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Who am I?

I’m gaining more clarity on this question each day. To start, I’m a Black cisgender heterosexual woman. I’m a native of South Carolina and the eldest of the Dogan clan. I come from an ancestral lineage of intelligent, innovative, and spiritual leaders who have instilled the values of love, responsibility, and intuition in me. I love seafood, sweet tea, and anything fried - fried pickles, okra, and porkchops. I’m also a fitness enthusiastic so I have to be mindful of how often I eat my favorite foods. I’m learning balance! I’m a two-time graduate of Clemson University (Go Tigers!) with a B.A. in Psychology and M.Ed. and Ed.S. degrees in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. I asked myself “Why not get all the degrees I can at one time, in one place, and for one price?” This is how I tend to rationalize my choices. LOL! But I wanted to be further trained by Black folx to provide therapy to Black folx, so I decided 5 years ago to earn my Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the University of Kentucky. I graduated in May 2022 and am now a licensed psychologist in Mississippi!

I do life-changing work. I focus on the most experienced, yet taboo topics - drug use, sexualities, incarceration, and racism - among Black people. My research is often, if not always, informed by my lived experiences and the experiences of my clients. I move through the world with an intersectional lens and incorporate social justice in all of my work. When I recognized the limited access to therapy that caters to the unique needs of Black people, I started @blkfolxtherapy to help build awareness and prompt conversations about Black mental health. I serve in different capacities (on committees and leadership boards) and hope to expand my services. I love the work I do and hope to share this love with you!

Clinical Experiences

The following clinical experiences were as a student trainee under supervision:

Substance Use Treatment

The Phoenix Center, Greenville, SC  

College Counseling

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Clemson, SC             

University of Kentucky Counseling Center (UKCC), Lexington, KY   

Community Mental Health

Collective Care Center (CCC), Louisville, KY                 

Correctional Settings

Kentucky Correctional Institute for Women (KCIW), Pewee Valley, KY

Federal Medical Center (FMC), Lexington, KY (APPIC INTERNSHIP)   

Veterans Affairs

Lexington VA Health Care System, Lexington, KY 

Research

*Nationally award winning paper

  • Black Intimacies and Sexualities

    • Dogan, J., Hargons, C., Meiller, C., Oluokon, J., Montique, C. & Malone, N. (2019). Catchin’ feelings: Experiences of intimacy during Black college students’ sexual encounters. Journal of Black Sexuality and Relationships, 5(2), 81-107. https://doi.org/10.1353/bsr.2018.0021

    • Hargons, C., Dogan, J., Malone, N., Thorpe, S., Mosley, D., & Stevens-Watkins, D. (2020). A content analysis of Black women’s sexuality research. Journal of Culture, Health, and Sexuality. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2020.1776399

    • Hargons, C., Mosley, D. V., Meiller, C., Dogan, J., Angyal, B., Kirkpatrick, B., Oluokun, J., Xinyue, L. L., Stuck, J., Adams, C., Montique, C., & Malone, N. (2020). No one can make that choice for you:” Exploring power in the sexual narratives of Black collegians. Forthcoming in Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness: Research, Practice, and Education.

    • Malone, N., Thorpe, S., Jester, J.K., Dogan, J.N., Stevens-Watkins, D., & Hargons, C. (2021). Pursuing pleasure despite pain: A mixed-methods investigation of Black women’s responses to dyspareunia and coping. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 1–15, https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2021.2012309

    • Thorpe, S., Dogan, J.N., Malone, N., Jester, J., Hargons, C.N., & Stevens-Watkins, D. (2021) Correlates of sexual self-consciousness among Black women. Sexuality and Culture. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-021-09916-8

    • Thorpe, S., Dogan, J.N., Townes, A., Malone, N., Jester, J.K., & Hargons, C.N. (2021) Black women's pleasure mapping. Journal of Black Sexuality and Relationships, 7(4), 1-23. https://doi.org10.1353/bsr.2021.0008

    • Thorpe, S., Malone, N., Hargons, C.N., Dogan, J.N., & Jester, J.K. (2022) The peak of pleasure: US southern Black women's definitions of and feelings toward sexual pleasure. Sexuality and Culture. https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-021-09934-6

    • Thorpe, S., Miller-Roenigk, B., Hargons, C.N., Dogan, J.N., Thrasher, S., Wheeler, P., Oser, C., & Stevens-Watkins, D. (2022) HIV knowledge and perceived risk among Black men and women who are incarcerated in Kentucky. Health Promotion and Practice.

  • Identity, Race-Based Stress, and Racial Trauma

    • *Sackett, C., & Dogan, J. (2019). An exploration of African American teens’ experiences of their own racial identity through photovoice: Implications for counselors. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 47(3), 172-189. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmcd.12140 (Special issue: Counseling African American clients in the era of Black Lives Matter, police brutality, and media stereotypes)

    • Knighton, J. S., Dogan, J., Hargons, C., & Stevens-Watkins, D. (2020). Superwoman Schema: A context for understanding psychological distress among middle-class African American women who perceive racial microaggressions. Ethnicity and Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/13557858.2020.1818695

    • Hargons, C., Malone, N., Montique, C., Dogan, J., Meiller, C., Stuck, J., Curvey, R., Sullivan, Q., Sanchez, A., Bohmer, C., Tyler, K., & Stevens-Watkins, D. (2021). Race-based stress reactions and recovery: Pilot testing a racially specific meditation. Journal of Black Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/00957984211034281

    • Hargons, C.N., Malone, N., Montique, C., Dogan, J., Stuck, J., Meiller, C., Sanchez, A., Sullivan, Q., Bohmer, C., Curvey, R., Stevens-Watkins, D., Woods, I., Tyler, K., & Oluokun, J. (2021). "White people stress me out all the time": Black students define racial trauma. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000351

    • Dogan, J. N., Rosenkrantz, D., Wheeler, P. B., & Hargons, C. N. (2021). Exploring identity and coping among Black viewers of Marvel Studios’ Black Panther. Psychology of Popular Media. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000359

  • Substance Use and/or Incarceration

    • Dogan, J., Thrasher, S.*, Thorpe, S., Hargons, C., & Stevens-Watkins, D. (2021). Cultural race-based stress and cannabis use among incarcerated African American men. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000694

    • Dogan, J., Stevens-Watkins, D., Knighton, J., Wheeler, P., & Hargons, C. (2020). Perceived need for drug treatment among African American male drug-using prisoners, Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 120, [Impact factor 2.728] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2020.108166

    • Wheeler, P., Stevens-Watkins, D., Moody, M., Dogan, J., & Lewis, D. (2019). Family influence and mental health as correlates of nonmedical use of prescription opioids among incarcerated African American men nearing re-entry. Addictive Behaviors, 93, 46-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.01.014

    • Wheeler, P., Stevens-Watkins, D., Dogan, J., & McCarthy, D. (2020). Polysubstance use among frequent marijuana users: An examination of African American incarcerated men. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332640.2020.1793861

    • Wheeler, P. B., Dogan, J. N., Stevens-Watkins, D., & Stoops, W. W. (2021). Sleep time differs among people who co-use cocaine and cannabis compared to people who only use cocaine. Pharmacology, Biology, and Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbb.2021.173109

    • Thorpe, S., Hargons, C.N., Dogan, J., Thrasher, S., & Stevens-Watkins, D. (2021). Incarcerated Black men’s restrictive emotionality: The influence of parental closeness and childhood abuse. Psychology of Men and Masculinities.. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000342