Expertise

Research Areas: 

  • Mental health/mental wellbeing/psychological distress
  • Relationship functioning/relationship wellbeing
  • Forgiveness, self-forgiveness, positive psychology
  • Counseling interventions - individual counseling, group counseling, psychoeducation
  • Cultural or systems (e.g., racism, discrimination) factors in mental health
  • Wellbeing in people with chronic illness/disability (spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain)
  • Psychological help-seeking stigma and stigma of mental illness

Research Methods/Skills/Analyses:

  • Quantitative methods, mixed methods, qualitative methods
  • Intervention development, process and outcome research, program evaluation
  • Longitudinal design and analysis
  • Analyzing non-independent data (e.g., hierarchical linear modeling/multilevel modeling, actor partner interdependence model [APIM], growth curve modeling)
Past Affiliations

Associate Professor, Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, and Counseling, Auburn University (past)

Assistant Professor, Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, and Counseling, College of Education, Auburn University

Communities
Special Education, Psychology, Mental Health Services
Degrees
PhD, Iowa State University, Counseling Psychology, 2014
MS, Iowa State University, Psychology, 2010
BA, Wartburg College, Psychology and Community Sociology, 2008
Keywords
counseling racism or race relation discrimination interpersonal communication applied psychology chronic illnesses mental health spinal cord injury multiple sclerosis chronic pain mental health services psychotherapy positive psychology forgiveness self-forgiveness help-seeking stigma