Myrna L. Friedlander

Professor Friedlander joined the Counseling Psychology program in 1981, is director of doctoral training, and directs the Spanish Exchange Program in family therapy. Previously, she was the director of master’s training and division director.  She has served as clinician, educator, supervisor, and consultant in a variety of schools, counseling centers, hospitals, and community agencies. Dr. Friedlander's research on the process of counseling and psychotherapy has appeared in the Journal of Counseling Psychology, The Counseling Psychologist, the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy, Professional Psychology, Family Process, the Journal of Family Psychology, and the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, among several others.  Her current work concerns therapeutic change processes in family therapy.  Dr. Friedlander is a member of the Society for Psychotherapy Research and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, and the American Association of Applied and Preventive Psychology. In 2001 she was elected Distinguished Psychologist of the Year by the Psychological Association of Northeastern New York, and in 1999 she was honored with the University’s Excellence in Research award.  She is currently an Editorial Board member of the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, Psychotherapy Research, Couple and Family Research, and Psychotherapy.  In 2010 she received a Lifetime Contribution Award from the Section for the Promotion of Psychotherapy Science (Div. 17, APA) and a Distinguished Family Systems Research Award from the American Family Therapy Academy.

Teaching: Theory, research and practice in counseling/psychotherapy; practicum; family systems therapy; supervision and consultation.

Research: Therapeutic and supervisory processes and outcomes, especially verbal interaction and the therapeutic alliance in family therapy.

Selected Recent Publications:

Friedlander, M. L, & Escudero, V. (in press). A close look at the complex rupture/repair process in family therapy. In C. Eubanks, C. Muran, & L. Samstag, Eds. Rupture and repairs in psychotherapy: Multiple perspectives on common clinical challenges. American Psychological Association.

Escudero, V., Friedlander, M. L., Kivlighan Jr., D., Orlowski, E., & Abascal, A. (in press). Toward a broader understanding of split alliances in family therapy: Adding the therapist to the mix. Family Process.

Escudero, V., Friedlander, M. L., Kivlighan Jr., D., Orlowski, E., & Abascal, A. (2021). Family therapy for maltreated youth: Can a strengthening therapeutic alliance empower change? Journal of Counseling Psychology.  Advance online publication.

Friedlander, M. L., Hynes, K. C., Anderson, S., Tambling, R., Megale, A., Peterson, E. K., & Xu, M. (2021). Behavioral manifestations of split alliances in four couple therapy sessions. Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy. Advance online publication.

Friedlander, M. L., Heatherington, L., & Diamond, G. M. (2021). Systemic and conjoint couple and family therapies: Recent advances and future promise. In M. Barkham, W. Lutz, and L. Castonguay (Eds.), Bergin and Garfield’s handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change (7th ed.; pp. 545-590). Wiley.

Friedlander, M. L., Escudero,V., Wellmers-van de Poll, M., & Heatherington, L. (2019).  Alliances in couple and family therapy.  In J. Norcross & M. J. Lambert, Eds. Psychotherapy relationships that work (3rd ed.; Vol. 1: Evidence-based therapist contributions). (pp. 24-78). Oxford University Press.  

Friedlander, M. L., Angus, L. E., Xu, M., Wright, S. T., & Stark, N. M. (2020). A close look at therapist contributions to narrative-emotion shifting in a case illustration of brief dynamic therapy. Psychotherapy Research, 30(3), 402-416.

Friedlander, M. L., Muetzelfeld, H., Re, S., Colvin, K., Quinn-Nilas, C., & Smoliak, O. (2019). Introducing the Expectation and Preference Scales for Couple Therapy (EPSCT): Development, psychometric evaluation, and suggested use in practice and research. Family Process, 58(4), 855-872.

Friedlander, M. L., Lee, M., & Escudero, V. (2019). What we do and don’t know about the nature and analysis of couple interaction. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, 8, 24-44.