Kirsten Bradbury, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Instruction, Psychology
Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Course(s) Taught

HDO Professional Training 

Emotional Intelligence for Leaders 

Education

Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University 

M.S., Clinical Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University  

B.A., Psychology, University of Texas at Austin

Website

Research Interests

Parenting stress, adolescent parenting, cognitive-behavioral interventions to improve parenting; child and family firearms behaviors and firearms safety; pediatric health care use and factors in utilization patterns; cultural sensitivity in health education and health promotion; behavioral health.

Biography

Dr. Kirsten Bradbury is an Associate Professor of Instruction in the Psychology department at UT Austin. She grew up mostly in Canada, daughter of an American psychologist, and completed her postbaccalaureate education and professional training in the United States. She taught at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, before joining the faculty at UT Austin in 2007. She is the former director of Texas Psychology Continuing Education at UT Austin and maintains long-stranding affiliations with the Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Service, the Plan II Liberal Arts Honors Program, and the Wellbeing in Learning Environments Project, in addition to HDO’s Professional Program.

Recognized with a Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award in 2017, Dr. Bradbury is a member of the UT System’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers. Other teaching awards include the Harry Ransom Award for Teaching Excellence and the President’s Associates Award for Excellence in Teaching. Beloved by students for her warm and welcoming teaching style, Dr. Bradbury designs and delivers targeted, developmentally sensitive educational experiences to advance knowledge and build skills in a wide range of topics directly applicable to real life.

Dr. Bradbury maintains a small private practice off campus, where she specializes in the application of cognitive-behavioral therapy, positive psychology, and motivational science to complex pediatric and family systems problems. Her academic interests are reflected in her clinical practice, which includes the supervision of students training toward mental health professions.

An authentic and enthusiastic public speaker, Dr. Bradbury enjoys hosting clinical and psychoeducational workshops and presentations for professional groups, graduate students, and general audiences on a variety of mental health and wellness topics. Recent seminars included Empathic Supervision & Leadership (for managers); Get Results with Motivational Interviewing (for teachers and coaches); and Psychosocial Needs During Divorce (for family law attorneys).