Carla Smith Stover, a clinical psychologist who specializes in stress-related disorders and treatment of family violence, was recently appointed the Harris Professor in the Yale Child Study Center. The appointment, which was effective immediately, is for a term of 10 years, renewable by the dean of the Yale School of Medicine (YSM).
Stover has been a member of the YSM faculty since 2002. She also has an appointment in Yale's Department of Psychology.
Her research interests are focused on the effects of violence and trauma (particularly family violence) on child development and the advancement of best practice interventions for children and families affected by such violence exposure. She developed a therapy called Fathers for Change to help fathers improve their emotion regulation to reduce aggressive, behavior and substance use and improve their parenting.
Her recent book, "Fathers and Violence: A Program to Change Behavior, Improve Parenting, and Heal Relationship," is the manual for this therapy approach. The program has been implemented statewide in Connecticut and is now being disseminated to other states, including Florida and Missouri, and through an international pilot in London.
In recognition of her work, Stover has received the National Institutes of Health Loan Repayment Award and Outstanding Faculty Research Achievement Award. Her research has received funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, to develop interventions for fathers with histories of intimate partner violence (IPV) and substance misuse, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Institute on Aging.
She has also conducted trainings both nationally and internationally on engagement and treatment approaches for families impacted by trauma, IPV and substance misuse.
Stover earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Alliant International University-San Francisco, an M.A. in clinical psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology, and her B.A. at the University of Maine.
