Research
Couple and Family Therapy faculty and students are actively involved in research both inside the University and in community-based programs.
Dr. Adrian Blow, HDFS Chairperson and Professor, conducts research on issues related to families and trauma. His most recent work is focused on military families, change processes in family therapy, and couple resiliency processes.
Dr. Ahnalee Brincks, Associate Professor, is a public health scientist whose research is situated at the intersection of prevention science and advanced statistical methods. She focuses on optimizing interventions by uncovering how, and for whom, interventions are most effective. She is an expert in adaptive interventions and the study designs used to develop them
Dr. Lekie Dwanyen, Dean's Research Associate, studies the relational effects of traumatic stress and mass trauma exposure. She is interested in the development of family-level traumatic stress interventions for communities internally or externally displaced from war and political violence.
Dr. Kendal Holtrop, Associate Professor, maintains a program of research focused on parenting and parenting interventions. Her research activities include adapting and implementing evidence-based interventions in community settings as well as examining parenting practices and family processes to inform intervention work.
Dr. Chi-Fang Tseng, Assistant Professor, studies mental health outcomes among marginalized populations. Her research focuses on culturally adapted evidence-based couple interventions, with particular attention to couples with marginalized identities. Her goal is to provide tailored and effective interventions to reduce mental health disparities.
Dr. Andrea Wittenborn, Professor and Couple and Family Therapy Doctoral Program Director, studies the process and outcomes of interventions for depression, including methods for personalizing treatment. Her research targets interpersonal mechanisms of depression with the goal of decreasing depressive symptoms and enhancing close relationships.