Spencer Bradshaw

Human Devt. and Family Studies

Associate Professor, MFT Program


Spencer Bradshaw

Contact Information

Office Location: SCCE 424
Phone: 435-797-7456
Email: spencer.bradshaw@usu.edu
Additional Information:

Educational Background

PhD, Marriage and Family Therapy, Texas Tech University, 2014
Change Processes and Variables in Family Recovery from Addiction
MS, Marriage and Family Therapy, Brigham Young University, 2011
Antecedents of Parental Psychological Control: A Test of Bowen's Theory
BS, Psychology, University of Utah, 2008
Other, General Studies, Salt Lake Community College, 2007
Professional Member, National Council on Family Relations, 2022
Full Member, The Society for Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy, 2021
LMFT - Full Licensure, Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, 2020
Designated AAMFT Approved Supervisor, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, 2020
Professional Member, National Council on Family Relations, 2020
AAMFT Fellow, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, 2018
LMFT - Full Licensure, Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapy, 2018
Member, National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity, 2018
Member, Council on Undergraduate Research, 2017
LMFT-Associate License, Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists, 2016
AAMFT Pre-Clinical Fellow, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, 2015
Member, Society for Psychophysiological Research, 2015
LMFT-Associate License, Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists, 2014
LMFT-Associate License, Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists, 2012
Student Member, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, 2011
Student Member, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, 2008

Research Interests

Neuropsychology of Trauma, Addiction and Recovery
The neuropsychology of brain recovery from trauma as well as alcohol and substance use disorders (AUDs/SUDs) for those with the disorder as well as family members.

Family Member and Family Recovery from Trauma, Addiction, and Chronic Illnesses
Researching systemic understanding of the development, progression, treatment, and recovery from trauma, addiction, and chronic illness.

    Publications | Book Chapters

An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.

Publications | Journal Articles

Academic Journal

  • Leonardi, K., Bradshaw, S., Tehee, M., Jordan, K.E, James, C., (2026). Adult-Child Interaction Emotional Image Set: Subjective Ratings of Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors.. Child Abuse and Neglect
  • Murphy, D., Chang, K., Kimball, T.G, Shumway, S.T, Bradshaw, S., (2026). The Process of Acquiring and Maintaining Spirituality Among Collegiate Recovery Program Students: A Grounded Theory. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly
  • Cook, M.L, Boyce, L.K, Hancock, A., Turner, M.S, Bradshaw, S., (2025). Early bilingualism promotes neural efficiency and reduced prefrontal connectivity during interference suppression.. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 19
  • Knudsen, F., Woolley, M., Bradshaw, S., Lensegrav-Benson, T., Quakenbush-Roberts, B., Twohig, M., (2025). Psychometric Performance of the Intuitive Eating Scale-2 in Females with Anorexia Nervosa: An Examination of Factor Structure and Item Response Theory. Eating Behaviors
  • Shumway, S., Thomas, K., Bradshaw, S., Cho, S., Chang, K., (2025). The Systemic Model of the Brain Disease of Addiction: A Holistic & Comprehensive Theoretical Perspective. Journal of Family Theory & Review
  • Barboza, J., Seedall, R., Hooghe, A., Kaplow, J., Bradshaw, S., (2025). Forming our grief rhythm: The relational window of tolerance for bereaved parents. Family Process, 64:1, e13048. doi: 10.1111/famp.13048
  • Olufowote, R., Bradshaw, S., Bean, R.A, (2025). An Exploratory Longitudinal Dyadic Analysis of Couple Attachment Trajectories. Contemporary Family Therapy
  • Bradshaw, S., Shumway, S.T, Zielinski, M., Kimball, T.G, Fisher, J.T, (2025). Family Members’ Reward-Based Activation in Response to an AUD Loved-One. Contemporary Family Therapy
  • Bradshaw, S.D, (2023). Capacity for Meaningful Relationships in Severe Substance Use Recovery: A Qualitative Study.. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 1-13.
  • Bradshaw, S., (2019). Exploring Differentiation Levels in Marriage Relationships: A Dyadic Study of Bowen's Theory of Differentiation of Self.
  • Bradshaw, S., (2019). Exploring family member influence on change in addiction treatment, a dyadic analysis..
  • Bradshaw, S., (2019). Prefrontal cortex functioning of family members of those with a substance use disorder.

Professional Journal

    Public or Trade Journal

    • Lindsay, T., Seedall, R., Gillespie, A., Robinson, W., Bradshaw, S., (2025). The Change Process Questionnaire (CPQ): A Psychometric Validation. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 51:1, e12748.

    An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.

    Publications | Other

    An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.

    Teaching

    HDFS 4250 - Addictions and the Family, Fall 2025
    HDFS 6325 - Gender and Diversity in Systemic Family Therapy, Fall 2025
    HDFS 4250 - Addictions and the Family, Spring 2025
    HDFS 6350 - Treating Addictions, Trauma, and Violence in Couples and Families, Spring 2025
    HDFS 4250 - Addictions and the Family, Fall 2024
    PSY 7090 - Experimental and Applied Psychological Science Program Seminar, Fall 2024
    HDFS 6390 - Practicum in Systemic Family Therapy, Fall 2024
    HDFS 4250 - Addictions and the Family, Spring 2024
    HDFS 6390 - Practicum in Systemic Family Therapy, Spring 2024
    PSY 7760 - Structural Equation Modeling, Spring 2024
    HDFS 4250 - Addictions and the Family, Fall 2023
    HDFS 6325 - Gender and Diversity in Systemic Family Therapy, Fall 2023
    HDFS 6390 - Practicum in Systemic Family Therapy, Fall 2023
    HDFS 4250 - Addictions and the Family, Spring 2023
    HDFS 6350 - Addictions and Violence in Marriage and Family Therapy, Spring 2023
    HDFS 7032 - Multivariate Data Analysis in Human Development and Family Studies, Spring 2023
    HDFS 4250 - Addictions and the Family, Fall 2022
    HDFS 6390 - Practicum in Marriage and Family Therapy, Fall 2022
    HDFS 7032 - Multivariate Data Analysis in Human Development and Family Studies, Spring 2022
    HDFS 4250 - Addictions and the Family, Fall 2021
    HDFS 7032 - Multivariate Data Analysis in Human Development and Family Studies, Spring 2021
    HDFS 6390 - Practicum in Marriage and Family Therapy, Spring 2021
    HDFS 5250 - Addictions and the Family, Fall 2020
    HDFS 7032 - Multivariate Data Analysis in Human Development and Family Studies, Spring 2020
    HDFS 6390 - Practicum in Marriage and Family Therapy, Spring 2020
    HDFS 7900 - Topical Seminar in Family, Consumer, and Human Development, Spring 2020

    Graduate Students Mentored

    Tristin Evans, Human Devt. and Family Studies, September 2025
    Tristin Evans, Human Devt. and Family Studies, September 2025
    Cicily Fenton, Human Devt. and Family Studies, September 2025
    Daxton Bryce, Human Devt. and Family Studies, September 2025
    Liza Pierson, Human Devt. and Family Studies, September 2024
    Megan Gentry, Human Devt. and Family Studies, September 2024
    Kolby Leonardi, Psychology, January 2023
    Kolby Leonardi, Psychology, January 2023
    Matthew Cook, Human Devt. and Family Studies, September 2022
    Isadora De Melo, Human Devt. and Family Studies, August 2022
    Isadora De Melo, Human Devt. and Family Studies, August 2022
    Krey Harris, Human Devt. and Family Studies, September 2023 - December 2025
    Kaitlyn Zito, Human Devt. and Family Studies, September 2023 - May 2025
    Madelyn Evans, Human Devt. and Family Studies, September 2022 - December 2024
    Courtney Connole, Human Devt. and Family Studies, March 2023 - August 2024
    Carolyn Orson, Human Devt. and Family Studies, September 2022 - May 2024
    Daniel Fast, Human Devt. and Family Studies, September 2021 - May 2024
    Agne Albright, Human Devt. and Family Studies, September 2021 - May 2023
    Emily Jardine, Human Devt. and Family Studies, September 2020 - May 2022
    Ethan Gunn, Human Devt. and Family Studies, September 2020 - May 2022
    Mazie Zielinski, Other, August 2018 - March 2022
    Jesse Smith, Other, March 2017 - June 2019
    Jesse Smith, Other, March 2017 - June 2019
    Porter Macey, Other, March 2016 - June 2019
    Sarah Schonian, Other, April 2017 - October 2017