Kathy Ybañez-Llorente, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Professional Counseling Program ~~~~~~~~ Associate Dean for Student Success, College of Education (Spring 2024)

Program

Kathy Ybañez-Llorente, Ph.D., LPC-S, is an Associate Professor in the Professional Counseling Program at Texas State University. Dr. Ybañez -Llorente received a B.A. in Psychology from Baylor University. She received her M.S. in Counseling and Ph.D. in Counselor Education from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Council approved Supervisor in Texas. She supervises post-graduate licensees and maintains a small private practice working with adult populations. 

Dr. Ybañez-Llorente served as the Counseling Program Coordinator (Graduate Advisor) from Fall 2018 - Fall 2023 and has also served as the counseling program's Practicum/Internship Coordinator, the CPCE/NCE Campus Coordinator, and the Faculty Advisor for the Sigma Tau Sigma Chapter of Chi Sigma Iota at Texas State University.

Scholarship

Dr. Ybañez-Llorente is an active member of many professional counseling associations and regularly presents at national, regional, and state conferences. Dr. Ybañez-Llorente has published in peer-reviewed journals and books, with research interests including: clinical supervision, ethical and legal issues, professional licensing issues and licensing board member perspectives, multicultural issues in supervision and counseling, professional identity development, advocacy, and childhood anxiety. 

Service

Dr. Ybañez-Llorente has a long history of service to the profession including

• President, Texas Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (TACES)
• TACES Liaison to the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors
• Co-Chair, Ethics Committee of the American Counseling Association (ACA) (term 2017-2019)
• Member, ACA Ethics Committee (2 terms: 2014-2017; 2017-2020)
• Co-Chair, ACA Professional Standards Committee (term 2013-2016)
• Treasurer, Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW), a national division of ACA, (term 2018-2021)
• President, ASGW (3 year-term 2022-2023; Pres-Elec 2021, Past-Pres, 2023)
• Chair, Ethics Committee for the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD), a national division of ACA, (term 2021-2022)   
• Co-Chair, Ethics Committee of the Texas Counseling Association (TCA) (2 terms: 2022-2023; 2023-2024)

Dr. Ybañez-Llorente was appointed by ACA President Heather Trepal to serve as the Parliamentarian for the ACA Governing Council and ACA Executive Council for Dr. Trepal's 2019-2020 Presidential term. 

Additionally, Dr. Ybañez-Llorente was nominated by the American Counseling Association to serve as a member of the Counselor Occupational Licensure Interstate Compact Advisory Group, working with The Council of State Governments, National Center for Interstate Compacts. Starting in October of 2019, this national advisory board started the work toward securing portability for professional counselors through the creation of the Interstate Counseling Compact legislation, and worked closely with all stakeholders throughout the multi-year process. Read about it here: Counseling Today April 2020     

For current updates: Interstate Counseling Compact for Portability and the official website  Counseling Compact.org

Awards and Honors

Recognized for her professional contributions, Dr. Ybañez-Llorente is a recipient of the following awards: Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (SACES) Pre-tenured Counselor Educator Award; three Texas Counseling Association (TCA) Distinguished Service Awards for Chairing the Awards Committee, Graduate Student Involvement Committee, and Clinician’s Issues, Advocacy, and Public Policy Committee; Texas Counseling Association (TCA) Advocacy Award; Senate Proclamation 543 presented by the Senate of the State of Texas; International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors (IAMFC) Distinguished Service Award; and Texas State University's highest service honor, the Presidential Award for Excellence in Service.  

In August of 2019, Dr. Ybañez-Llorente was awarded the Outstanding Research Award by the American Association of State Counseling Boards (AASCB) in Washington, D.C.  In November of 2022, she was honored with the Texas Counseling Association Dr. Jamesanna Kirven Counselor of the Year Award for her contributions to the counseling profession. In March of 2023, Dr. Ybañez-Llorente was awarded with the Arthur A. Hitchcock Distinguished Professional Service Award, honoring outstanding service by an ACA member in addressing the issues of the counseling profession an in stimulating future service to promote the well-being of the counseling profession. In August of 2023, Texas State University awarded her with the Presidential Distinction Award for Excellence in Service. 

Additionally, Dr. Ybañez-Llorente was honored by students in the Advanced Ethics class who made t-shirts with the phrase: WWDYD? They explained that it stands for: What Would Dr Ybañez Do? By the end of the Advanced Ethics class, students will know the answer.   

Free time

Dr. Ybañez-Llorente jokingly says service to the profession is what she does in her free time. In reality, she enjoys spending time with her husband doing activities like cycling, going to concerts, trying new foods, traveling across the US and internationally, and finding beauty around the Central Texas area. She credits him with helping her stay on top of self-care and for giving her an audience for her comedic wit!  

Email: kybanez@txstate.edu
Office Phone: (512) 245-7985

Texas State University - Faculty Profile