Education

Ph.D. - Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, August 1978
Fields: Family Studies, Human Development and Sociology
Dissertation: The Development of Self-Esteem in the Child: Model Theory versus Parent-Child Interaction

MSW - University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, June 1976
Graduate Course Work: Clinical Social Work-Mental Health, and Marriage and Family Therap

BA - Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, June 1973

Academic Experience

Current Courses:
FCHD 3110 - Human Sexuality
FCHD 3530 - Adolescence
FCHD 6390 - MFT Clinical Practicum
FCHD 6350 - MFT Clinical Practice
FCHD 6330 - MFT Contemporary Theories

Clinical Experience

Approved AAMFT Supervisor
COAMFTE Site Visitor
Approved Department of Corrections Sex Offender Specific Therapist
Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist

Research Foci

Marriage and family therapy is a key interest with attention focusing on:

• enhancement of sexual satisfaction and intimacy
• fostering of marital and family resilieny
• encouraging client motivation
• joining and the process of therapy
• providing services, consultation, and supervision in an outreach format

Intervention Using Technologically Assisted Psychotherapeutic Intervention (TAPI)  specifically focuses on providing rural mental health services.  This is an art of teletherapy that has been found to be clinically effective (Openshaw and Pfister, in review), feasible to provide (Roper, 2009; Openshaw & Roper, in progress) and satisfying to those who were involved in the depression and anxiety projects (Openshaw, Morrow, & Pfister, in progress; Farmer, in progress; Openshaw, Farmer, & Pfister, in progress).  A new project is just beginning to use TAPI to deliver a resiliency based program to couples residing in rural Utah.  This project is a pilot project funded through AES and is designed to collect data pertinent for a USDA rural teletherapy grant.

Predeployment Resiliency Skills for Military Families addresses the current need of couples and families of the Utah National Guard.  This project has received approval from Major General Brian Tarbet, the Adjutant General of the National Guard and Air Guard, Brig. General Mike Liechty, general over the land forces, and Lt. Col. Ken Wade.  Both Brig. General Mike Liechty and Lt. Col. Ken Wade are actively involved in the development and implementation of this project at three National Guard units:  Logan, Brigham City, and Ogden.  This project is designed to provide couples with resiliency skills essential to stressors impacting their lives as a consequence of being involved with the National Guard and participating in multiple deployments.