Meet the Team

Lab Director: Judith Biesen, PhD

Meet the Team - Judith Biesen

Dr. Judith Biesen, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Mental Health Law & Policy at the University of South Florida. Dr. Biesen is a licensed, clinical psychologist in the State of Florida. Her teaching interests focus on clinical skills and applied work in behavioral health settings, couple/family relationships, statistics/methods. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Notre Dame and completed a clinical internship at the Southwest Consortium in Albuquerque, followed by a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of New Mexico Hospitals.

Her research focuses on the use of a wide range of methodological approaches (e.g., survey, observation, daily diary) to understand the processes that underlie the co-occurrence of relationship dysfunction (e.g., verbal and physical aggression, relationship dissolution) and behavioral health challenges in underserved populations as well as the contexts within which they co-occur and that contribute to their co-occurrence. This includes the impact of sexual and gender minority stress among LGBTQIA persons, cognitive decline among older adults, personality, and social support networks/greater contexts (e.g., neighborhood quality) in which people are more likely to experience relationship distress or mental health problems and are more likely to use substances. The goal of her research is the translation of the knowledge gained from this basic research into effective interventions that focus on prevention and treatment to improve both intra- and interpersonal outcomes among marginalized and underserved persons.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

  1. Biesen, J.N. & Doss, B.D. (2013). Couples’ agreement on presenting problems predicts engagement and outcomes in problem-focused couple therapy. Journal of Family Psychology, 27, 658-663. doi: 10.1037/a0033422
  2. Doss, B.D., Mitchell, A., Georgia, E. J., Biesen, J.N., & Rowe, L. S. (2015). Improvements in closeness, communication, and psychological distress mediate effects of couple therapy for veterans. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 83, 405-415.doi: 10.1037/a0038541
  3. Biesen, J.N., Schooler, D.E., & Smith, D.A. (2016). What a difference a pronoun makes: I/we versus you/me and worried couples’ perceptions of their interaction quality. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 35, 180-205. doi: 10.1177/0261927X15583114
  4. Jensen, S.A., Biesen, J.N., Graham, E. (2017). A meta-analytic review of play therapy with emphasis on outcome measures. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 48, 390-400. doi: 10.1037/pro0000148
  5. Sosa-Lowry, L., Jensen, S.A., & Biesen, J.N. (2017). Low Socioeconomic Status and Ethnicity do not predict Dropout of Behavioral Parent Training. Journal of Behavior, 2, 1015-1019
  6. Biesen, J.N., Roddy, M.K., & Doss, B.D. (2022). The Role of Five-Factor Model Personality Traits in a Web-Based Relationship Improvement Program. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice. doi: 10.1037/cfp0000221
  7. Biesen, J.N. & Smith, D.A. (2022). Daily Relationship Satisfaction and Depressive Symptoms: The Moderating Roles of Support Quality and Support Over- and Underprovision. Journal of Family Psychology. doi: 10.1037/fam0000998
  8. Biesen, J.N., Orban, D., Ford, T., Lentsch, J., Balch, T., Frost, M., Fink, B.C. (2022). Contributions of Demand/Withdraw Processes and Alcohol Consumption on Emotional Flooding in Distressed Violent versus Distressed Non-Violent Couples. Journal of Family Violence. doi: 10.1007/s10896- 022-00419-0
Learn More About Dr. Biesen