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Chicago | Chair and Professor, Couple and Family Therapy Department

Kristina S. Brown, Ph.D., LMFT

Overview

Overview

Dr. Brown is a Professor and core faculty in the Couple and Family Therapy Department serving as Chair since Fall 2015.

Dr. Brown has held leadership positions serving the field across four states (California, New York, Missouri, and Illinois) and was a member of the Elections Council for American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) from 2018-2021. She has been a Site Visitor for the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE) since 2013 and trained to be a Site Visit Chair in January 2016.

Dr. Brown has a strong history of over 50 regional, national, and international presentations including conferences with AAMFT, Illinois Affiliation of Marriage and Family Therapists (IAMFT), Collaborative Family Healthcare Association (CFHA), Qualitative Research in Mental Health, and the Society for Sex Therapy and Research (SSTAR) and has delivered over 80 units of continuing education.

Dr. Brown is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Feminist Family Therapy and Editor of the new AAMFT Systemic Ethics Textbook (anticipated release for spring 2024). She is also a frequent donator as a quiltmaker to Project Linus!

Dr. Brown identifies as a feminist (social justice) qualitative researcher with a broad focus on the experiences of women across identities as represented in her publications. Her specific areas of interest are varied including approaches to qualitative research, the impact of COVID-19 on couples and families, sexual harassment (#metoo) in higher education, the experiences and treatment of endometriosis (medical family therapy), and infidelity. Other scholarly passion projects are therapy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), exploring tattoos in academia, and academics who swear!

Please email or call me 312.662.4312 if you have questions or would like more information about me or about the Couple and Family Therapy programs. My curriculum vitae is available here.

Education

Education

  • Ph.D., Marriage and Family Therapy, Syracuse University
  • M.A., Marriage and Family Therapy, University of San Diego
  • B.A., English, Minor in Women’s Studies, University of Colorado at Boulder
Professional and Scholarly Positions of Note

Licensure & Certifications

  • Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Feminist Family Therapy (Taylor & Francis)
  • Clinical Fellow, American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (AAMFT)
  • Approved Supervisor, American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (AAMFT)
  • Licensed Marital & Family Therapist (LMFT), MO
  • Member, AAMFT Elections Council (2018-2021)
  • Editor, AAMFT Textbook on Systemic Ethics (Alexandria, Virginia: AAMFT)
  • Commission on Accreditation for MFT Education (COAMFTE) Site Visit Chair and Site Visitor
  • British Columbia’s Degree Quality Assessment Board (DQAB) Secretariat, Expert Reviewer
Select Publications

Select Publications

  • Sterrett, E., Sutton, A., Brown, K.S., Culver-Turner, R., Ketring, S., & Rastogi, M. (2023). “I was simply trying to make it through the day”: An collaborative autoethnography of Couple/Marriage and Family Therapy Program Directors in a diversity and anti-racism peer consultation group. Family Process. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12907
  • Bender, S., Brown, K.S., Kasitz, D.L.H., & Vega, O. (2023). Kids at the door: An autoethnography of our shared research identity as academic mothers in virtual collaboration. In S. Trocchio, L. Hanasono, J. J. Borchert, R. Dwyer, & J. Harvie (Eds.), Academic mothers building online communities: It takes a village (pp. 319-342). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26665-2_20
  • Brown, K.S.*, & Gale, J.* (2022). Dyadic interviews: A chronological review of the literature with research recommendations. Journal of Ethnographic and Qualitative Research, v16(n3), 196-206. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1359947
    *Co-first authors
  • Brown, K.S., Bender, S., Lambrechts, A., Boutelier, S., Farwell, T., Martinez-Suarez, A., & Larasatie, P. (2022). “Set your soul on fire”: A feminist-informed co-constructed autoethnography of sixteen multidiscipline, multicultural, and multilingual globally located academic women exploring gendered academic productivity during Covid-19. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 6(2), 242-264. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12291
  • Brown, K.S., Farwell, T., Bender, S., Boutelier, S., Leonoqicz-Bukala, I., Martinez-Suarez, A., & Lariset, P. (2022). “Part of something larger than myself”: Lessons learned from a multidisciplinary, multicultural, and multilingual international research team of academic women. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 21, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069211073209
  • Brown, K.S., Bender, S., Vega, O., & Kasitz, D. (2021). Academic womxn and their partners: Managing scholarly expectations within the couple relationship in quarantine. Family Relations, 70(4). https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12572 
  • Brown, K.S., Schmidt, B., Morrow, C., & Rougeaux-Burnes, G. (2021). Pre-cohabitation conversations for Relationships: Recommended questions for discussion. Contemporary Family Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-021-09594-6
  • Brown, K.S., Iverson, L., & “Cari.” (2020). Using BDSM (bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, sadism/masochism) to manage endometriosis pain: A case report. Journal of Pain Management, 13(4), 395-399. http://www.novapublishers.org/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=66323 
  • Diamond, R., Brown, K.S., & Miranda, J. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 on the perinatal period through a biopsychosocial systemic framework. Contemporary Family Therapy, 42(3), 205-216. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-020-09544-8
  • Brown, K.S., Londergan, K., & Bluvshtein, M. (2020). And they lived happily ever after: An intimate closeness of Systems and Adlerian Theories in the case of a transgender couple. The Journal of Individual Psychology, 76(1), 128-140. https://doi.org/10.1353/jip.2020.0023 
  • Brown, K.S. (2019). #metoo: Sexual harassment within Psychology, Social Work, and Marriage/Couple and Family Therapy training programs. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 31(4), 195-210.  https://doi.org/10.1080/08952833.2019.1676958
  • Torres Bernal, A., Le, K., West, A. M., & Brown, K.S. (2017). An examination of rates, rank, advancement, and salary of women faculty in COAMFTE-accredited training programs. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 29(1-2), 88-101. https://doi.org/10.1080/08952833.2016.1268449 
  • Harvey, R., Brown, K.S., Miller, B., Williams-Reade, J., Tyndall, L. & Murphy, M. (2016) Theory into research practice: Reflections and recommendations on collaborative feminist research. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 28(4), 136-158. https://doi.org/10.1080/08952833.2016.1235410 
  • Brown, K.S. (2016). An ode to my uterus. Families, Systems, & Health, 34(2), 176. https://doi.org/10.1037/fsh0000205
  • Upton, M., Carwile, T., & Brown, K.S. (2016). In their own words: A qualitative exploration of last statements of capital punishment inmates in the state of Missouri, 1995 – 2011. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 0(0), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1177/0030222816652972
Select Presentations

Select Presentations

  • Brown, K.S. (2023, March). Using Music in Therapy with Relationships, Families, and Individuals. Presentation at the International Family Therapy Association 2023 Conference in Malaga, Spain.
  • Brown, K.S., Morrow, C., & Schmidt, B. (2022, November). Pre-cohabitation Conversations for Relationships. Presentation at Illinois Affiliation of Marriage and Family Therapists 2022 Annual Conference in Naperville, IL.
  • Brown, K.S. (2022, October). The Essentials of Dyadic Interviewing in Qualitative Research. Presentation at AAMFT Intervention Research in Systemic Family Therapy Annual Conference in East Lansing, Michigan.
  • Brown, K.S. (2022, April). Pre-cohabitation Conversations for Relationships. Presentation at the International Family Therapy Association 2022 Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
  • Diamond, R., & Brown, K.S. (2021, November). Mental Health Impacts of COVID-19 on the Perinatal Period. Presentation at the Illinois Affiliation of Marriage and Family Therapists 2021 Annual Conference, Virtual.
  • Brown, K.S. (2021, November). U.S. and International Perspectives of Ways Families Have Been Affected by and Adjusted to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Invited Discussant by the Family and Health and Family Therapy Sections, National Council of Family Relations 2021 Annual Conference, Virtual.
  • Brown, K.S., & LaBrot, B. (2020, October). Bringing Mental Health to the Ngäbe in Bocas del Toro, Panama through Floating Doctors. Podcast Presentation at Collaborative Family Healthcare Association Annual Conference, Virtual.
  • Brown, K.S. & Iverson, L. (2020, April). Using BDSM for Pain Management of a Pain Disorder: A Clinical Case Report of Endometriosis. Presentation at the Society for Sex Therapy and Research 2020 Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL.
  • Brown, K.S. (2020, March). Providing Mental Health Consultations as a Volunteer with Floating Doctors in Panama. Presentation at the International Family Therapy Association 2020 Conference in Basel, Switzerland.
  • Brown, K.S. (2019, April). Creativity with Couples and Families: Using Music in Therapy. Presentation at the Illinois Affiliation of Marriage and Family Therapists 2019 Annual Conference, Naperville, IL.
  • Brown, K.S. (2018, November) #metoophd: Too Close for Comfort as part of the symposium presentation, The #Metoo Movement: Implications for Prevention and Treatment of Sexual Abuse and Harassment, with Baptist, J., Hust, S., Murphy, M., & Rodgers, K. at National Council for Family Relations, San Diego, CA.
  • Brown, K.S. (2018, September). Dyspareunia Due to Endometriosis: A Qualitative Study of its Effect on the Couple Relationship. Presentation at Qualitative Research in Mental Health Conference, Berlin, Germany.
  • Brown, K.S., Harvey, R., Miller, B, & Williams-Reade, J. (2018, September). Reflections and Recommendations on Collaborative Feminist Qualitative Research. Presentation at Qualitative Research in Mental Health Conference, Berlin, Germany.
  • Jimenez, M., Chow, T., & Brown, K.S. (2017, October). Cross-Departmental Collaboration Among Chairs: Interprofessionalism in the Curriculum. Presentation at the Leadership in Higher Education Conference, Baltimore, MD.
  • Brown, K.S. (2017, July). The Utilization of the Consensus Rorschach with Couples. Oral communication at the Congress of the International Society of Rorschach and Projective Methods, Paris, France.
  • Petinelli, D. & Brown, K.S. (2015, April). Understanding Self of the Therapist as the Cornerstone of the Therapeutic Process. Presentation at the Missouri Association of Marriage
    and Family Therapy 2015 Annual Conference, Warrensburg, MO.
  • Carwile, T., Upton, M., & Brown, K.S. (2015, April). Death and Dying: Where Missouri Inmates Stand at Execution. Mental Health in Corrections Conference: Leadership Solutions in a Time of Change, Springfield, MO.
Awards

Awards

  • Family Relations Top Cited Article published in an issue between January 1, 2021 to December 15, 2022. Academic Women and Their Children: Parenting During Covid-19 and the Impact on Engagement in Scholarship. By S. Bender, K.S. Brown, D. Kasitz, & O. Vega
  • 2021 SSTAR’s Best Conceptual Poster Award for Chasing the Two-Headed Dragon: Using BDSM to Manage Endometriosis Pain. By K.S. Brown, L. Iverson, & “Cari”
  • 2020 Adler University Excellence in Teaching Award
  • Recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Service Award for Education from the Missouri Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (MOAMFT), 2014
  • Recipient of the President’s Award from The School of Professional Psychology at Forest Institute, 2014
  • Recipient of the Family Process New Writer’s Fellowship, 2014
  • Springfield Business Journal’s Class of 2013, 40 Under 40, 2013

Faculty

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