University of North Texas 
Justin Watts, Ph.D., NCC
Rehabilitation and Health Services
Associate Professor
Chilton Hall 218M
About
Justin Watts PhD. LPC, CRC, NCC received his PhD. in Counselor Education and Supervision from the Pennsylvania State University in 2016. He received a Master’s degree in Counseling and a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of North Texas (UNT). Currently he serves as an associate professor and program coordinator for the Rehabilitation Counseling Program in the department of Rehabilitation Health Services at UNT. His research agenda focuses on child-maltreatment and its impact on development across the lifespan, and how these early experiences encourage the development of negative coping mechanisms and post-traumatic stress. He teaches coursework in addictions, substance use counseling models, group counseling, trauma and crisis intervention, and provides supervision for the programs on-campus mental health clinic. Recent research has focused on childhood psychological abuse and its impact on young adults’ mental health.
Primary Research Interests:
The impact of child-maltreatment among young/emerging adults, trauma, post-traumatic stress, childhood psychological maltreatment.
Other Information:
The impact of child-maltreatment among young/emerging adults, trauma, post-traumatic stress, childhood psychological maltreatment.
Watts, J., Lazzareschi, N., Warwick, L., & Gaa, M. (2024). PTSD symptoms in post-secondary students exposed to childhood psychological abuse: Exploring negative meta-emotions. Journal of Counseling and Development, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12534
Watts, J., Chumbler, N., Castleberry, J., & Lazzareschi, N. (2024). Trauma exposure, suicidality, and symptom severity among young adults seeking counseling reporting childhood emotional abuse. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 46, 114-133. https://doi.org/10.17744/mehc.46.2.02
O’Sullivan, D., Kim, I., Hanna, J., Watts, J., & O’Shea, A. (2023). The impacts of problem parenting on college student mental health: A pilot study. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy 38(3), 685–703. https://doi.org/10.1080/87568225.2023.2251884
Watts, J., Lazzareschi, N., Liu, Y., & O’Sullivan, D. (2023). Childhood psychological abuse, sense of self, and PTSD symptoms in emerging adulthood. Journal of Counseling and Development, 101, 96-105. doi:10.1002/jcad.12455