I initially entered the field of psychology to be a bereavement researcher. Having observed the profound distress associated with losses of all kinds, I coupled my fascination with human resilience with my belief in the tremendous healing potential of the psychotherapeutic process. I was intrigued to know more about how grievers maneuver through and eventually adapt to painful and difficult loss experiences, especially when, for some people, their grief journey is exacerbated by little or poor-quality social support, deeply distressing spiritual struggles, or the added trauma of losing a loved one suddenly and violently, such as through murder, suicide, or an accidental fatality.

My program of research bears on issues of death, dying, loss, and grief, which informs the psychotherapy I provide to clients. For instance, results from my studies with colleagues at the University of Memphis and elsewhere have highlighted the role of social support in facilitating the bereavement experience, especially when the support is satisfying and needed. However, in other cases, we found that when social support was lacking or otherwise “negative” that it made the grief experience for many people much more difficult. Our studies also revealed the unique relation between bereavement distress and a crisis of faith, especially for individuals who are grieving a loved one who was murdered, took their own life, or died in fatal accident. Such findings prompted us to develop and validate a scale to measure spiritual distress in bereavement, called the Inventory of Complicated Spiritual Grief (ICSG 2.0).

Please see my downloadable publication list to access links to peer-reviewed papers on these and other research findings.

RESEARCH & FACULTY EXPERIENCE