Jennifer Gonyea

Education

Research

My research encompasses the clinical aspects of my role in the department as well as my role as a faculty member: the practice and supervision of couple and family therapy as well as the scholarship of teaching and learning (pedagogy). I am not taking doctoral students as a primary advisor. 

Teaching

I primarily teach courses relevant to my role as an MFT (undergraduate courses: It's Complicated: Relationships in the 21st Century, Issues in Family Systems, and Family Intervention; graduate courses: MFT Practicum and MFT Supervision). I am also actively involved in mentoring both undergraduate and graduate students in their professional development through supervising clinical practice, Supervisiors in Training (SITs) as well as applied and research internships. 

Editorial Appointments

Service

Outreach

I serve the Athens-Clarke County community through my clinical private practice by actively seeing clients and through supervising pre-license clinicians.  

DEI/SJ statement

Brief Bio

My role as faculty is primarily clinical mentorship and instruction at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, with a smaller emphasis on research.  I began working with clients in 1996 and have over 10 years of full-time clinical experience with children, adolescents, families, and couples in a variety of environments that span the most restrictive (inpatient hospitalization) to the least (in-home, community-based practice).  I specialize in systemic and relational work with a strengths-based perspective that uses evidence-based processes and treatment, including Emotionally Focused Therapy and EMDR. My strong commitment to clinical practice has led to a variety of positions with administrative oversight of clinical practice and clinical education leading to a close connection to the clinical community across Georgia. For example, I have been the Interim Clinical Director as well as the Interim Executive Director of the Samaritan Center for Counseling and Wellness, the Interim Director of the MFT Doctoral Program; the Director of the Interdisciplinary Certificate in MFT (currently); and serve on local, state, and national Boards related to clinical practice. I maintain a part-time private practice in Athens, GA with a particular emphasis on working with couples and a commitment to reserving 10-15% of my practice for low-cost services to the local community.

Scholarly Overview and Teaching/Mentorship Philosophy

When I transitioned from full-time clinician to teacher/instructor/mentor, I was able to maintain my identity as a clinician by thinking of myself as having changed the modality, focus, and venues in which I practice rather than altering my professional identity.  As a teacher/mentor, I am energized and excited when I see students make connections or apply content in ways that are meaningful to them – similar to witnessing clients make those connections.  To that end, I am influenced by feminist pedagogy in conjunction with Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development and Kolb’s experiential learning. These epistemological and pedagogical philosophies merge to inform my approach to teaching as creative and active, yet responsive and spontaneous.

As a feminist-informed therapist, supervisor, and mentor, I strive to make space for the variability of the human experience not just on the basis of sex and the subjugation of women’s voices, but with regard to gender identity, color, race, immigration status, first language, and the myriad ways we inhabit the world. The focus on the variability of human experience and systemic oppression of particular voices is central to all of my roles as a faculty member, instructor, supervisor, mentor, and scholar. My teaching and mentoring philosophy starts with a conversation about expectations: what does the program expect them to learn in the course; what do we expect of each other in our respective roles; and how can we expect to negotiate differences in our expectations? Perhaps, most importantly, students know how their work will be evaluated: what criteria, what constitutes proficiency vs. mastery vs. needing development. In addition to conversations about how our positionality impacts the learning process are central to the navigation of my relationships with students and supervisees. 

My perspective as a clinical supervisor in Marriage and Family Therapy aligns well with the pedagogical influences and values I’ve noted. I integrate my pedagogical philosophy into my role as a clinical supervisor through creating space for historically oppressed voices in supervision and encouraging supervisees to examine ways to attune to potentially marginalized voices in the therapy room, striving to achieve a balance of support and challenge for my supervisees, and using creativity and spontaneity to create experiential opportunities for growth.

Though the least of my roles involves research, my areas of scholarship focus on supporting students' and trainees' learning through investigation of pedagogy and/or interventions. Specifically, I publish Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) research with an emphasis on supporting the development of students’ writing, student engagement, and best DEI/SJ instructional practices (syllabi, class activities, inclusive classroom culture, etc.). In addition, I conduct research specific to the supervision and training of novice clinicians across disciplines and professional MFT identity development.

Books

Gonyea, J. L. (2010). Instructors Manual for Intimate Relationships by J. Bradbury and B. Karney. New  York: W.W. Norton & Co. 

Gonyea, J.L. (2013). Instructors Manual for Intimate Relationships by J. Bradbury and B. Karney (2nd Ed). New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Gonyea, J.L. & Kozak, M.S. (2015). Navigating Career Roadmaps: Developing your professional GPS through Internships. Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt Publishing Company.

Gonyea, J.L. & Kozak, M.S. (2016). Navigating Career Roadmaps: Developing your professional GPS through internships (2nd Ed.). Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt Publishing Company. 

Gonyea, J. L. & Kozak, M.S. (2018). Navigating career roadmaps: Developing your professional GPS through internships (3rd Ed). Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt Publishing Company.

Gonyea, J.L. (2019). Instructors Manual for Intimate Relationships by J. Bradbury and B. Karney (3rd Ed). New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Current Research

My teaching and scholarship focuses on examining family interactions, improving family functioning, coupled interactions, and strengthening couples as well as the methods for training others for service delivery with couples and families.  I use qualitative and mixed methods designs in my scholarship of pedagogy, ethical decision-making, community engagement, couple/family intervention, supervision of clinical trainees, and community-based interventions that encompass overall health, nutrition, mindfulness, and mental health. I conduct evaluation research on both the processes and outcomes of community based trainings, organizations, and community based intervention programs directed toward improving mental health outcomes, overall wellness, and intimate relationships. 

Journal Articles

Gonyea, J. L. (2004). Internet Sexuality: Clinical implications for couples.  The American Journal of Family Therapy, 32(5), 375 - 390.

Gonyea, J. & Kozak, M.S. (2014). Scaffolding family science student experiences to increase employment options and preparedness. Family Science Review, 19(1), 26-36.

Gonyea, J. L.J., Wright, D. W. and Earl-Kulkosky, T. (2014), Navigating Dual Relationships in Rural Communities. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. 40(1), 125 – 136.

Gonyea, J. & Kozak, M.S. (2014). Scaffolding family science student experiences to increase employment options and preparedness. Family Science Review, 19(1), 26-36.

Publications

Oed, M. & Gonyea, J.L. (2019).  Examining the attitudes of current students and recent graduates on the inclusion of children in therapy. Contemporary Family Therapy, 41(2), 135 - 146