Texas Tech University

Couple, Marriage, and Family Therapy

Research Training

With active mentoring by faculty, students rapidly gain skills, experience, and confidence in research. Students have presented their research at national and international conferences and have published in journals prior to graduation.

All faculty members are engaged in research. Generally, these provide opportunities to gain experience in research by working with the faculty members. In addition, each student will design a research project with the assistance of her or his faculty Adviser.

Current faculty research includes:

  • Understanding romantic relationship dynamics; sexuality and chronic disease
  • Technology and the internet's influence on couple and family relationships; Social justice issues in the MFT profession
  • Family processes related to therapy retention, common factors and MFT training
  • Infidelity treatment and healing, common factors and processes of therapeutic change
  • Trauma, grief and loss, infertility and reproductive loss, poor pre/postnatal diagnoses, and resiliency in families living with medical/intellectual conditions of loved ones.
  • Studies intimate partner violence, clinical intervention with intimate partner violence, and neurological patterns associated with intimate partner violence.
  • Family processes related to substance use trajectories and culturally sensitive clinical and research practices.

Sample student research includes:

  • The role of feedback in therapist training of facilitative interpersonal skills
  • The experience of language for those who have received treatment for a substance use disorder
  • Alcohol use disorder recovery and relationships: The impact of family functioning on the Pre-frontal cortex and adult attachment styles of individuals recovering from alcohol use disorder
  • Attributes of substance use disorder: A decision tree anaylsis
  • Exploring the impact of therapist feedback on stress and optimism in substance use disorder treatment
  • Testing relationship curvilinearity and identifying the moderators between technology use and individual and interpersonal well-being outcomes
  • Surviving sex trafficking: A coping journey
  • The relation between "outness" and resilience among sexual minority youth: The moderating effects of family support
Grants

Faculty members are active with a number of sponsored research and service projects. Usually these grants provide additional opportunities for students to gain clinical experience for some compensation. Recent Grant Activities include:

Recent Grant Activities:

Cameron C. Brown, Ph.D.

Grants Funded:

Brown, C. C., Fife, S., Cravens, J., Smith, D., D'Aniello, C., Piland, N., Soloski, K., Bradshaw, S., Payne, B., & McGill, T. (2018). Outreach to Rural Pediatric Trauma Patients and Their Families through Telemental Health Services. Applied grant submitted to the CH Foundation, Lubbock, TX. Requested $16,807.00. Current status: funded.

Fife, S. T., Brown, C. C., Smith, D., Piland, N., Bradshaw, S., Cravens, J., Soloski, K., D'Aniello, C., Payne, B., & McGill, T. (2018). Assessment and Treatment of PTSD in Pediatric Trauma Patients and Family Members. Texas Tech University Office for Research and Innovation: 2019 Scholarship Catalyst Award, Lubbock, TX. Requested $4,000. Current status: funded.

Cravens, J., Piland, N., & Brown, C. C. (2018). Family Therapy Clinic Innovations in Therapeutic Services and Training. Applied grant from Texas Tech Alumni Association: 2018 Excellence Grant, Lubbock, TX. Requested $10,000. Current status: funded.

Jaclyn Cravens, Ph.D., LMFT-A

Internal Grants:

Cravens, J.D. Online and Distance Education proposal for the Addictive Disorders and Recovery Studies program – Course Development grant ADRS 4329. Texas Tech University, eLearning Worldwide. (Accepted Dec. 22, 2015: $5,000.00).

Cravens, J.D. Online and Distance Education proposal for the Addictive Disorders and Recovery Studies program – Course Development grant ADRS 3329. Texas Tech University, eLearning Worldwide. (Accepted Dec. 22, 2015: $5,000.00).

External Grants:

Cravens, J. D., Springer, N., & Brown, C. Family Therapy Clinic Innovations in Therapeutic Services and Training. Texas Tech Alumni Associations 2018 Excellence Grant. (Awarded on June 01, 2018: $10,000).

Lertora, I., Cravens, J., Phelan-Glasscock, K, Crews, C., & Moffit, B. (CO-I). Counselor Practicum and Internship Scholarship. The CH Foundation, Inc. (Grant Awarded December 2018: $75,000).

Carissa D'Aniello, Ph.D.

Extramural Grants:

Outreach to Rural Pediatric Trauma Patients and Their Families through Telemental Health Services

  • Year: 2018
  • Funding Source: Applied grant submitted to the CH Foundation, Lubbock, TX.
  • Amount Requested: $16,807.00
  • Amount Funded: Finalist
  • Role: Co-PI (Co-PIs: Brown, C. C., Fife, S., Cravens, J., Smith, D., D'Aniello, C., Piland, N., Soloski, K., Bradshaw, S., Payne, B., & McGill, T.)

Assessment and Treatment of PTSD in Pediatric Trauma Patients and Family Members

  • Year: 2018
  • Funding Source: Texas Tech University Office for Research and Innovation: 2019 Scholarship Catalyst Award
  • Amount Requested: $4,000
  • Amount Funded: $4,000
  • Role: Co-PI (Co-PIs: Fife, S. T., Brown, C. C., Smith, D., Piland, N., Bradshaw, S., Cravens, J., Soloski, K., D'Aniello, C., Payne, B., & McGill, T.)

Stephen Fife, Ph.D. 

Grants funded:

Fife, S. T. (2018). Development of an Effective Treatment for Pediatric Trauma Patients and Their Families. Submitted to the TTU Office of Research & Innovations, Scholarship Catalyst Program, ($4,000, January – December 2019).

Proposals Submitted (Under Review)

Kim, J. H., Fife, S. T., Sametz, R., Kim, S. (under review). Research Training in Burn Injury for Residents of Rural Areas (BIRRA). Submitted to the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training (ARRT) Program, HHS-2019-ACL-NIDILRR-ARHF-0317 ($750,000, October 2019 – September 2024).

Brown, C., & Fife, S. T. (under review). Outreach to Rural Pediatric Trauma Patients and Their Families through Telemental Health Services. Submitted to the CH Foundation, ($16,807, January – December 2020).

Doug Smith, Ph.D.

A BRIEF INTERVENTION FOR SITUATIONAL IPV, June 1, 2012 – March 31, 2014
IN CLINIC COUPLES The Hogg Foundation, Funded: $17,222.00
Matching Department Funds: $1000.00. Matching College Funds: $5225.00

NEUROIMAGING FEMALE VICTIMS OF IPV, July 2013 – present
Texas Tech University, Funded: $10,000

A BRIEF INTERVENTION FOR SITUATIONAL IPV, October, 2013 – present
IN CLINIC COUPLES Verizon Foundation, Funded: $20,000

Kristy Soloski, Ph.D., LMFT-A

Grants funded:

National College Athletic Association, NCAA CHOICES Alcohol Education Grant. Team effort: student athletes as advocates for safer drinking strategies and accurate beliefs about alcohol use. Submitted: February 14, 2018. Funded: April 16, 2018. Project Period May 2018 – May 2021. Total Direct Costs: $30,000.

Faculty Research Seed Grant, College of Human Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX. The study of relational influences on substance use from adolescence to young adulthood, 2014. Award Amount: $5,000.

Nicole Piland, Ph.D.

Grants/Contracts funded:

06/10 – pres Early Head Start - Mental Health Specialist Supervisor (Co-PI: 15%)

  • In collaboration with Stephanie Shine (70%), Mallory Boylan (15%) Provide clinical supervision to mental health specialist position/provider.
  • Total Students Funded: 2 doctoral students & 5 masters students
  • 6/18 – 5/19
    • Early Head Start (co-PI: 15%) (722,782)
    • Supervising: Claire Eggleston (CMFT masters student)
  • 6/17 - 5/18
    • Early Head Start (co-PI: 15%) ($523,883)
    • Supervising: Claire Eggleston (MFT masters student)
  • 6/16 – 5/17
    • Early Head Start (co-PI: 15%) ($514,842, $12,357 & $9,041)
    • Supervising Katelyn Pevehouse & Claire Eggleston
  • 6/15 – 5/16
    • Early Head Start (co-PI: 15%) ($628, 068)
    • Supervising: Katelyn Pevehouse (MFT masters student)

10/10 – pres Lubbock County Juvenile Justice Center (LCJJC) Mental Health Service Contract (2018 Total: $74,222) (2019 Jan to June TOTAL: $35,735)

  • Supervise therapy providers in residential center and probation services Develop and implement group curriculum, outcome data collection and evaluation

08/18 – pres Family Therapy Clinic Innovations in Therapeutic Service and Training
(TTU Alumni Association: $10,000)

  • Teletherapy training and service delivery for underserved Texas communities who do not have access to quality affordable mental health services.

11/14 – pres Medical Family Therapy Clinical Supervisor (pro bono contract)

  • Project coordinator for (5) therapists-in-training providing family therapy services to PICU and Pediatric Oncology patients at Covenant hospital, as well as supervising clinical services provided at Joe Arrington Cancer Center
  • 05/14 – 5/18 Children's Advocacy Center of the South Plains (CAC) Clinical Supervisor Supervise (7) therapists-in-training providing Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to victims of trauma and their caregivers. Attend Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) meetings. (2017 $2,600)

12/15 - 12/16 TTU Scholarship Catalyst Program ($3500 awarded for 2016)

  • Medical Family Therapy Collaboration (with Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Southwest) to provide medical family therapy services to families housed at RMHCSW.

Couple, Marriage, and Family Therapy