Prenatal Family Dynamics

Regina Kuersten-Hogan, Ph.D., is a licensed Child Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor in the Clinical Counseling Psychology Program at Assumption College and an Affiliate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, MA. Dr. Kuersten-Hogan's research focuses on coparenting dynamics and family emotion expression during the transition to parenthood in nonclinical and high-risk families. She regularly presents her research at national as well as international conferences and has authored articles and book chapters on coparenting and family dynamics. Dr. Kuersten-Hogan also provides assessments and therapy with children and families in private practice and teaches courses in Developmental Psychology, Family Psychology, Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions, and Family Therapy.

James P. McHale, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology, Director of the USF St. Ptersburg Family Study Center and Executive Director of the USFSP Infant-Family Center. He was Founding Chair of USF St. Petersburg's Department of Psychology, and past Director of Clinical Training at Clark University in Worcester, MA. He has published more than 100 articles, chapters, and books about coparenting in diverse family systems, and his research studies of coparenting and child development have been supported since 1996 by the National Institutes of Health. Among his seminal works are the books Coparenting: A Conceptual and Clinical Examination of Family Systems' (American Psychological Association, with Kristen Lindahl), and Charting the Bumpy Road of Coparenthood: Understanding the Challenges of Family Life (Zero to Three). Dr. McHale also developed the intervention, Focused Coparenting Consultation (FCC), to support coparenting in married, unmarried, divorced, and multigenerational families.