2006 Mary Corre Foster Award

Presented by Randy Strunk

Mark Pruden is a licensed professional clinical counselor.  Mark's bachelors and Masters degrees are from Indiana University.  He is in his twentieth year in private practice as a pastoral counselor, after previously working as a counselor at the University of Cincinnati, and then as Minister of Counseling in a Cincinnati church.  He specializes in supervision of counselors, clinical integration of psychology and theology, pre-marital counseling, Critical Incident Stress Management, and treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder.

In the community, Mark coordinates the counseling program at Crossroad Health Center (Over-the-Rhine) where he sees clients and supervises Masters students in practica and internships.  Crossroad provides medical and mental health services for an under-resourced, low-income population.  In addition, Mark volunteers as a chaplain with the Cincinnati Police Department, where his responsibilities include helping officers and civilians during and in the aftermath of critical incidents involving police.  Mark is also an Adjunct Professor in Counseling and Psychology at Cincinnati Christian University, teaching crisis intervention and abnormal psychology (undergraduate) and diagnosis (graduate).  He is currently designing and implementing a program to help people from the church he attends cope with the stresses involved in traveling to and partnering with nationals in a third world country.

Colleagues note that Mark is always enthusiastic and available to train and mentor new counselors.  He continues to attend the Chi Sigma Iota Spring Symposium at the University of Cincinnati each Spring and always offers a new perspective on counseling persons with mental illness.