Demetrius Cofield

Demetrius Cofield
Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Studies

Biography

Dr. Demetrius Cofield is an Assistant Professor in Counselor Education at The Ohio State University. He earned his PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2022. He has more than a decade of experience in mental health and addictions counseling working with marginalized populations and is a licensed counselor and supervisor in Ohio, North Carolina, and Texas. He also maintains a private practice and approaches counseling from a humanistic, culturally conscious, and critical perspective.

Dr. Cofield is committed to anti-racist pedagogy in counselor education and preparing counselors who are authentic, critically conscious and responsive to the cultural and social contexts that influence clients’ lives. As a BlackCrit scholar, he is passionate about mental health advocacy within Black communities and increasing Black representation in counseling and counselor education. Dr. Cofield joined The Ohio State University in August 2024.

Education

  • PhD, Counselor Education and Supervision, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2022
  • M.Ed, Counseling and Development (Clinical Mental Health Counseling), Winthrop University, 2013
  • B.A, Experimental Psychology (Minor: African American Studies), University of South Carolina, 2011

Research Interests

Research Summary

Dr. Cofield’s research interests are rooted in his dedication to being a scholar-activist and center the ways anti-Blackness, racism, and other systems of oppression influence mental health, counseling, and counselor education. His research agenda focuses on the mental health and counseling experiences of Black men, Black masculinity, racialized experiences within counseling and counselor education, and the application of critical theories to counseling research, practice and education. His current scholarship explores Black men’s experiences in therapy and counselor education, anti-Blackness within counseling, and the use of BlackCrit and other critical theoretical frameworks to strengthen socially just counseling practice and education.

Selected Publications

  • Cofield, D., Jean-Philippe, S., & Choy, D. (In Press). What happens after they do: How Black men experience and make meaning of therapy. Journal of Men’s Studies 
  • Cofield, D. & Rakes, A. (2026). Black pain, white care: A BlackCrit analysis of Black masculinity and therapy in Shrinking. Journal of Black Studies. https://doi.org/10.1177/00219347261485506
  • Brat, M., Samuels, A., Cofield, D., Charnely, D., & Bellin, Z. (2026). A peer-based reflexive study on counselor educator social justice advocacy. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 39(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2026.2732967 
  • Cofield, D. & Rakes, A. (2026). Full-time career retirement: A Black man’s narrative of survival and protecting his peace. Adultspan Journal, 25(2), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.33470/2161-0029.1242 
  • Cofield, D. & Tamakloe, I. (2026). From marginalization to belonging: A critical literature review of Black men in counselor education. Journal of Black Studies, 57(6), 651-670_._ https://doi.org/10.1177/00219347261441804
  • Jean-Philippe, S., Merlin-Knoblich, C., & Cofield, D. (2026). An examination of generation, gender, and race centrality as predictors of stigma and help-seeking attitudes in African American adults. Journal of Counseling & Development, 104(3), 444-459_._ https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.70038
  • Cofield, D. (2026). (Re)humanizing Blackness: Integrating BlackCrit in the mental health counseling of Black clients. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, 65(1), 11-20.  https://doi.org/10.1002/johc.70034  
  • Cofield, D., Jean-Philippe, S., & Glover, B. N. (2026). Tolerated or celebrated? Black men in doctoral counselor education programs. Counselor Education and Supervision, 65(1), 100-110 https://doi.org/10.1002/ceas.70010 
  • Simon, T. & Cofield, D. (2026). (Re)humanizing Black boys: Dismantling the school to prison pipeline through school counselor social justice advocacy. Journal of African American Males in Education. 17(1), 71-85.
  • Cofield, D., Shelby, D., & Shannon, J. (2025). A phenomenological exploration of Black men’s racial and gender preferences for therapists. Journal of African American Studies 29(2), 191-211_._ https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-025-09703-x
  • Cofield, D. (2025). “You good, bruh?”: An exploration of socially constructed barriers to counseling for millennial Black men. The Professional Counselor. 15(1). 52-67. https://doi.org/10.15241/dc.15.1.52 
  • Cofield, D. (2024). Examining the experienced barriers to seeking mental health treatment among metropolitan millennial Black men. Metropolitan Universities, 35(3), 129-149. https://doi.org/10.18060/27329 
  • Cofield, D. (2023). Is it okay not to be okay? A critical literature review of barriers to mental health treatment for Black men. Journal of Black Studies, 54(8), 681-700. https://doi.org/10.1177/00219347231200885   
  • Mingo, T. & Cofield, D. (2023). Developmental and social considerations when conducting research with children and adolescents. In B. Zyromski & C. Dimmitt (Eds.). Research in the Schools: Advancing the Evidence-base for the School Counseling Profession (pp. 97-116). Oxford Press.

Selected Presentations

  • Nemati, D. & Cofield, D. (2026, June). Protection and trust in human subjects research: An intersectional lens. Invited presentation at the Intersectional Qualitative Research Methods Institute. Columbus, OH. 
  • Cofield, D. (2026, April) RaceCrits in counselor education: Pedagogy for unforgetting histories and (re)imagining client futures. Paper presentation at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. Los Angeles, CA.
  • Cofield, D., Jean-Philippe, S., & Glover, B. N. (2026, April). A seat at the table: Black men’s motivations and experiences in doctoral counselor education. Roundtable at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. Los Angeles, CA.
  • Cofield, D., Jean-Philippe, S., & Glover, B. N. (2026, March) Celebrated or tolerated? The experiences of Black men in CES programs. Presentation at the National Cross-cultural Counseling and Education Conference. Charlotte, NC.  
  • Cofield, D., Fuselier, C., & Crawford, S. (2026, March). RaceCrits in counselor education: Critical pedagogy for multicultural counseling. Presentation at the National Cross-cultural Counseling and Education Conference. Charlotte, NC.  
  • Cofield, D. (2026, March). “You good, bruh?” An exploration of socially constructed barriers to counseling for millennial Black men. Presentation at the National Cross-cultural Counseling and Education Conference. Charlotte, NC.  
  • Cofield, D., Jean-Philippe, S., & Glover, B. N. (2025, October). Tolerated or celebrated? The lived experiences of Black men in doctoral counselor education programs. Presentation at the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision bi-annual conference. Philadelphia, PA.  
  • Cofield, D., Crawford, S., & Fuselier, C. (2025, October). Beyond the basics: Incorporating RaceCrits into the multicultural counseling course curriculum. Presentation at the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision bi-annual conference. Philadelphia, PA. 
  • Cofield, D. (2025, July). “You good, bruh?”Overcoming barriers to mental health treatment for Black men. Invited presentation at the Association for Adult Development and Aging Conference. Virtual session.
  • Cofield, D. & Spinks, T. (2025, March). “You good, bruh?” How race and masculinity influence millennial Black men’s decisions to seek counseling. Presentation at the American Counseling Association Annual Conference. Orlando, FL.
  • Cofield, D. & Spinks, T. (2024, March). “You good, bruh?” Social barriers to millennial Black men seeking counseling. Presentation at National Board of Certified Counselors Bridging the Gap Symposium. Washington D.C., MD. 
  • Cofield, D. & Spinks, T. (2023, September). “You good, bruh?” Why millennial Black men don’t seek counseling. Presentation at Black Mental Health Symposium. Jacksonville, Fl.