Deborah J. Jones, Ph.D.

Academic Affiliation

Dr. Jones is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  She is a tenure-track faculty member in the Clinical Psychology Program where she trains doctoral students in the Child and Family Track.  For over 10 years, UNC has been ranked by US News and World Report as one of the top 10 doctoral programs in clinical psychology nationally. In 2004, UNC Clinical Psychology was ranked #8 nationally.  In the doctoral program, Dr. Jones teaches Empirically Supported Treatments for Children and Families, a course which teaches UNC doctoral candidates in the Child and Family Track of the Clinical Psychology Program the evidence-based psychological techniques and treatments for children, adolescents, and families. Accordingly, Dr. Jones teaches and practices the state-of-the-field therapy techniques for children, adolescents, and families. 

Education & Academic Positions

•  Dr. Jones earned her B.S. in Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA in 1993.

• In 1995, Dr. Jones earned her M.A. in Psychology at Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland.

• In 2000, Dr. Jones earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA. 
• She completed her clinical internship (1998-9)at the Brown University Clinical Psychology Training Consortium in Providence, Rhode Island.
• Dr. Jones completed a National Research Service Award (NRSA) Postdoctoral Training Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (2000-2).
• In 2002, Dr. Jones accepted her first tenure-track academic position in the Department of Psychology at West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV.
• Dr. Jones accepted a tenure-track faculty position in the Department of Psychology at UNC Chapel Hill in 2004.

Scientist-Practitioner Model

Dr. Jones' training was guided by the scientist-practitioner model of Clinical Psychology.  The scientist-practitioner model emphasizes the interrelationship of both research and practice in clinical psychology, such that clinical research is intended to inform clinical practice and vice versa. 

Consistent with the scientist-practitioner model, Dr. Jones is an active researcher and clinician.  Her research on the family transmission of mental and physical health in underserved and at-risk families greatly informs her own own clinical practice. Dr. Jones works with a wide-range of children, adolescents, and families, including minority, single parent, and step/blended families. She also works with families experiencing difficult circumstances and transitions (e.g., family illness, transition to adolescence). 

Beyond informing her own clinical practice, Dr. Jones' research has also contributed to the literature on family-based prevention and intervention services.  Specifically,  Dr. Jones' research highlights the following: 1. the importance of considering child and adolescent emotional and behavioral difficulties within a broader family context; 2. the importance of including family members in the psychosocial treatment of children and adolescents; and 3. the need to take into account the diversity of children and families presenting for psychological services when planning evaluation and treatment services. 

In turn, the children, adolescents, and families that Dr. Jones works with both in her private practice and the community often provide insights into important research questions. For example, it is through Dr. Jones' work with childrem from divorced and single parent families that she began to study questions related to the importance of father-involvement in families, as well as the important role of extended family members (e.g., grandmothers).