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Robert Loper

Assistant Professor of Counseling, Counseling

Phone
870-245-4035
Email
[email protected]
Office
REMOTE
Degree Area of Study Institution Year
Ph.D. Counselor Education and Supervision    

 

Biography

I have served as a pastor and missionary for the last three decades and began my counseling career eight years ago. I have been married for five years, and I'm a proud grandparent of four grandchildren. Over the course of my career, I have served as a pastor, missionary and faculty member at two smaller Christian colleges for four years. For five years, I worked with individuals struggling with substance misuse, trauma and other mental health challenges, serving as an individual, group and mental health counselor. For the past three years, I have served as a counselor to college-age students. My passions include addiction counseling, career and teaching courses that address these critical areas. My unique combination of ministry experience and mental health expertise allows me to integrate Christian faith into counseling and education.

Q&A

Why did you come to Ouachita?

Upon completing my Ph.D., I began praying for direction and a place to utilize my degree. Months before finishing, I met Dr. Gilliland at a conference and shared my contact information in case Ouachita Baptist University needed a core faculty member in the future. While praying for guidance, Dr. Gilliland reached out and invited me to apply for a position. After a round of interviews and visiting the campus, I fell in love with the students, faculty and administration. I left that visit feeling confident that Ouachita would be home, and I am grateful that—even while teaching remotely—it truly feels like home.

Why did you decide to become a professor?

My journey to becoming a professor has been circuitous. After serving as a pastor and missionary for more than 20 years, God clearly called me to the counseling field. Nearing the completion of my M.A., I sensed God directing me toward Ph.D. work with the goal of training and mentoring Christian counselors who are equipped to ethically integrate faith into counseling sessions. This calling has guided both my academic pursuits and my approach to teaching and mentoring students.

Why is your subject an important one in our world?

In every community and church are hurting people. Christ based counseling allows the counselor to be God's hand extended to a hurting world.

What do you want future students to know about your degree program?

My goal is that you gain from our degree program the skills necessary for ethical and effective counseling as well as a heart to serve God and others.

What do you like to do in your free time?

Spending time with my family

What has been a meaningful Bible verse or passage for you?

Numbers 23:19 (NKJV) – "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?"

Publications

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