experiences (ACISTE [pronounced "assist"]) Certified Mental Health Professional. For her career-long research on and advocacy for people who have had transpersonal experiences, Dr. Holden was awarded ASERVIC's 2013 Research Award and the American Counseling Association's 2015 Gilbert and Kathllen Wrenn Award for a Humanitarian and Caring Person. For her outstanding and sustained contriutions to scholary-creative activity, teaching, and service, Dr. Holden received the UNT Foundation's 2019 Eminent Faculty Award, one of the university's highest faculty achievements whose recipient serves as an inspiration fo the entire UNT community.
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Health, Wellness, and Society
