Randy Moate

Dr. Randy Moate is an associate professor of counseling at Baldwin Wallace University. Prior to coming to BW, Moate worked as an assistant and associate professor at the University of Texas at Tyler, where he served as clinical mental health counseling coordinator for three years. He obtained his Ph.D. in counseling and human development services from Kent State University in 2014. He has a strong identity as a teacher, practicing counselor and scholar.

Teaching and Clinical Supervision

Moate pursued a Ph.D. because he is passionate about working with students to help them become successful professional counselors. His style of teaching is based on the premise that students learn best when they understand how and why the topics they are learning about in the classroom will be useful to them in the real world as counselors. A major focus in his teaching is creating experiential activities that give students an opportunity to apply and practice what they are learning, and to help sharpen their capacity for reflective and critical thinking.

“Having the opportunity to help students who want to become counselors is the best part of my job. I enjoy the process of providing students with foundational knowledge and skills of counseling, and then helping them to develop their own personal style and identity as a counselor.”

Clinical Experience

Moate is a licensed professional counselor who has experience working with a wide range of clients in a variety of settings (e.g., private practice, college counseling, non-profit agency). He specializes in using existential, person-centered and mindfulness-based approaches with adolescent and adult populations who present with concerns such as depression, anxiety, grief, trauma, performance enhancement and identity related issues.

“Despite intellectually knowing how counseling works, it’s still magical for me watching the process unfold. Watching my clients change, grow, and overcome problems that they once perceived as insurmountable is inspiring – there’s nothing like it.”

Scholarship and Community Engagement

He has published numerous peer reviewed journal articles and has participated in over 20 national and regional presentations. His research interests are focused on teaching in counselor education programs, and stress, perfectionism, and coping in clinical populations. Moate’s research interests are informed by different aspects of his work that he finds meaningful.

“My scholarship pursuits have been focused on parts of my job that I find interesting and have questions about. For example, as I continue to teach new questions arise about teaching, which then inspires new ideas for research to try to answer those questions. What I learn from experiences as a teacher informs my work as a researcher, and then what I learn from my work as a researcher informs my work as a teacher – it’s a reciprocal relationship.”