My name is Patricia Huerta (she/her/hers) and I am a doctoral candidate in the Human Development and Family Studies with a concentration in Couple and Family Therapy (CFT). My advisors are Dr. Andrea Wittenborn and Dr. Megan Maas. My research interests center around employing couple therapy interventions, specifically Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Hold Me Tight (HMT), to address a variety of mental health, sexual, and reproductive concerns, namely identifying, preventing, and treating depression, perinatal depression, and sexual dysfunctions and improving couple relationships and sexuality following parenthood. My interests have led me to research the representation of marginalized communities in CFT intervention research, contribute to chapters on ethics in CFT research and depression and anxiety disorders across the lifespan, become a team member on a grant investigating the impact of integrated care on the screening and treatment of perinatal depression in family medicine programs, participate in a systematic review on CFT interventions for mood disorders, and present nationally and internationally on topics ranging from methods to teach integrated care to adolescent sexual and relationship satisfaction. My dissertation focuses on the efficacy of HMT with couples at risk for or experiencing perinatal depression.