www.marshapruett.com
The
Maconda
Brown O’Connor Chair in Research at the Smith
School of Social Work. She has a Master's degree in education
from the University
of Pennsylvania and a Master's degree in Legal Studies from
the Yale
School of Law, as well as a Ph.D. in Clinical/Community
Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley.
She also has training certificates in family therapy, mediation, and
collaborative divorce. She is best known for the development,
implementation, and evaluation of preventive interventions in schools
and courts. Her writings include numerous scholarly articles, chapters,
and a co-authored book, Your Divorce Advisor: An Attorney and
Psychologist Lead You Through the Legal and Emotional Landscape of
Divorce (2001 by Simon and Schuster). Dr. Kline
Pruett's research interests revolve around the promotion of healthy
family development during life transitions, particularly those
transitions related to adverse events or circumstances. She specializes
in family issues pertaining to communication, conflict, and family law.
Dr. Kline Pruett contributes to the Supporting Fatherhood Involvement (SFI) Development and Evaluation Team in several capacities. She took the lead in adapting the Cowans' intervention model for the specific purposes and populations of the SFI project. She also provides electronic supervision and consultation to staff at each Family resource Center, and works in conjunction with the Cowans on the evaluation design and dissemination aspects of the project.
She is known for creating and evaluating a model continuum of effective and cost-efficient co-parenting services in the Connecticut courts to assist in the preservation of each family's long-term well-being. The Collaborative Divorce Program helped reduce the psychological costs of divorce and child custody decisions for parents involved in the legal process, and improve child adjustment, parent relationships, and paternal involvement during and after separation/ divorce. Findings from the study point to new information about father involvement and parenting plans for very young children. The project produced some of the only data in the country about young children (infants through six years) and overnights after divorce. For this research and intervention, she was awarded the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Stanley Cohen Award for Distinguished Research. Dr. Kline Pruett has maintained a clinical practice in Connecticut since 1990, where she has treated individual adults and children, couples, and families. Her current interests include couples counseling and consultation, father involvement consultation, mediation, parent coordination, and collaborative divorce. She disseminates her work through clinical and media consultations, and speaking engagements across North America and abroad.