Biography
Dr. Davis earned his BA in Family Studies and MS in Marriage and Family Therapy at Brigham Young University. He earned his PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy at Virginia Tech and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Davis' work focuses on common factors of effective marriage and family therapy treatments. He is widely published in this area, most notably having co-authored the first book on this subject and two articles for which he and his co-authors received the 2014 and 2015 article of the year award in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, his field's top journal. Dr. Davis is also the co-author (with Dr. Michael Nichols) of Family Therapy: Concepts and Methods, one of the field's most widely used theory textbooks. In addition to his work on common factors, Dr. Davis enjoys international education opportunities, having taken students to Mexico and Italy.
Professional Interests
- Common factors across effective MFT models
- Bridging the scientist/practitioner gap in MFT
- International MFT education
Education and Certifications
- PhD, Virginia Tech, 2005
- California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT 45885)
- American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Approved Supervisor
- American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Clinical Fellow
Courses
- MFT Theories and Techniques I
- Couples Therapy
- Advanced Couples Therapy
Scholarship and Contributions to the Field
- Davis, S. D. (2023). Common factors in couple therapy. In Lebow, J. L. & Snyder, D. K. (Eds.) (6th ed.). Clinical Handbook of Couple Therapy. New York: Guilford.
- Nichols, M. P., & Davis, S. D. (2020). Family therapy: Concepts and methods (12th ed.). Columbus, OH: Pearson.
- Davis, S. D., Fife, S. T., Whiting, J. B., & Bradford, K. P. (2020). "Way of being and the therapeutic pyramid: Expanding the application of a common factors meta-model." Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 1-16.
- Davis, S. D., & Hsieh, A. (2019) "What does it mean to be a common factors informed family therapist?" Family Process, 1-12. Doi: 10.1111/famp.12477
- Nichols, M. P., & Davis, S. D. (2019). Essentials of family therapy (7th ed.). Columbus, OH: Pearson.
- Laszloffy, T. A., & Davis, S. D. (2018). "Nurturing nature: Exploring ecological self-of-the-therapist issues." Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. Doi: 10.1111/jmft.1231
- Karam, E., Blow, A., Sprenkle, D. H., & Davis, S. D. (2015). "Strengthening the Systemic Ties that Bind: Integrating Common Factors into MFT Curricula." Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 41, 136-149. Doi: 10.1111/jmft.12096.
- Karam, E., Davis, S. D., & Sprenkle, D. H. (2015). "Targeting Threats to the Therapeutic Alliance: A Primer for MFT Training." Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 41, 389-400. Doi: 10.1111/jmft.12097.
- Dattilio, F. M., Piercy, F. P., & Davis, S. D. (2014). "The divide between “evidence-based” approaches and practitioners of traditional theories of family therapy." Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 40, 5-16. Doi: 10.111/jmft.12032.
- Fife, S. T., Whiting, J. B., Bradford, K., & Davis, S. D. (2014). "The therapeutic pyramid: A common factors synthesis of techniques, alliance, and way of being." Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 40, 20-33. Doi: 10.1111/jmft.12041.
- Bean, R. A., Davis, S. D., & Davey, M. P. (Eds.) (2014). Clinical Supervision Activities for Increasing Competence and Self-Awareness, New York: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Davis, S. D., Lebow, J., & Sprenkle, D. H. (2012). "Common factors of change in couple therapy." Behavior Therapy, 43, 36-48.
- Blow, A. J., Davis, S. D., & Sprenkle, D. H. (2012). "Therapist-worldview matching: Not as important as matching to clients." Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 38, 13-17.
- Woolley, S. R., Wampler, K. S., & Davis, S. D. (2012). "Enactments in couple therapy: Identifying therapist interventions associated with positive change." Journal of Family Therapy, 34, 284-305.
- Datillio, F. M., Jongsma, A. E., & Davis, S. D. (2010). The family therapy treatment planner. (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
- Sprenkle, D. H., Davis, S. D., & Lebow, J. (2009) Common factors in couple and family therapy: The overlooked foundation for effective practice. New York: Guilford Press.
- Butler, M. H., Davis, S. D., & Seedal, R. (2008). "Common pitfalls of beginning therapists utilizing enactments." Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 34, 269-286.
- Davis, S. D. & Piercy, F. P. (2007). "What clients of MFT model developers and their former students say about change, Part I: Model dependent common factors across three models." Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 33, 318-343.
- Davis, S. D. & Piercy, F. P. (2007). "What clients of MFT model developers and their former students say about change, Part II: Model independent common factors and an integrative framework." Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 33, 344-363.
- Blow, A. J., Sprenkle, D. S., & Davis, S. D. (2007). "Is who delivers the treatment more important than the treatment itself?: The role of the therapist in common factors." Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 33, 298-317.
- Davis, S.D. (2005). "Beyond technique: An autoethnographic exploration of how I learned to show love towards my father." The Qualitative Report, 10, 532-541.
- Davis, S. D., & Butler, M. H. (2004). "Enacting relationships in Marriage and Family Therapy: A conceptual and operational definition of an enactment." Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 30, 319-334.
Honors
- 2020 Training Award, American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. A nationally competitive award for excellence in training.
- 2015 Journal of Marital and Family Therapy article of the year award
- 2014 Journal of Marital and Family Therapy article of the year award
- 2011 Alliant International University Provost’s Pillar Award for Excellence in Scholarship.
- 2010 Reviewer of the Year Award, Journal of Marital and Family Therapy.
- 2010 Coauthor of the most downloaded article in Journal of Marital and Family Therapy.
- 2008 Author or co-author of three of the five most cited articles of all articles published in the top-ranked Journal of Marital and Family Therapy during 2005-2008.
- 2006 AAMFT Dissertation Award, a nationally competitive award for an outstanding completed dissertation. The first person in the history of AAMFT to win both the Dissertation and Graduate Student Research Awards.
- 2005 AAMFT Graduate Student Research Award, a nationally competitive award for innovative dissertation research.