Biography
Alba Niño, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Couple and Family Therapy Program (San Diego Campus). She is a licensed marriage and family therapist (Maryland - 2008; California - 2018) and she is an AAMFT approved supervisor since 2013. Since her appointment at Alliant International University in 2013, she has taught courses on topics such as theories and therapeutic models in MFT, diversity in families, trauma and crisis intervention, and person of the therapist. Her interest in the self of the therapists, the quality of the therapeutic relationship, and the experiences of immigrant therapists is reflected in her publication and presentation record.
Professional Interests
- Person-of-the-therapist training.
- Emotion and attachment-centered therapies.
- Diversity and social justice in Couple and Family Therapy.
- Trauma therapy.
- Therapy with immigrant, Latino, and bilingual families.
- Qualitative research.
Education and Certifications
- PhD; Marriage and Family Therapy, Drexel University
- MS; Marriage and Family Therapy, University of Maryland at College Park
- BS; Anthropology, Universidad de Los Andes (Bogot-Colombia)
- BS; Psychology, Universidad de Los Andes (Bogot-Colombia)
Honors
- 2012 Teaching Excellence Award, Graduate Excellence Committee - Drexel University
Scholarship and Contributions to the Field
- Nio, A. (2017, March). Person-of-the-Therapist Training (POTT): Premises, implementation and supporting research. Workshop presented at the XXV World Family Therapy Congress, Malaga, Spain.
- Kissil, K., Nio, A., & Aponte, H. (2014). "Facilitating clinician development using themes of personal issues." In R.A. Bean, S. Davis, & M. Davey (Eds.), Clinical supervision activities for increasing competence and self-awareness (pp. 3-7). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
- Nio, A., Kissil, K., & Aponte, H. (2014). "Exploring the person-of-the-therapist for better joining, assessment, and intervention." In R.A. Bean, S. Davis, & M. Davey (Eds.), Clinical supervision activities for increasing competence and self-awareness (pp. 9-13). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
- Nio, A. (2016). "Looking at the POTT process: The case of the "rescuer"". In H. J. Aponte & K. Kissil (Eds.), The person of the therapist training model: Mastering the use of self (pp. 60-76). New York, NY: Routledge.
- Hawker, M., & Nio, A. (2017). "Factors contributing to posttraumatic growth in Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans." Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, 26, 1104-1116. doi: 10.1080/10926771.2017.1341442
- Nio, A., Kissil, K., & Davey, M. (2016). "Strategies used by foreign born family therapists to connect across cultural differences: A thematic analysis." Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 42, 123-138. doi: 10.1111/jmft.12115
- Kissil, K., Nio, A, Ingram, M., & Davey, M. (2014). "I knew from day one that I was either gonna fight this thing or be defeated": African American parents' experiences of coping with breast cancer. Journal of Family Nursing, 20, 98-119. doi: 10.1177/1074840713504035
- Kissil, K., & Nio, A. (2018). "The Person-of-the-Therapist Training's state of affairs: Evaluating research and implementation of the model." Journal of Family Psychotherapy. doi: doi.org/10.1080/08975353.2018.1477383.
- Kissil, K., & Nio, A. (2017). "Does the Person-of-the-Therapist Training (POTT) promote self-care? Personal gains of MFT trainees following POTT: A retrospective thematic analysis." Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. doi: 10.1111/jmft.12213.
- Nio, A., Kissil, K., & Cooke, L. (2016). "Training for connection: Students' perceptions of the effects of the Person-of-the-Therapist Training on their therapeutic relationships." Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 42, 599-614. doi: 10.1111/jmft.12167.
- Nio, A., Kissil, K., & Apolinar, F. L. (2015). "Perceived professional gains of master's level students following a Person-of-the-Therapist Training program: A retrospective content analysis." Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 41, 163-176. doi: 10.1111/jmft.12051
- Davey, M., Waite, R., Nuez, A., Nio, A., & Kissil, K. (2014). "A snapshot of patients' perceptions of oncology providers' cultural competence." Journal of Cancer Education, 29, 657-664. doi: 10.1007/s13187-014-0619-9
- Kissil, K., Nino, A., & Davey, M. (2013). "Doing therapy in a foreign land: when the therapist is "not from here"." American Journal of Family Therapy, 41, 134-147. doi: 10.1080/01926187.2011.641441
- Davey, M., Nino, A, Kissil, K., & Ingram, M. (2012). "African American parents' experiences navigating breast cancer while caring for their children." Qualitative Health Research, 22, 1260-1270. doi: 10.1177/1049732312449211
- Davey, M., Tubbs, C., Kissil, K., & Nino, A. (2011). "'We are survivors too': African American adolescents' experiences of coping with parental breast cancer." Psycho-Oncology, 20, 77-87. doi: 10.1002/pon.1712
- Kissil, K., Nino, A. Jacobs, S., Davey, M., & Tubbs, C., (2010). "'It has been a good growing experience for me': Growth experiences among African American youth coping with parental cancer." Family Systems and Health, 28, 274-289. doi: 10.1037/a0020001
- Davey, M., Kissil, K., & Nino, A., Tubbs, C. (2010). "'They paid no mind to my state of mind': African American breast cancer patients' experiences of cancer care delivery." Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 28, 683-698. doi: 10.1080/07347332.2010.516807