In this episode of Inquiry Oasis, Dean Regina Deil-Amen speaks with Dr. Michael T. Hartley, professor in the Counseling Program in the Department of Disability and Psychoeducational Studies at the University of Arizona College of Education. Dr. Hartley discusses how his research and teaching bring rehabilitation counseling and mental health counseling together, and how ableism and able privilege shape the institutions, service systems, and assumptions that surround people with disabilities. Dr. Hartley also explains why representation matters in counselor education, including a study in which students’ responses changed depending on whether a person with a visible disability led the training. Dr. Hartley speaks about his own experiences with mental health, his early work as a therapist, and what he continues to learn from his students, describing recovery as a process of rebuilding identity, connection, and purpose even when symptoms remain. The conversation reaches beyond the counseling room into the systems that often require people to reach a point of crisis before support becomes available, and considers what it would mean for counseling, education, and public policy to treat people as full participants in the lives they choose. Dr. Hartley values connecting with scholars who share similar interests, and wishes to recognize Amy C. Davis, a doctoral student In Counselor Education and Supervision whose work on awe and psychedelic-assisted therapy has intersected with Dr. Hartley’s work on mental health and resilience. Amy is a licensed professional counselor and the clinical director of Tucson Counseling Associates, where she oversees a ketamine-assisted therapy clinic. Amy was recognized as a 2025 Erasmus Circle Scholar, the highest honor in the College Education. In spring 2027, Amy and Dr. Hartley will offer SERP 579A: Advances in Psychiatric Rehabilitation, open to graduate students across the university. The course will explore psychedelic-assisted therapy as an emerging approach to promoting neuroplasticity and functional independence, along with foundational concepts related to mental illness and psychiatric rehabilitation. Dr. Hartley is honored to be a 2026 Faculty Fellow with the University Psychedelic Education Program (U-PEP), alongside Amy Davis and colleagues Drs. Heather Carlisle, Janay Young, and Marisa Fernandez from the College of Nursing and the College of Medicine. This philanthropically funded initiative supports the integration of emerging, evidence-based psychedelic science into university curricula, emphasizing education rather than clinical practice. Three Words that Describe Dr. Hartley’s Work: Resilience: How people adapt and reconstruct identity after hardship, with resilience understood as relational, contextual, and supported by others.Dignity: The recognition that people with disabilities are full participants in their own lives, care, and communities.Meaning: The ability to find and rebuild purpose within and beyond the limits of disability.Dr. Hartley’s Recommended Reading: Castification of People with Disabilities: Potential Disempowering Aspects of Classification in Disability Services by E. M. Szymanski and H. T. Trueba Further Reading: Hartley, M. T., & Tarvydas, V. M. (Eds.). (2023). The professional practice of rehabilitation counseling (3rd ed.). Springer Publishing Company.Keltner, D. (2023). Awe: The new science of everyday wonder and how it can transform your life. Penguin Press.Kincaid, K., & Davis, A. C. (2026). The ketamine-assisted psychotherapy treatment companion: Optimize your treatment sessions, improve your mental health, and make lasting positive change. New Harbinger Publications.
