Description of Research Expertise

Areas of Expertise

Counseling and Community psychology
Services for underserved populations
Sociocultural aspects of identity
Success for graduate students
Resiliency and empowerment

Professional Experience

Dr. Stanley provides education, training, and supervision in the areas of counseling and community psychology at Penn GSE. Her teaching and research focus on counseling and sociocultural psychology, with an emphasis on intervention and prevention services for underserved populations. Dr. Stanley has worked as a psychologist at the Boston University Counseling Center and Fenway Community Health Center and as a counselor in various elementary, secondary schools, colleges, and universities. She is a licensed psychologist and maintains a private practice. She is the director of training for the Conill Institute for Chronic Disabilities and in the past was director of the Bryson Institute. She provides training to practitioners in her areas of specialty on a local and national level.

Dr. Stanley is the recipient of the 2006 GSE Excellence in Teaching Award.

Research Interests and Current Projects

Dr. Stanley's research interests focus primarily on using a contextually based systems perspective to better understand underserved populations. In this respect, much of her work addresses the importance of sociocultural aspects of identity (i.e., gender, sexual orientation, culture, race, ethnicity, class, economic status, religion/spirituality, and disabilities) and the interactional processes of multiple identity structures for individuals. Dr. Stanley continues to develop and design training programs in these areas. Her research also focuses on the importance of protective factors that support and enhance psychological well-being. Experiential-based training and collaborative learning are often used to facilitate learning in her learning programs.