People

Our Team

• Faculty

  Yunying (Annie) Le, Research Assistant Professor

  

  Yunying (Annie) Le, Ph.D. (she/her/hers), is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Denver. She was born and raised in Shanghai, China and received her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from the Pennsylvania State University. Her research is situated at the intersection of couple relationship health, prevention/intervention, and research methodology. Specifically, using advanced quantitative methods, she conducts translational work evaluating couple-based intervention targeting at-risk couples as well as basic research on relational processes within couples as they adapt to stress across normative transitions and non-normative experiences. Her goal is to develop and adapt prevention and intervention programs that promote couples’ relationship health at different stages across the lifespan.

  View Yunying Le's publications.

  Howard Markman

  

  Howard Markman, Ph.D., is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association Division of Family Psychology and the Association of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy. His awards include the Distinguished Contributions to Family Therapy Research Award from American Association to Family Therapy.

  Dr. Markman is the developer of the internationally known evidence based couples relationship education program, PREP (The Prevention and Relationship Education Program). He is one of the leading researchers in the areas of couples, marriage, divorce-prevention, couples relationship education and therapy in the world. He has written over 100 books and scientific articles in the couples and family field including the bestselling couples relationship education book, Fighting FOR Your Marriage (Wiley/Jossey-Bass, 2010). He has had grants from NIMH, NSF and NICHD since 1980 to support his research at the University of Denver. He also has practice in couples therapy and gives workshops for couples and he is the Director of the University of Denver’s Couples Clinic. The PREP program is widely used in the U.S. Military and in over 10 countries around the world including, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Malaysia, Qatar, Singapore, Israel, Estonia, Australia, Austria, Colombia, Germany, and Chile. PREP has cited by the CDC as a research-based program that can prevent or ameliorate Inter partner violence and has been reviewed by the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) and is listed in the U. S. Government’s (SAMHSA) registry of evidence-based programs and practices. A new on-line version of PREP is available and several RCT’s has found positive findings including increasing relationship quality and decreasing IPV. Dr. Markman has appeared in the local and national media, including Oprah, Today Show, 20-20, NY Times, CNN, WSJ, Denver Post, Jerusalem Post, Washington Post, and NPR etc. and gives talks and workshops around the world.

  View Howard Markman's publications.

  Nicholas Perry, Assistant Professor

  

  Nicholas Perry, Ph.D. (he/him) is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Denver. He completed his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Utah in 2018 and his clinical psychology internship and postdoctoral research fellowship at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. His program of research focuses on sexual and gender minority health through a couple and family lens, as well as the implementation and evaluation of community-based programs to strengthen relationships and reduce health disparities.

  His active research projects include: (1) an NIH-funded (R01MD018167; PI: Perry) longitudinal study examining sexual minority couples’ health and relationships in the newlywed period using quantitative, qualitative, and psychophysiological methods; (2) an American Psychological Foundation-funded study (MPI: Perry, Goldstein) of daily health behaviors and relationship functioning among sexual minority female couples who are of higher body weight using ecological momentary assessment and Fitbit data; and (3) a Mental Research Institute-funded (MPI: Perry, Harkness) project tailoring and piloting an evidence-based relationship education program for Latino sexual minority men via community stakeholder input. He also collaborates closely with Drs. Rhoades, Stanley, and Le on several other ongoing federally-funded projects. He also maintains a small private practice where he sees adults and couples, primarily from the LGBTQIA+ community. In his spare time, he loves Colorado’s outdoors, as well as trying to improve his game in his queer rec dodgeball league. 

  View Nicholas Perry's publications.

  Jesse Owen, Professor

  

  Jesse Owen, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Counseling Psychology Department at the University of Denver. He is a licensed psychologist with clinical specializations include couple and family therapy and multicultural therapy. He holds various positions including lead psychologist at Lifelong, Inc; Research Director for CelestHealth; Senior Research Advisor for SonderMind; Editor for Psychotherapy. He has co-authored three books: Mindfulness-based practices in therapy: A cultural humility approach; Therapists’ cultural humility; and Research design in counseling. He also has over 225 publications/book chapters. His research focuses on process and outcomes of psychotherapy with a focus on therapist expertise, multicultural orientation, and relational interventions (e.g., couple therapy). His research has been supported by foundations, federal agencies, and private companies (e.g., John Templeton Foundation, NIMH, DHHS-ACF, and SonderMind).  Dr. Owen also runs the RAP Lab and is one of the co-founders of the Multicultural Orientation framework; you can learn more here. 

  View Jesse Owen's publications.

  Galena Rhoades, Research Professor, Director of the Institute for Relationship Science

  

  Galena Rhoades, Ph.D., is the Director of the Institute for Relationship Science and a Research Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Denver. Her research program focuses on romantic relationship development and predictors of relationship success, maternal health and mental health, and evaluations of community-based relationship education and coaching programs for teens, adults, and couples. She has over 100 publications in these areas. She also founded a non-profit in Denver, Thriving Families, that offers MotherWise, a program for women during pregnancy and postpartum, as well as mental health support. She also has a small private practice where she conducts individual and couple therapy.

  View Galena Rhoades' publications.  View Galena's Rhoades' CV. 

  Scott Stanley, Research Professor, Co-Director of the Institute for Relationship Science

  

  Scott Stanley, Ph.D. is a research professor at the University of Denver. He is an expert in family psychology, focusing on commitment, conflict, cohabitation, relationship development, and the prevention of relationship distress/dissolution. He has published extensively, both in peer-reviewed journals and scholarly book chapters, and is widely sought after as a research consultant, providing input to many research projects around the U.S. Along with colleagues such as Dr. Howard Markman and Dr. Galena Rhoades, Stanley has conducted research on relationship education since the early 1980s, mostly funded by grants (to one of these three scholars) from the National Institutes of Health or the Administration for Children and Families. Stanley and Rhoades have also conducted research on cohabitation, relationship development, and commitment, also funded by the National Institutes of Health. This research has influenced efforts aimed at helping individuals improve their relationship decision-making in consequential relationships. Stanley writes blog articles on relationship development, commitment, asymmetrical commitment, marriage, cohabitation, and relationship education at slidingvsdeciding.com.

  View Scott Stanley's publications.