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Carla Smith Stover, PhD

she/her/hers
Professor in the Child Study Center
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About

Titles

Professor in the Child Study Center

Biography

Dr. Carla Stover is a licensed clinical psychologist and Professor at the Yale University School of Medicine Child Study Center. Dr. Stover's research interests are focused on the impact of violence and trauma (particularly family violence) on child development and the advancement of best practice interventions for children and families affected by such violence exposure. Dr. Stover has provided clinical service to families impacted by domestic violence including acute/crisis response, as well as, longer term evidence based treatments like TF-CBT and Child Parent Psychotherapy. Dr. Stover has been awarded several grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to develop interventions for fathers with histories of intimate partner violence (IPV) and substance misuse. She developed Fathers for Change to enable fathers to reduce both their violence and substance use and improve their parenting. She has conducted trainings both nationally and internationally on engagement and treatment approaches for families impacted by trauma, IPV and substance misuse.

Appointments

Education & Training

Fellow
Yale University School of Medicine (2003)
PhD
California School of Professional Psychology (2002)
Research Intern
University of California San Francisco-Department of Psychiatry (2001)

Research

Overview

I began my research career as a graduate student with the University of California San Francisco’s Child Trauma Research Project. This was a hospital-based program under the direction of Drs. Alicia Lieberman and Patricia Van Horn. I worked within their program for three years and was intimately involved in their NIMH funded research project studying the efficacy and manualization of Child-Parent Psychotherapy for young children exposed to violence. I interviewed mothers, conducted assessments with young children, coded video play sessions, and aided in data management. In addition to my research experience and work, I was trained and supervised in Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP). After working with this research team, I became interested in the relationships that children had with their previously violent fathers. I developed my own study, which became my doctoral dissertation, examining the behavioral, cognitive, and emotional implications of father visitation in domestic violence families. Results revealed that preschool aged children with little to no contact with their fathers had higher rates of internalizing symptoms regardless of the severity of violence perpetrated by the father toward the mother. In addition, children (especially boys) who had more contact with their fathers had fewer negative representations of their mothers in play. These data suggest that ending the violence and continuing contact with fathers when possible can yield better outcomes for children.

I came to the Yale Child Study Center to complete my internship and postdoctoral training. I remained on the faculty at Yale for 10 years conducting research related to interventions for children exposed to violence including development and efficacy testing of the Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention and the Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention with Dr. Steven Marans.

I began my work on interventions for fathers with histories of intimate partner violence (IPV) through an award as an early investigator from the Annie E. Casey Foundation to begin development of an intervention for fathers with histories of IPV that would focus on their parenting. I received a K23 Career Award from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) to develop an intervention for fathers with co-occurring substance abuse and IPV. With K23 support, I demonstrated the preliminary feasibility and efficacy of Fathers for Change to enable fathers to reduce both their substance use and their violent behavior. I then spent 4 years at the University of South Florida’s Department of Mental Health Law and Policy because of its focus on co-occurring disorders in legal systems. During that time I was awarded an R34 from NIDA to test Fathers for Change in residential substance abuse treatment programs. Upon return to the Yale Child Study Center in 2017, I began further evaluation research of Fathers for Change through a statewide dissemination evaluation and a clinical trial funded by NICHD. I also launched the Yale Early Stress and Adversity Consortium bringing together faculty from across Yale departments/schools and beyond to develop collaborative research and writing projects to advance understanding of the longitudinal impacts of early life adversity on later life outcomes.

Aside from my intervention research, I have authored dozens of articles in peer reviewed journals related to IPV and the impact on parenting, children and families. I have conducted trainings and presentations both nationally and internationally on working with fathers with histories of IPV. I provide ongoing consultation to the CT Department of Children and Families on working with IPV families involved with child welfare. Notably, I traveled to Oslo, Norway to present to clinicians from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Iceland on engagement and treatment approaches for fathers with IPV and substance misuse problems. I co-authored a home-based intervention approach for families with situational couple violence being piloted across the United Kingdom by the National Society for the Prevention of Child Cruelty entitled Steps to Safety.


Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

Psychiatry and Psychology

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Carla Smith Stover's published research.

Publications

Featured Publications

2024

2023

  • Fathers and violence: A program to change behavior, improve parenting, and heal relationships
    Stover, C. S. (2023). Fathers and violence: A program to change behavior, improve parenting, and heal relationships. The Guilford Press.
    Books

Clinical Trials

Current Trials

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

  • activity

    National Child Traumatic Stress Network-Family Systems Work Group

  • honor

    Outstanding Faculty Research Achievement Award

  • honor

    Loan Repayment Award

Clinical Care

Overview

Carla Smith Stover, PhD, is a mental health specialist focusing on anxiety, adjustment disorder, acute stress disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She offers solution-focused brief therapy and emotionally focused therapy, including counseling for individuals dealing with grief, loss, and bereavement.

Stover's research explores intimate partner violence, father-child interactions, and trauma and adverse childhood experiences. Her work highlights the effects of negative experiences on children's health and well-being, and the potential consequences of early life adversity on fathers' parenting abilities. She also investigates co-parenting interventions and family outcomes.

In recognition of her work, Stover has received the Loan Repayment Award and Outstanding Faculty Research Achievement Award. Her research has received funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Institute on Aging.

Stover is a professor at the Yale Child Study Center.

Clinical Specialties

Psychology

Get In Touch

Contacts

Academic Office Number
Appointment Number

Locations

  • Sterling Hall of Medicine, I-Wing

    Academic Office

    333 Cedar Street, Wing I, Fl 1, Rm 181

    New Haven, CT 06510

    General Information

    203.785.3486
  • Patient Care Locations

    Are You a Patient? View this doctor's clinical profile on the Yale Medicine website for information about the services we offer and making an appointment.