Focusing on the field of counselor education, Dr. West-Olatunji has initiated several clinical research projects that focus on culture-centered community collaborations designed to address issues rooted in systemic oppression, such as transgenerational trauma and traumatic stress. Dr. West-Olatunji’s residency afforded her time to revisit her work with the Children’s Crisis Unit of the YWCA Rape Crisis Unit and begin writing a book on Pediatric Counseling.

Cirecie A. West-Olatunji serves as a professor at Xavier University of Louisiana and director of the Center for Traumatic Stress Research. She is also a past president of the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Association (AMCD).  Nationally, Dr. West-Olatunji has initiated several clinical research projects that focus on culture-centered community collaborations designed to address issues rooted in systemic oppression, such as transgenerational trauma and traumatic stress.  Cirecie West-Olatunji has conducted commissioned research under the auspices of the: National Science Foundation, ACA Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, federal Witness Assistance Program, Spencer Foundation, the American Educational Research Association, and the African-American Success Foundation. Her publications include two co-authored books, numerous book chapters, and over 50 articles in peer-reviewed journals. In addition to national presentations, Dr. West-Olatunji has delivered research papers in Eastern and Western Europe, the Pacific Rim, Africa, and the Americas. Additionally, she provided consultation in a PBS initiative to create a children’s television show focusing on diversity through KCET-TV in Los Angeles, CA (“Puzzle Place”). Dr. West-Olatunji has also provided consultation to the Center for American Education in Singapore and to the Buraku Liberation Organization in Japan to enhance their early childhood and counseling initiatives. More recently, coordinated disaster mental health outreach projects in post-Katrina New Orleans, Southern Africa, and Haiti.