Counseling, Educational Psychology & Research
Counseling Psychology Faculty and Research
The Counseling Psychology program places a strong emphasis on engaging in the research process. Faculty supervise research teams that provide students with opportunities to gain experience with the research process, present at conferences, and publish. Current faculty study LGBT issues, international issues, health disparities, career development, multicultural and early family career issues, sexuality, wellness and masculinity.
Sara K. Bridges
Associate Professor
Ball Hall 304C
Email | 901.678.2081
Interests include counselor training, couples and family therapy, human sexuality, and constructivist theory.
Madeline Brodt
Assistant Professor
Ball Hall 304A
Email | 901.678.2841
Interests include multicultural issues (particularly disability, gender, LGBTQIA+, and racial justice issues), sexual and interpersonal violence, intersection of culture and trauma, and creating effective and socially just psychologist training.
Richard Lightsey
Professor
Ball Hall 303C
Email | 901.678.4169
Interests include resilience, the relationship between stress and depression, stress and coping strategies.
Chrisann Schiro-Geist
Professor
Bldg. 29, Room 119
Email | 901.678.4303
Interests include international, vocational, and disability-related issues in counseling. Current research projects are in the areas of vocational psychology, as it relates to return-to-work for incarcerated persons, and transitions to work for high school seniors with disabilities. The research team is examining the role of animal-assisted therapy in the prison and academic settings. In addition, the TigerLIFE program has a focus on working with young adults attending the University of Memphis in a post-secondary transition program. Graduate students are working with these post-secondary transition students as they accomplish career decision-making for persons with special needs. A "systems approach "to the team’s work addresses the individuals’ characteristics, as well as environmental barriers.