Meet theTeam

TED BARTHOLOMEW, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology & Africana Studies at Scripps College. His research focuses on psychotherapy processes and mental illness from international, multicultural, and positive psychological lenses as well as methodology in psychological research.

JEREMY COLEMAN, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor in the Educational Psychology department of the University of Utah. His research investigates the impact of systemic, cultural, and environmental factors on psychotherapy outcomes. He is passionate about scale development, toward improving multiculturally-oriented client-based feedback systems.

DON DAVIS, Ph.D.
The research program Don Davis works with generally falls under the umbrella of positive psychology. The lab, called Humility and the Advancement of Positive Psychology Interventions (HAPPI), generally studies the virtues humility, forgiveness and gratitude. The lab does both basic and applied research. He also does work on spirituality as an aspect of diversity.

CIRLEEN DEBLAERE, Ph.D.
Dr. Cirleen DeBlaere examines the experiences of individuals with multiple and intersecting marginalized identities, with a particular emphasis on the experiences of women of color and sexual minority people of color. To date, her work has focused on the links of minority stressors (e.g., discrimination, prejudice, stigma) to mental health.

JOANNA DRINANE, Ph.D.
Joanna maintains a program of study, which focuses on viewing psychotherapy process and outcome through a cultural lens. In particular, she seeks to capture how intersections of identity shape the therapeutic relationship and the impact cultural conversations have on the change clients make in therapy.

EMMA FREETLY PORTER, Ph.D.
Dr. Emma Freetly Porter is an Assistant Professor in the Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology at Adelphi University. Her research interests include cultural ruptures and resolution in psychotherapy, multicultural orientation education and training, and gender-based violence prevention. She has also served as an MCO consultant and supervisor for students seeking to improve their MCO skills through deliberate practice.

JOSHUA HOOK, Ph.D.
Dr. Joshua Hook is a Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of North Texas. His research interests include humility, religion/spirituality, and multicultural counseling and training.

MARTIN KIVLIGHAN, Ph.D.
Martin Kivlighan is a professor of counseling psychology at The University of Iowa. Broadly, he is interested in process and outcome research for individual and group therapy approaches with an emphasis on contextual and cultural factors that contribute to positive outcomes.

JESSE OWEN, Ph.D.
Dr. Jesse Owen is a Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of Denver. His research seeks to contribute to the enhancement and understanding of couples' relationship functioning, as well as to develop a deeper understanding of the common and specific factors related to therapeutic effectiveness.

ANDRES PEREZ-ROJAS, Ph.D.
Interested in various aspects of culture and multiculturalism, particularly on topics related to language and bilingualism, acculturation, Latino/a mental health, and the role of culture in psychotherapy.

SHAAKIRA HAYWOOD STEWART, Ph.D.
Dr. Shaakira Haywood Stewart is a licensed psychologist and consultant based in New York City, where her private practice is committed to creating safe spaces for diverse individuals to heal, with a focus on people of color and those with intersecting marginalized identities.

KAREN TAO, Ph.D.
Clinical and research interests are guided by an overarching goal to reduce disparities in the access, service, and quality of mental health and education for historically marginalized groups. “How do people negotiate conversations about difference and culture?”, “Why does multicultural competence matter?”

MELANIE WILCOX, Ph.D.
Dr. Melanie (Mel) Wilcox is an Associate Professor in the Counseling Psychology Ph.D. program at the University at Albany in New York. Her research, both qualitative and quantitative, focuses predominantly on racial and socioeconomic justice, including antiracism and whiteness work, particularly in the contexts of psychotherapy/supervision and higher education.

STEPHANIE WINKELJOHN BLACK, Ph.D.
Stephanie Winkeljohn Black uses MCO principles to understand psychotherapy trainees' approach in working with clients of diverse religious, spiritual, and secular (RSS) backgrounds. A forthcoming article in a special issue on Cultural Humility in the Journal of Psychology and Theology features a pilot study on how trainees respond to feedback, a component of MCO, about their attitudes toward RSS identities.

JASMINE R DAVIS, MS
Jasmine is completing her pre-doctoral internship with the San Diego VA Healthcare System's Family Mental Health Practice in California. Jasmine will continue her training with the San Diego VA to complete her postdoctoral residency. Jasmine's research and clinical practice is centered on couple therapy and multicultural orientation.

MATTEO BUGATTI, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychology and Director of the IMPACT Lab at Oregon State University. He received a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University at Albany, State University of New York. Dr. Bugatti is committed to advancing psychotherapy by investigating how emerging technologies can be harnessed to personalize and optimize psychological treatments.