Field of Expertise
- Child and Adolescent Counseling
- Trauma Informed Care
- Clinical Supervision and Leadership
Licensure and Certification
- Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Arizona
- Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Virginia
- Certified Sex Offender Treatment Provider, Virginia
Biography
Dr. Underwood is a core Professor at Liberty University, School of Counseling and Family Services. Dr. Underwood has over 20 years university teaching in counseling programs and served working closely with students in mentoring and research capacities. Additionally, Dr. Underwood has served as a lecturer at Adams State University, Prescott College, Rutgers University, Regent University, Phoenix Seminary and Louisiana State University. Dr. Underwood has served as an Executive Clinical Officer and clinical supervisor for several large residential treatment programs for children, adolescents and adults with severe mental health, substance use, trauma, disruptive behavioral and sexual disorders.
Dr. Underwood conducts forensic evaluations throughout the country in the areas of Best Interests evaluations, Parent Capacity evaluations, Sex Offender evaluations and other risk analyses for the courts. Dr. Underwood has served as an expert witness in several states covering the said areas. Dr. Underwood has been recognized by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), American Institutes for Research (AIR) and the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) as one of the leading program innovators for community based treatment programs. Dr. Underwood has held a number of policy oriented research, academic, clinical and consulting positions over his career with federal, state and private agencies for research, program design, development, implementation and evaluation of services.
Dr. Underwood has authored over 75 refereed journal articles, 17 treatment manuals, 2 books and multiple technical reports on mental health, substance use, trauma needs of females, sex offending, forensic, spiritual and cultural needs of adolescents. His most recent books include Counseling Adolescents Competently (Sage Publishing) and Adolescents in Conflict (Taylor Made Publishing). Dr. Underwood was recently recognized by Routlege Behavioral Sciences journals for his published article on ‘Mental Health Treatment in Juvenile Justice Secure Care Facilities: Practice and Policy Recommendations’, published in Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice. This work was featured as the most downloaded articles published in Routledge Behavioral Sciences journals in 2014.