Kirsten Bradbury, Ph.D.
Lecturer
Department of Psychology
College of Liberal Arts
UT Austin
One of the aspects of teaching I enjoy most is seeing the extraordinary developmental process that unfolds when students are provided with intellectually stimulating material to challenge their thinking and a collaborative, supportive learning environment in which to question it.
Kirsten Bradbury started her career in psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her undergraduate studies in 1992. She went on to obtain her M.S. and Ph.D. from Virginia Tech, with a primary concentration in clinical child and pediatric psychology. She served as an intern and postdoctoral fellow at the Emory University School of Medicine for two years, focusing on psychological interventions for breast cancer patients, holistic health services for low-income teens, and injury-prevention programming for urban children. Dr. Bradbury was awarded the Lizette Peterson-Homer Memorial Award for Injury Prevention Research from the American Psychological Association in the award’s inaugural year.
Following work as a visiting professor for Mercer University and Emory University, Dr. Bradbury returned to the University of Texas at Austin in 2007 as a lecturer. Over the past ten years, she has taught a variety of specialized courses, from a 29-student Honors section of Introduction to Psychology to an interactive online version of Abnormal Psychology broadcast live to 400 students. Among Dr. Bradbury’s favorite courses to teach are Introduction to Clinical Psychology and Behavior Problems of Children, courses in which she draws most on her clinical expertise.
A passionate and dedicated teacher, Dr. Bradbury has acted as a trusted advisor and mentor to countless undergraduate and graduate students on their academic and professional paths. She also supervises undergraduate student senior theses and honors research projects, acts as the faculty advisor for the Liberal Arts Pre-Med Society, and provides supervision to students engaged in field placements through the Bridging Disciplines program. Dr. Bradbury has received numerous awards for her teaching at UT, including the Harry Ransom Award for Teaching Excellence and the President’s Associates Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Dr. Bradbury keeps active in clinical work through her independent clinical psychology practice in Austin, Texas, where she provides assessment and therapy to clients with a wide range of presenting problems. Her specialties include applications of cognitive-behavioral therapy, positive psychology, and motivational science to pediatric and family systems interventions. She hosts a variety of clinical workshops and wellness presentations for professional groups, graduate students, and general audiences. When she isn’t working, Dr. Bradbury enjoys communing with nature and spending time with her family.
