Mark Saunders
Visiting Assistant Professor
Contact
Background
Dr. Saunders serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor at John Carroll University and has held faculty appointments at Liberty University and Regent University. His academic experience includes graduate and doctoral instruction, student advising and mentoring, clinical supervision, and curriculum development.
His clinical background includes counseling individuals, couples, and families and developing intensive counseling programs for marriages affected by betrayal, trauma, emotional disconnection, and intimacy concerns. He combines clinical practice with organizational leadership and the development of services that support relational restoration.
His international experience includes service as a career missionary in Venezuela, where he led child and family support initiatives, trained local staff and volunteers, and advocated for vulnerable children. He has also delivered professional presentations and training in international settings, including Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom.
His professional service includes the American Counseling Association’s Governing Council, the American Counseling Association Foundation Board of Trustees, and the International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors Board of Directors. His leadership contributions include professional governance, international engagement, membership development, and fundraising.
Areas of Expertise
- • Marriage, couple, and family counseling
- • Family systems and relational restoration
- • Intensive couples counseling, betrayal recovery, and emotional and sexual intimacy
- • Human sexuality, sexual shame, and sexual communication
- • Clinical assessment, case conceptualization, and treatment planning
- • Counselor education, clinical supervision, and professional mentoring
- • Multicultural counseling and cross-cultural communication
- • Trauma-informed counseling and education
- • Religion, spirituality, and faith integration in counseling
- • Graduate curriculum development, program assessment, and accreditation preparation
- • International training, community engagement, and advocacy for vulnerable children and families
Research Interests
Dr. Saunders’ scholarly work has examined the relationships among sexual shame, sexual communication, emotional intimacy, sexual satisfaction, and marital satisfaction. His doctoral dissertation investigated pathways linking sexual shame and marital relationship satisfaction through sexual communication, sexual satisfaction, and relational intimacy. He has also contributed to collaborative research examining pornography use, moral disapproval, sexual shame, and couples’ sexual and relationship satisfaction.
From 2021 to 2023, he served as a co-investigator with the Charis Institute on a Templeton-funded project addressing religion and spirituality in counseling. His contributions included development of the Family Competency Addressing Religion and Spirituality (Family CARS) curriculum, designed to strengthen counselors’ and counseling students’ competence in addressing religion and spirituality within marriage and family counseling.
His broader scholarly interests include counselor development, multicultural responsiveness, spirituality in counseling, trauma-informed practice, and relational wellness.
Education
• Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision — Liberty University, May 2021
• M.A. in Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling — Regent University, May 2018
• Certificate in Graduate Studies in Clinical Mental Health Counseling — Regent University, May 2018
• B.S. in Psychology — Liberty University, May 2016
Courses Taught
- • Clinical Evaluations
- • Multicultural Counseling
- • Human Sexuality — master’s and doctoral levels
- • Counseling Skills
- • Concepts of Family Systems
- • Treatment Planning
- • Addiction Therapies — Individuals and Families
- • Career and Lifestyle Development
- • Research and Program Evaluation
Publications
Peer-Reviewed Journal Article
Floyd, C. G., Landa, S., Jr., Saunders, M. A., Sr., & Volk, F. (2020). The moderating influence of moral disapproval of pornography on couples’ sexual and relationship satisfaction. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 46(7), 660–682. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2020.1783409
Doctoral Dissertation
Saunders, M. A., Sr. (2021). The serial mediation of the relationship between sexual shame and marital relationship satisfaction by sexual communication in a parallel relationship of sexual satisfaction and marital relational intimacy [Doctoral dissertation, Liberty University]. Liberty University Digital Commons. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/2916/
