As reflected in the Caring Connections mission statement, I am committed to research which promotes greater understanding of loss, grief and bereavement, and methods to facilitate constructive grief.

My primary research interest is developing, evaluating, manualizing and disseminating effective psychotherapy interventions to treat and ultimately prevent complicated grief—that is, the chronic, unrelenting grief that disables the griever.  My independent program of research includes investigations of complicated grief interventions, the processes and lived experience that that promote healthy grief, and end-of-life values and preferences.

I am invovled in developing, implementing and evaluating educational approaches to prepare clinicians and community-based professionals to respond to the Grief of Overdose Death and the Grief of Suicide Death.

I am also committed to clinical education research, particularly interprofessional education and its impact on interdisciplinary practice. I have led published outcome studies in interdisciplinary palliative care education and the effect of personal grief on student learning.