Alexis D. Abernethy
Chief Academic Officer and Professor of Psychology, Clinical Psychology Department
BS, Howard University
MA, PhD, University of California at Berkeley
Courses Taught
CN525: Pastoral Counseling in the African American Church
PC814: Clinical Interventions: Diversity Issues
PC816: Program Administration
PC818: Clinical Interventions: Group Psychotherapy
PI814: Spiritual Interventions in Therapy
PI815: Spiritual Transcendence and Health
PI818: Arts, Spirituality, and Transformation
Campus Affiliations
Areas of Expertise
Spirituality and health, cancer screening and religiousness, psychology of corporate worship, spirituality and eating disorders, cultural competence, and group psychotherapy
鈥淪pirituality and health emerged as my focus 25 years ago. What鈥檚 fascinating is that now it鈥檚 not only my research speciality: my teaching, exploring worship鈥攁ll of these things are now converging on a greater focus on spiritual experience and its health-related dimensions.鈥
Alexis Abernethy reflects on the calling that has emerged from her years in academic careers.
Bio
Alexis Abernethy is a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology in the School of Psychology & Marriage and Family Therapy at 国产主播. In 2021 she was named chief academic officer at Fuller. Prior to that she served as the chief of diversity, equity, and inclusion. She graduated from Howard University with a BS in psychology. She received her MA and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.
Her primary research interest is the intersection between spirituality and health. Dr. Abernethy鈥檚 Spirituality and Health Lab includes three research teams: Experience of Spirituality and Health-Related Outcomes; Spirituality, Cancer, and Health Disparities; and Spirituality, Culture, and Eating Disturbance. She is the principal investigator of the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services-国产主播 Research Collaborative. She has numerous research publications including the following: 鈥淧atient Patients: Increased Patience Associated with Decreased Depressive Symptoms in Psychiatric Treatment鈥 in the Journal of Positive Psychology; 鈥淯nderstanding the Roles of Religious Comfort and Strain on Depressive Symptoms in an Inpatient Psychiatric Setting鈥 in Psychology of Religion and Spirituality; 鈥淕od Imagery and Affective Outcomes in a Spiritually Integrative Inpatient Program鈥 in Psychiatry Research; and 鈥淪piritual Struggles and Mental Health Outcomes in a Spiritually Integrated Inpatient Program鈥 in the Journal of Affective Disorders. The Eating Disorders Team published the article 鈥淪pirituality and Eating Disorder Risk Factors in African American Women鈥 in Eating and Weight Disorders.
She has conducted institutes and workshops nationally on cultural competence and spirituality in group therapy. Abernethy is a certified group psychotherapist and fellow of the American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA). She currently serves on the Board of Directors for AGPA. She was the editor of a special edition of the journal Group (2004) on spirituality in group therapy and contributed the chapter 鈥淎 Spiritually Informed Approach to Group Psychotherapy鈥 in Kleinberg鈥檚 edited volume, The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Group Psychotherapy (2012). She coauthored an article with Lee Stevens on 鈥淣euroscience and Racism: The Power of Groups for Overcoming Implicit Bias鈥 and another article with David Allen and Marie Carroll on 鈥淎dapting Group Therapy to Address Real World Problems: Insights from Groups Offered in the Bahamas鈥 in the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy (2017).
Download Abernethy鈥檚 CV, which includes a list of her current publications, here.