Psychology Professor
University of Florida, Department of Psychology
Author | Psychologist | Professor | Speaker
For most of my career, I was a faculty member at a university. I spent three years at the University of Southern California, 21 years at the University of Missouri, and 12 years at the University of Florida (UF). In 2023, I retired from UF and was honored with the status of Emeritus Professor.
Throughout my academic career, I mentored graduate students, helping them find their own niche in the field. Additionally, I served on many committees, published many scientific studies, and authored many academic book chapters (see CV for a full listing). (Mike—link to CV, please).
Of course, I also taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses including the following:
Graduate Level:
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Introduction to Counseling Theory and Practice
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Introduction to Career Counseling
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Counseling Supervision Practicum
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Counseling Psychology Practicum
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Theory and Practice of Feminist Therapy
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Issues in Sex Therapy
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Wellness Management for School Personnel
Undergraduate Level:
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The Psychology of Women
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Psychology of Human Sexuality
My large enrollment undergraduate Psychology of Human Sexuality class at UF is so popular that I have been asked to continue to teach it once/year as a retired professor, which I am currently doing. This class was featured in College Magazine in a story titled, 10 UF Professors You Can’t Pass Up. See also Rate My Professor for additional students’ views on this class.
A Bit About My Research Conducted as a Professor
A large part of being a faculty member is producing high-quality research. For many years (1987-2011), I focused on eating disorders and body‐image. In about 2011, I begun a new line of research on the effectiveness of self‐help interventions.
By way of brief background, self‐help therapies are widely used by the American public and increasingly utilized by psychologists as an adjunct to treatment. Additionally, more people read self‐help books or garner advice from the internet than utilize the services of mental health professionals. Individuals with sexual concerns are particularly likely to turn to self‐help.
Despite the high percentage of Americans who seek self‐help, about 95% of all self‐help books are published without evidence of their efficacy or safety, and 99% of internet sites are launched without such evidence. Unproven self‐help treatments can be benign at best and harmful at worst. It is important to have effective and accessible forms of treatments so that ability to pay does not comprise a barrier to receiving needed assistance. The need for empirically evaluated self‐help is of paramount importance.
Recent scientific recommendations have encouraged authors of self‐help books to examine
their effectiveness. Along with my graduate students, I thus conducted studies on the
effectiveness of both of my books. A series of five studies tested the effectiveness of A Tired Woman’s Guide to Passionate Sex. The first study tested the efficacy of this book to increase sexual desire and other aspects of sexual functioning by comparing women who read the book to those in a control group. Subsequent studies compared the book to: a) another self‐help book on this same topic, b) a placebo pill; and c) an erotic fiction novel. All of these scientific studies found that that women who read A Tired Woman’s Guide to Passionate Sex regain their desire, as well as improve their sexual satisfaction, arousal, lubrication, and rates of orgasm.
Along these same lines, two recent studies have found that readers of Becoming Cliterate also improve their sexual functioning. In the first study, women who read the book improved their rates of orgasm, sexual body‐esteem, self‐efficacy in achieving sexual pleasure, arousal, sexual satisfaction, sexual assertiveness, and overall sexual functioning. They also decreased their levels of sexual pain. In the second study, men who read the chapter that summarizes the book for a male audience improved in their knowledge of women’s genital anatomy and sexual pleasure, as well as their sexual communication skills. They also decreased their endorsement of sexual myths, especially about women’s pleasure.
In addition to examining the effectiveness of my own books, my graduate students and tested the effectiveness of other self‐guided interventions (e.g., other books, media
interventions) for increasing well‐being. As just a few examples, we studied the
effectiveness of bibliotherapy for poor body‐image and perfectionism. Another student
examined the effectiveness of a media intervention to examine women’s rates of orgasms and sexual satisfaction.
For a complete listing of my published research, see my CV.
Students...
Prospective Graduate Students:
I will not be taking any additional graduate students, and apologize for any disappointment this causes prospective students. Please click here to be redirected to the UF Psychology Department application procedures and deadlines.
Prospective Undergraduate Research Assistants:
I am not currently accepting research assistants. I apologize for disappointing any potentially interested applicants and wish you all the best of luck in gaining research opportunities.
This page will be updated with more information when I am able to accept applicants.