Dr. William David Lane

Education

• B.S.Ed., Troy State University, 1976
• M.Ed., Georgia State University, 1981
• Ph.D., Georgia State University, 1992

David Lane, is a professor in the Department of Counseling in the College of Professional Advancement at Mercer University, and is the founding faculty member of the Counseling Program. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from Troy University in 1976, a Master of Education degree in Counseling from Georgia State University in 1981, and a Ph.D. in Counseling from Georgia State University in 1992 and has over 42 years’ experience as a counselor, counselor educator, and supervisor.

David is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, a Nationally Board Certified Counselor, a Certified Professional Counselor Supervisor, and a Clinical Member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapists. He is in his 26th year at Mercer University. Prior to coming to Mercer, he was the founder and Coordinator of the Community Counseling and Marriage, and Family Counseling Programs at Columbus College (now Columbus State University). While at Columbus he worked with Ft. Benning and the Department of the Army to create a program to train Army Chaplains in Marriage and Family Counseling. The program was highly successful and the Army sends these Chaplains all over the world to work with soldiers and their families.

After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, David worked extensively in the country for over a year leading teams of professionals to train pastors, teachers, and mental health providers in trauma assessment and care. In the wake of the Newtown, CT, Sandy Hook School shootings in 2012, David led teams to train pastors and community workers to assist with trauma recovery.

He served for twelve years as a member of the Board of Directors of the Licensed Professional Counselors Association of Georgia, was ethics chair for six years, editor or the Georgia Journal of Professional Counseling for ten years, and worked with LPCA-GA to create the Certified Professional Counselor Supervisor (CPCS) credential.

David has published numerous articles, book chapters, and manuscript reviews in the field of Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy and is the co-author of Ready to Learn: Teaching Children How to Succeed in School, a nationally award-winning program for pre-school and early childhood classrooms. In 2015, based on his work in Haiti, he co-authored Trauma Narrative Treatment with his wife, Dr. Donna Lane, adjunct professor of counseling at Mercer University. Trauma Narrative Treatment is a narrative group treatment approach for treating trauma and has been translated into five languages. It is currently in use in 14 countries around the world. His most recent book, published in 2020, and co-authored with Keith Myers, a Mercer Counseling Ph.D. graduate, is titled Counseling Veterans: A Practical Guide.  David is also a children’s author with six children’s books to his credit so far. He is a regular presenter at local, regional, national, and international workshops in the field of Counseling.

David has been married to Dr. Donna Lane for over 40 years, and they have three wonderful, successful children (he says this is his best credential).

Licensure

• Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Georgia
• Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Georgia

Courses taught

Dr. Lane has taught every course in the master’s counseling curriculum except for career/vocational counseling and cultural perspectives in counseling.  He has also taught six courses in the Ph.D. Curriculum and a numerous undergraduate courses at Mercer before moving the counseling program.

Areas of specialization

• Trauma Counseling
• Child and Adolescent Counseling
• Marriage and Family Counseling

Leadership positions in the profession or discipline

• Board of Directors, Licensed Professional Counselor Association of Georgia (LPCA-GA)
• Ethics Chair, LPCA-GA
• Credentialing Chair, LPCA-GA
• Editor, Georgia Journal of Professional Counseling, LPCA-GA

Research and professional interests

Trauma and veterans issues

Research with students or opportunities

Dr. Lane has published multiple papers with students, conducted numerous professional presentations with students, and led counseling trips abroad with groups of students.

Recent publications

Books

• Myers, Keith J. and Lane, W. David (2020) Counseling Military Veterans, Cognella Academic    Publishing, Santa Barbara, CA
• Lane, Donna E. and Lane, W. David (2018). Strength in adversity. Bear’s Place Publishing, Atlanta, GA.
• Lane, Donna E., Lane, W. David, Connell, Karen, and Kireta, Brooke (2017) Strength in Our Story: A Study of the Story of Joseph, Facilitator’s Manual, Bear’s Place Publishing, Lilburn, GA.
• Lane, Donna E., Lane, W. David, Connell, Karen, and Kireta, Brooke (2017) Strength in Our Story: A Study of the Story of Joseph, Participant’s Manual, Bear’s Place Publishing, Lilburn, GA.
• Lane, W. David and Lane, Donna E., (2015) Trauma Narrative Treatment:  A Trauma Recovery Model for Groups, Bear’s Place Publishing, Lilburn, GA.

Referred Journals

• Menard, R., Robinson, K., Lane, D. E., and Lane, W. D. (2018) Group Approach to Narrative Therapy: A Review of the Literature, Journal of Counseling Research and Practice, Vol. 3, Number 1
• Lane, W. David, Myers, Keith J., and Lane, Donna E. (2017) Brief Narrative Trauma Treatment with Survivors of Natural Disaster, Kentucky Journal of Professional Counseling, Issue 1, Vol. 2, Pp 21-31
• Lane, W. David, Myers, Keith J., Hill, Maurice C., and Lane, Donna E. (2016) Utilizing Narrative Methodology in Trauma Treatment with Haitian Earthquake Survivors, The Journal of Loss and Trauma, Vol. 21, Issue 6, Pp. 560-574

Awards or recognition

• 2019 – Second Place-The Selah Awards in the category of Bible Study, for Strength in Adversity (2018) by Donna E. Lane and W. David Lane. The Selah Awards are awarded annually at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference. They are awarded to books in the U.S. within Christian publishing that are considered excellent within their genre.
• 2018 – The Dr. John C. Burns III Lifetime Achievement Award, given by the Licensed Professional Counselors Association of Georgia (LPCA-GA) annually to an individual who has demonstrated leadership within the counseling profession during his or her career; promotion of the profession of counseling and the LPCA organization and mission to key constituencies and decision-makers; education of the counseling community, general public and legislative community on the importance of mental health care and the use of licensed professional counselors (LPCs); and dedication to the responsible growth of the counseling profession and the LPCA.
• 2018 – The Dr. Linda Painter Service Award, given by the Licensed Professional Counselors Association of Georgia (LPCA-GA) to an individual who has demonstrated leadership qualities of an exceptional nature; effective integrated experience with education in an outstanding effort to help people; willingness to take risks for improved clinical supervision; the ability to enlist public support for improved mental health services; representation of the professional ethics of counselors; and repeated outstanding achievements and contributions with a lasting impact and outstanding creativity and courage.
• 2010 – Who’s Who in America
• 2004 – Founder, Mu Upsilon Alpha chapter of Chi Sigma Iota at Mercer University Atlanta, Assistant to the Executive Director, 2004-2006
• 2004 – Alpha Phi Sigma, National Criminal Justice Honor Society
• 2003 – Alpha Delta Omega, National Honor Society for Human Service Education
• 2000 – The Harold R. Metzger Research Award, presented by the Journal of Educational Research for “Outstanding Contributions to the Practice of Education Through Research” for:  Brigman, Greg,  Lane, W. David, Lane, Donna E., Lawrence, Robert and Switzer, Deborah, (1999).  “Teaching Preschoolers School Success Skills”, Journal of Educational Research, Volume 92, Number 6.
• 1992 – Founder, Chi Chi chapter of Chi Sigma Iota Counseling Honor Society at Columbus State University, Assistant to the Executive Director, 1992-1994.
• 1992 – Phi Delta Kappa Educational Honor Society, Foundation Representative, 1992-1993.1988 – Outstanding Doctoral Student, Department of Counseling and Psychological Services, Georgia State University.
• 1985 – Kappa Delta Pi Educational Honor Society.
• 1984- Outstanding Young Men of America.
• 1984 – NAHAM Outstanding Research Award, National Association of Hospital Admitting Managers, for Individualized clinical admission procedures for inpatient psychiatric hospitals, Journal of Hospital Admitting Management.

Contact Dr. Lane

678.547.6301
lane_wd@mercer.edu

Office location:

Administration and Conference Center (AACC) Building, Atlanta campus
Room 368