The Emotional Availability and Responsiveness (EAR) Lab aims to understand the emotional experiences and processes of couples, families and family therapists with the goal of increasing emotional availability and responsiveness. We draw from attachment theory and principles of emotion processing and regulation for our theoretical foundations and use both quantitative and qualitative research methods.
Understanding The Parent-Child Repair Process
This project is a qualitative interview study with parents and children about their experience of the parent-child repair process. We will be conducting in-depth interviews with parents and children to develop a grounded theory of how parents and children think about and approach the reparation and healing of their relationship with each other, in both small and large ways.
Current Status: topic literature review, study design, and IRB application preparation
The Benefits of Parental Apologies
2021-2022 Seed Grant Recipient
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the outcomes of an apology intervention with a non-clinical sample of parents. Parents are supported to develop and deliver a personalized apology to their child (of any age) and complete questionnaires before and after the apology to assess potential benefits. Pilot data has shown positive outcomes for parents in lowering their self-blame and increasing their self-compassion. Modifications to the study are underway to add qualitative interviews with the parents and to invite the child to complete questionnaires to assess their experience as well.
Current Status: participant recruitment and data collection are ongoing
The Development of Therapeutic Self-Efficacy
2020-2021 TFI Seed Grant Recipient
This project is a longitudinal examination of MFT trainees’ therapeutic self-efficacy (i.e., how confident they feel as therapists) over the course of their training program. We are also assessing therapeutic emotional “blocks” and the supervisory alliance over time as well as initial predictors of these constructs and open-ended contributing factors at each time point (every other month).
Current Status: data collection is completed; working on data analyses and writing
EVRYMAN Interview Project
We are assisting with a qualitative project to understand the experience of men who participated in an online program through the EVRYMAN organization, which promotes men’s emotional health.
Current Status: This paper was completed and recently published in the journal Psychology of Men and Masculinities and written about here on The Conversation.
Attachment & Emotion in Family Therapy Summit
After organizing and hosting the Attachment and Emotion in Family Therapy Summit in October 2021, we are working on a paper to discuss the strengths, similarities and differences of four models of family therapy that are based in attachment theory and emotion science.
Current Status: This paper was completed and has been accepted for publication in the journal Family Process.
Research Assistants can assist with research question development, study design, study protocol and IRB application, participant recruitment, data collection, data analysis and manuscript preparation and revisions. They also may have an opportunity to complete a research thesis using data from the lab. They are expected to commit to approximately three to five hours a week.
Please contact Dr. Allen Sabey with questions or if you are interested in working in the EAR lab.
Rafy Ambrosio (she/her/hers) is a first-year MFT student and a recent graduate from UIUC. She hopes to be a researcher, practitioner, and advocate for healthy psychological development in early childhood and couples transitioning to parenthood. Her particular research interests revolve around psychopathology in early childhood development, cultural impacts in parenting, and concordance in behavioral health. Outside of the lab, you’ll find her scouting for the yummiest places to eat in Chicago or taking walks and enjoying fresh air. As a former ballet trainee, she’ll also be attempting to pick up ice skating as a hobby with some of her cohort mates this winter!
Alejandra Molina (she/her/ella) is a first-year MFT international student from Honduras and a recent graduate of the University of South Florida. She is passionate about researching and advocating for the destigmatization of mental health within the Latino community. Her research interests focus on cultural influences in parenting and adult child-parent relationships. She hopes to leverage her work to support mental health access and promote cultural sensitivity in therapy practices. Outside of the lab, she enjoys exploring the city, staying active at the gym, and watching movies with friends—especially thrillers and dramas! In the future, she aspires to blend her research with clinical practice to make a meaningful impact on family dynamics within diverse communities.
Beckett Sands (he/him) is a fourth-year undergraduate studying Psychology and Mathematics. He is interested in how concepts like attachment style can influence emotions and behavior in relationships. Currently, Beckett is using concepts in cognitive psychology to observe the impact that specific experiences have on individuals' internal working models. Outside the lab, you can find Beckett boxing, petting random dogs on the street, or working on his standup comedy.
Chelsea Yanuaria, M.A. (she/her) is a Postdoctoral Clinical Scholar Fellow at The Family Institute at Northwestern University and a current Ph.D. candidate in Counseling Psychology at Loyola University Chicago. She completed her APA-accredited predoctoral residency at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University Medicine and Children’s Health Council. Her research interests center on familial socialization processes (i.e., emotion socialization and ethnic-racial socialization), and how family and other significant relationships contribute to well-being and resilience in the face of trauma and adversity. An educator at heart, she is deeply invested in the training of future clinicians and enjoys teaching graduate-level courses and providing clinical supervision to new therapists. Outside of work, Chelsea enjoys spending quality time with her partner and two dogs.
Sabey, A., Lafrance, A., Furrow, J., Diamond, G., & Hughes, D. (in press). A Family Reunion of “Clinical Cousins”: Attachment and Emotion in Four Family-Oriented Therapy Models. Family Process.
Choi, E. & Sabey, A. (2024) “I could just exist...not in a box”: Experiential examinations of masculinity within a contemporary men’s group. Psychology of Men & Masculinities. Advance online publication.
Sabey, A., Stillar, A., & Lafrance, A. (2021). Processes and outcomes of an Emotion-Focused Family Therapy two-chair intervention for transforming problematic parenting patterns. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy.
Sabey, A. K. Rauer, A. J., Haselschwerdt, M. L., & Volling, B. (2018). Beyond “lots of hugs and kisses”: Expressions of parental love from parents and their young children in two-parent, financially stable families. Family Process, 57, 737–751.
Sabey, A. K. & Rauer, A. J. (2018). Changes in older couples’ compassionate love over a year: The roles of gender, health, and attachment avoidance. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 35, 1139–1158. (Featured in Relationship Matters Podcast: http://traffic.libsyn.com/sagepublic/Relationship_Matters_Podcast_66.mp3)
Sabey, A. K., Rauer, A. J., & Haselschwerdt, M. L. (2016). “It’s not just words coming from the mouth”: The nature of compassionate love among older couples. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 33, 640-665.
Sabey, A. K., Rauer, A. J., & Jensen, J. F. (2014). Compassionate love as a mechanism linking sacred qualities of marriage to older couples’ marital satisfaction. [Special section]. Journal of Family Psychology, 28, 594-603.
Sabey, A. & *Wilson, T. (September, 2023). Themes and Frequencies of Experiences Contributing to MFT Students’ Clinical Confidence. Paper Presentation at AAMFT Intervention Research Conference, Provo, UT.
Sabey, A. & *Reed, A. (October, 2022). A Pilot Study of an Apology Intervention with a Non-Clinical Sample of Parents. Poster presentation at AAMFT Intervention Research Conference, East Lansing, MI.
Sabey, A., *Reed, A. K., & *Veikos, K. (November, 2021). Facilitating Therapeutic Apologies for Parents and Children. Workshop presentation at the Illinois Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Virtual.
Sabey, A., Stillar, A., & Lafrance, A. (August, 2021). Processes and Outcomes of an Emotion-Focused Family Therapy Two-Chair Intervention for Transforming Problematic Parenting Patterns. Poster presentation at AAMFT Intervention Research Conference, Virtual.
Sabey, A. & Lafrance, A. (November, 2018). Lessons learned from Emotion-Focused Family Therapy. Institute presented at the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Conference, Louisville, KY.