A marriage and family therapy counselor having a discussion with another adult.

Couple and Family Therapy Program News

The Couple and Family Therapy program resides in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at 51ԹϺ. Our program embraces diversity, ethical behavior, professionalism, personal identity, and self-awareness as part of our commitment to help students become skilled professionals.

Current Couple and Family Therapy Program News

A rear view of 51ԹϺ students, dressed in red caps and gowns, filtering into the Thomas & Mack Center with the stage in the background
Campus News |

An enduring 51ԹϺ end-of-semester tradition is to highlight exceptional students who embody the academic, research, and community impact of the graduating class.

unlv pumpkins
Campus News |

A monthly roundup of the top news stories at 51ԹϺ, featuring the presidential election, gaming partnerships, and much more.

Undergrad researcher Benjamin Sabir helps H. Jeremy Cho examine an atmospheric water harvesting device. (Jeff Scheid/51ԹϺ)
Campus News |

A monthly roundup of the top news stories featuring 51ԹϺ staff and students.

Josh Hawkins, 51ԹϺ
Campus News |

News highlights featuring 51ԹϺ students and staff who made (refreshing) waves in the headlines.

Kristina Cho, who gave birth about 10 days earlier to Hazel, and father Paul Cho.
People |

51ԹϺ couple and family therapist Brandon Eddy talks about the evolving involvement of dads in society and how to create healthy relationships with kids.

The Las Vegas skyline (Josh Hawkins, 51ԹϺ).
Campus News |

A collection of news stories highlighting 51ԹϺ’s dedication to community and research.

Couple and Family Therapy Program In The News

Las Vegas Sun

The coastal city of Toyama in western Japan was bright with the pink of blooming cherry blossoms in April as tourists ambled around, taking in the chilly weather while viewing feudal ruins and historic art pieces.

Las Vegas Sun

The coastal city of Toyama in western Japan was bright with the pink of blooming cherry blossoms in April as tourists ambled around, taking in the chilly weather while viewing feudal ruins and historic art pieces.

Las Vegas Sun

The coastal city of Toyama in western Japan was bright with the pink of blooming cherry blossoms in April as tourists ambled around, taking in the chilly weather while viewing feudal ruins and historic art pieces.

The Everymom

Ten years after he and his wife experienced a pregnancy loss, Eli Schiff still gets a bit choked up talking about his experience with miscarriage. “You’re imagining all the things that he or she could be, you know, and that imagination or that idea of what they could have been, it doesn’t really go away,” he says of the grief associated with miscarriage.

Everyday Health

No matter where you are in your treatment journey, you may feel as if metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC) is taking a toll on your mental health. Research shows that anxiety and depression are common among people who are living with metastatic cancer, which can not only hamper the effects of treatment and halt their recovery, but also interfere with people’s ability to plan out their future care.

Las Vegas Review Journal

Brandon Eddy spends his 20-minute drive home from work getting into dad mode. At home, his three children just want to hang out with their dad. And their dad just wants to hang out with them. Sunday marks Father’s Day, a celebratory tradition that’s over 100 years old, and is usually spent grilling hamburgers or playing outside, basking in the sun. Father’s Day is meant to honor dads for their role in a family, and new research shows that role is evolving.

Couple and Family Therapy Program Experts

An expert on romantic relationships; parenting; and drug, alcohol, and gambling counseling.
An expert in solution-focused brief therapy, substance abuse, communication in psychotherapy, and microanalysis.
An expert on the transition to parenthood, postpartum depression, infertility, and miscarriage.

Recent Couple and Family Therapy Program Accomplishments

Vaida Kazlauskaite (Couple and Family Therapy Program) and co-authors from the University of Minnesota: Lisa Kaler, Yiting Li, Tai Mendenhall, Sue Wick, and Soyoul Song published their articled entitled "I Just Feel Overwhelmed" Overall Stress, Course-Related Stress, and Stress Management Among First-Generation and International Students at a…
Assistant professor Vaida Kazlauskaite (Couple and Family Therapy Program) and professor Tai Mendenhall (University of Minnesota, Department of Family Social Science) published "Providers working with parents who are diagnosed with cancer: education and role perceptions regarding communication efforts between parents and children" in Current…
Katherine Hertlein (Medicine) and Edwin Oh (Medicine and Sciences) are recipients of the 2022 Distinguished Barrick Scholar Award, given to senior faculty to honor excellence in research. Hertlein, a professor in the couple and family therapy program in the department of psychiatry and behavioral health, and Oh, associate professor of internal…
Katherine Hertlein (Couples and Family Therapy) has been named a Fulbright Scholar. The program director for the School of Medicine’s couple and family therapy program, Hertlein does research examining the effect of technology on human relationships. Her proposed research as a Fulbright Scholar includes collecting survey data on how people…
Michael Curtis, Brittney Farrow, and Melissa Yzaguirre (all Marriage and Family Therapy) all have been admitted to the 2017-18 Minority Fellowship Program of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. The program is dedicated to expanding the delivery of culturally competent mental health and substance abuse services to…
Katherine Hertlein and Gerald Weeks (both Marriage and Family Therapy) have won the Integrative Approaches to Sex Therapy Award from the American Association for Sexuality Counselors, Educators, and Therapists (AASECT). This award is for creative applications of an integrative and interactive approach to sexual issues in clinical work with…