Events
Come Celebrate USF Family Study Center’s 20th Anniversary
Join our 20th Anniversary Donor's Circle!
TAKE PART IN OUR EVENT SERIES: THINKING THREE!

Since 2003, USF’s Family Study Center has breathed life into a dynamic mental health concept relevant to every child, every family, every community – coparenting. Once a concept thought of only as it pertained to post-divorce families, it is now recognized that around the world, nearly every infant and toddler will grow up in a family collective where there are multiple caregiving adults, or coparents.
The Family Study Center has been ground zero for creative new scholarship and intervention models supporting coparenting within the full diversity of modern family constellations. This year, marking our 20th anniversary, we invite professionals, funders, parents and policy-makers to come learn with us. We will recap the most important new advances in understanding and supporting babies, toddlers and families during the first three years, when supports matter most!
Our event series, “Thinking Three”, reminds us that intervening with child-parent dyads alone is seldom sufficient if the goal is family stabilization, support and thriving. Join in for our events – check this site often for the latest updated information as additional details become available!
Fall 2023
Dr. Carla Stover
Dr. Katherine McKay
Dr. Carla Stover, Yale University
In tribute to Dr. Katherine McKay
Situational Partner Aggression: Screening Considerations in Evaluating Parents for Dyadic Coparenting Interventions
Date: Friday, October 6, 2023
Time: 1:00PM - 2:30PM
Location: University of South Florida, St. Petersburg campus University Student Center Ballrooms
(second floor)
Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to:
1. Identify the rationale for considering coparenting interventions even with couples
who may have a history of aggression.
2. Understand screening and assessment strategies to identify coparents who could
benefit from coparenting intervention.
3. Apply approaches to safely engage coparents with a history of aggression.
In-person event; Virtual attendance options available; CEUs pending
Dr. Debra Carter
Dr. James McHale
ADVANCED PARENTING COORDINATION TRAINING: Thursday, November 9 - Friday, November 10, 2023, Drs. Debra Carter and James McHale, Through the Eyes of the Child (TEC). TEC is an intervention that helps parents create a strong and safe coparenting alliance by learning to take to heart the concerns and views of the other parent. Techniques focus on improving communication about child-related issues, conflict resolution techniques, and sustained parenting involvement in the face of present and future post-divorce obstacles
Registration Fee: $535 (at least 30 days prior to class start date, $595 thereafter)
Modality: This is a virtual course, and will be held online. Attendees will be required to sign in for each session in order to receive APA-credit for the course. Enrollment includes virtual training, all course materials and reading list items.
Deadline approaching to receive a full year of training!
Enroll by December 1, 2023 to become part of our 20th Anniversary Cohort for the Infant-Family Mental Health Graduate Certificate Program
The fully-online program was inspired by a recognized community need — affirmed by leaders of community agencies serving infants, toddlers and families across the full spectrum of child and family strength and need — for a more knowledgeable front-line professional workforce.
Application Deadline: December 1, 2023, with the first course beginning January 8, 2024.
For additional information, contact program coordinator Ebony Miller : ebonymiller@usf.edu
Winter/Spring 2024
Dr. Miri Keren
Dr. Diane Philipp
Friday, January 26, 2024, 9AM-12 NOON EST, Dr. Miri Keren, Tel Aviv University and Dr. Diane Philipp, University of Toronto, Family-Centered Practice: Observational Strategies for Including the Infant's Voice in Family Therapy and other Professional Contexts. University of South Florida, St. Petersburg campus, University Student Center Ballrooms (second floor), CEUs pending.
Check back for Registration fees and training details. Designed for: Mental health professionals: marital and family therapists, counselors, psychologists, social workers, family researchers. Pre-requisite: Masters level or higher in mental health profession or equivalent work experience.
Russia Collins
Monday, February 19, 2023, 1-4PM EST, Men’s Mental Health and Fatherhood Conference for USF graduate students in Public Health, Clinical Psychology, Social Work and other helping disciplines, Marshall Student Center, USF Tampa Campus (in partnership with USF College of Public Health).
Presenters: Dr. James McHale, Russia Collins, Carlos Senior, Rashid Mizell, Clinton Coutain. Check back for additional details.
FSC 20th Anniversary Celebration Week: April 8-12, 2024
Wednesday, April 10, 8-10AM, FSC 20th Anniversary Community Partner Breakfast & 2024 “Building Blocks for Babies” awards, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg campus, University Student Center Ballrooms (second floor).
Dr. Chandra Ghosh Ippen
Friday, April 12, 2024 All-Day Event, 8:30—4PM EST Family Study Center 20th Anniversary Professional Training Conference: “Thinking Three”, Keynote by Dr. Chandra Ghosh Ippen, University of California San Francisco, Registration (Live and Virtual) details to follow, CEUs pending.