Barbra Fletcher-Stephens, Ph.D.
Core Faculty
(626) 577-6141, E-mail
Office Location: Eureka 14
Office Hours: Tuesdays 10:00 – 6:00 p.m.,
Wednesdays and Thursdays 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.  

Teaching Interests:  

• Evolving epistemology of family therapy (e.g. systems theory, postmodern practices of family therapy, ethnic and cultural reflections, marital and family assessment, and clinical supervision).  
  
• It is essential to engage students in critical inquiry, analysis, and reflection, assist learners to demonstrate competence (building a higher synthesis of knowledge, skill and reason), and emulate conscience and compassion with an unfeigned commitment to integrity and personal responsibility.  

Education:  

Ph.D. The Union Institute and University, Cincinnati, General Psychology-Individual and Family Studies
M.A. The University of Akron, Ohio, Marriage and Family Therapy
M.Ed. Kent State University, Ohio, Counselor Education
B.A. Wilberforce University, Ohio, Sociology/Psychology  

Research Interests:  

• Present scholarships unites systems concepts (family and larger systems related to ethnic consciousness).  
• Connections between families as an interpretative community.  
• Contemporary issues and levels of family functioning from the perspective of the researcher, practitioner and supervisor.  
• Practical approaches to accessing indigenous community-based groups.  
• Creating pathways for those we serve to have equal voice in therapeutic outcomes.
• Use of the concepts of social construction as a way to bridge theory development with the process of clinical practice.
• Family assessment – examining circular causality and meaning in assessment process. 
• Children in family contexts with emphasis on developmental and treatment issues.

Scholarships:  

• Fletcher Stephens, B.J. & Cookson, P. (March 2005).  Current Trends in Clinical Practice & Research:  A Local Symposium.  Plenary speaker at the Oregon Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Oregon.  
• Fletcher Stephens, B.J. (March 2004).  Emphasizing client competence:  Developing service delivery system for working with individuals experiencing residential instability.  Presentation at International Family Therapy Association XIV World Congress, Istanbul, Turkey.  
• Fletcher Stephens, B.J. & McAdory, D.D. (October 2002).  Black Families:  Building a future based on past experiences.  Presented at the 60th American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Weaving the Family, Cincinnati, Ohio.  
• Fletcher Stephens, B.J. (December 2000).  Collaborative Juvenile Justice:  Mental Health Interventions with high risk children and youth.  Presented at the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health.  Washington, D.C. 
• Fletcher Stephens, B.J. & McAdory, D.D. (March 1999).  Working with Black Families: Understanding Kinship Networking Patterns.  Presented at The Twenty-Sixth Annual National Conference and Celebration of The Black Family in America:  Countdown to the Millennium.  The University Of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky.  
• Fletcher Stephens, B.J. & Sand-Pringle, C. (April 1999). Evolving Epistemology in Family Therapy:  Implications for Treatment, Research, Teaching and Supervision in a Multicultural World.  Presented at the International Family Therapy Association XI World Congress, Akron, Oregon.  
• Review Board Member for the Journal of Systemic Therapies.  
• Test Reviewer Buros Institute of Mental Measurements, Family Assessment series.
• Abstract Reviewer American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

Publications:       

• Fletcher-Stephens, B.J. (2005).  Twin legacies of African American Families.  Spring, 2005.  Journal of Systemic Therapies.       
• Fischer, J.L., Pidcock, B.W. & Fletcher-Stephens, B.J. (2005).  Family response to      adolescence:  Youth and alcohol.  Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly.  
• Fletcher-Stephens, B.J. & Smith, J. (In review).  Developing a Service Delivery System for Working with Families Experiencing Residential Instability.  The Family Therapy Journal.       
• Fletcher-Stephens, B.J. & McAdory, D.D. (In preparation).  Family Narratives: Voices that validate collective and individual ethnic consciousness.  Journal of Black Studies.         
• Fletcher-Stephens, B.J. (In preparation). Collaborative Juvenile Justice:  Mental     Health Interventions with high risk children and youth:  A literature review.       
• Fletcher-Stephens, B.J. (In preparation).  Practical Applications of the Ericksonian      Method:  Identifying strengths in African American Children.  Contemporary Family Therapy.       
• Fletcher-Stephens, B.J. (In preparation).  Evolving Epistemology in Family Therapy,      Families as an Interpretive Community:  Implications for Therapy, Research, Teaching and Supervision.  Merrill Prentice Hall Publishers.     
• Fletcher-Stephens, B.J. (In preparation).  Therapist Tool:  Helping Parents to Talk      With their Children.  Sage Publishers.     
• Fletcher-Stephens, B.J. (In preparation).  Demystifying marital and family assessment:  The self of the therapist in a supportive role.  Merrill Prentice Hall Publishers.