Tami Sullivan, PhD

Dr. Sullivan’s program of research is centered on individual- and system-level factors that affect the wellbeing of women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV), with specific attention to daily processes (i.e., how experiences and behaviors unfold in their natural environment). and micro-longitudinal designs. Community-partnered research is foundational to her work, including centering women who have experienced IPV and the practitioners that support them. At the individual level, her work advances understanding of factors that promote resilience such self-efficacy, empowerment, and hope, as well as those that increase risk for negative outcomes such as posttraumatic stress, substance use, and sexual risk. At the systems-level, Dr. Sullivan conducts IPV research within the substance use, criminal justice, HIV and other service systems. She studies the impact of the system’s response on women’s emotional and physical wellbeing including the ways in which it promotes or impedes their safety, recovery and resilience. She develops community-based and service-system interventions such as a peer-led support group, a single-session intervention to promote hope, and a stepped-care counseling intervention to reduce trauma symptoms to promote retention in care for opioid use disorder. She disseminates findings broadly to researchers, practitioners and the general public to accelerate their translation to changes in practice and policy by sharing findings in various formats such as practitioner briefs, blogs, infographics, webinars and the popular press.

She is a licensed psychologist with experience in a range of treatment settings from inpatient and outpatient programs for mental health and substance use to community programs for with women who experience IPV (e.g., domestic violence service providing organizations) and individuals who use IPV (court-mandated programs).