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Britney Brinkman, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Psychology 

Director of Clinical Training


Pictured is Britney Brinkman. Photo by Randall Coleman.Contact Information

Education

  • Bachelor of Science, Honors Psychology, University of Utah
  • Master of Science, Counseling Psychology, Colorado State University
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Counseling Psychology, Colorado State University

Certifications and Licensures 

  • Licensed Psychologist

Courses Taught

  • Community Psychology and Practicum
  • Ethics and Professional Issues

Background

Britney G. Brinkman, Ph.D., is an associate professor of psychology and director of clinical training at Point Park University. She is also director of the Social Justice Psychology Research Team at Point Park. 

Prior to joining Point Park, she was an associate professor in the counseling psychology graduate program at Chatham University. She also taught at the University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana, the University of Utah and Colorado State University.

Dr. Brinkman is an expert in the psychology of gender and social justice. She has a particular interest in the lives of adolescent girls and the importance of designing, implementing and evaluating prevention and early intervention programs. 

Dr. Brinkman’s latest book Girls’ Identities and Experiences of Oppression in Schools Resilience, Resistance, and Transformation (2022) uses an intersectional approach to explore the ways in which girls and adults in school systems hold multiple realities, negotiate tensions, cultivate hope and resilience, resist oppression, and envision transformation. The book draws upon data and interviews collected over a 15-year period with girls and educators within schools.

In 2021, Dr. Brinkman was awarded the See the Best in Me Equity Award from Gwen’s Girls. She received the Christine Ladd-Franklin Award from the Association for Women in Psychology in 2020 for her work in feminist psychology. She was honored with a Presidential Citation as a Citizen Psychologist from the American Psychological Association in 2018. In 2017, Dr. Brinkman received an Interdisciplinary Research Leaders Fellowship from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to continue her community-based research focused on decreased health inequities facing Black girls. Additionally, Dr. Brinkman received a 2014-2015 fellowship from the American Association of University Women for work on her book, Detection and Prevention of Identity-Based Bullying: Social Justice Perspectives.

She is a founding member of the Black Girls Equity Alliance and co-convener of the Health and Wellness Working group. She is also an active member of the Association for Women in Psychology, the Society for Counseling Psychology (Div. 17 of APA) and the Society for the Psychology of Women (Div. 35 of APA). In her free time, Dr. Brinkman can most likely be found at a yoga class, running or hiking in the woods.

Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests

  • Director, Social Justice Psychology Research Team
  • Girls' studies
  • Community-based participatory action research
  • Psychology of social justice and activism
  • Multicultural competence and advocacy training
  • Preventing sexual harassment and sexual violence
  • Black girls’ empowerment and well-being

Selected Publications

  • Brinkman, B.G., Brinkman, K., Hamilton, D. (2022) Girls’ Identities and Experiences of Oppression in Schools: Resilience, Resistance, and Transformation. Routledge Press.
  • "Centering Black Girls in Sexual Harassment Research: A Community-Based Participatory Action Research Approach," Women & Therapy, Taylor & Francis Online, 2021. 
  • Detection and Prevention of Identity-Based Bullying: Social Justice Perspectives, Routledge Press. 2016.
  • "Promoting Adolescent Girls' Civic Engagement and Activism," The Political Psychology of Women in U.S. Politics, New York: Routledge, 2016.
  • "Walking the Walk: Conducting Feminist Community-Based Research," Feminist Perspectives on Building a Better Psychological Science of Gender, Springer International Publishing, 2016.
  • "More PAR please! Why schools and universities should be doing more programming to reduce prejudice," The Psychology of Prejudice: interdisciplinary Perspectives on Contemporary Issues, New York: Nova Publishers, 2012.
  • "Children's intended responses to gender-based bullying as targets and bystanders," Childhood, 23, 2016.
  • "College men's experiences of gender prejudice," Journal of Men's Studies, 24, 2016.
  • "Bystander Intervention of College Students' Experiences of Gender Prejudice," Sex Roles, 72, 2015.
  • "College Women's Reflections on Media Representations of Empowerment," Psychology of Popular Media Culture. 4, 2015.
  • "Children's Gender Identity Development: A Dynamic Negotiation between Conformity and Authenticity," Youth and Society, 46, 2014.
  • "Exploration of a Feminist Icon: Wonder Woman's Influence on U.S. Media [review of film Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines], Sex Roles, 70, 2014.

Selected Lectures/Presentations

  • "Girls' Activism in Response to Violence," Gender and Violence: Connecting Interdisciplinary Scholarship and the Community Symposium, Chatham University, November 2016.
  • "Psychology of Gender," Global Solutions Pittsburgh and Get Involved!, July 2015.
  • "Social Justice Initiatives Beyond the University: Promoting Girls' Empowerment through Community-Based Research," Chatham University, November 2014.
  • "Leadership and Power: Workshop for Students of Division 17," American Psychological Convention, Washington, D.C., August 2014.
  • "Gender and Social Justice Work," Global Solutions Pittsburgh and Get Involved!, July 2014.
  • "The State of the Girl: Emotional, Cognitive, Social and Physical Development," Strong Women Strong Girls, Training, Pittsburgh, Pa., January 2014.
  • "Activism Not Slactivism: Supporting Youth Activism through Teaching, Research and Action," webinar for Utah State University's Center for Women and Girls," December 2013.
  • "Activism Work with (not for) Children and Adolescents," keynote speaker for 21st Annual Diversity Conference, University of Albany, November 2012.
  • "How to refine a research agenda," faculty presentation at Chatham University, May 2010.
  • "Making feminism relevant: Across the generations," Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association, Boston, Mass., August 2008.

Honors and Awards

  • See the Best in Me Equity Award, Gwen's Girls, 2021.
  •  Christine Ladd-Franklin Award, Association for Women in Psychology, 2020
  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Interdisciplinary Research Fellows Program, 2017
  • American Association of University Women: American Fellowship, 2014
  • Selected Participant for Institute for Feminist Academic Psychologists Society for the Psychology of Women, 2012
  • Outstanding Student Poster Award, APA Division of Health Psychology, 2008
  • Outstanding Poster Submission, Society for the Psychology of Women and APAGS Student Poster Session, 2007
  • Advocate of the Year, Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Center of Larimer County, Colorado, 2006
  • Patsy Boyer Scholarship for Outstanding Women's Studies Graduate Student, Colorado State University, 2006
  • Walter C. Wittich Memorial Scholarship for Outstanding Counseling Psychology Student, Colorado State University, 2006

Professional Affiliations

  • American Psychological Association
  • Division 17 of APA: Society of Counseling Psychology
  • Division 35 of APA: Society for the Psychology of Women
  • Division 51 of APA: Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinity
  • Division 9 of APA: Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues
  • Association for Women in Psychology
  • National Women's Studies Association
  • Psi Chi, Honor Society for Psychology
  • Girls Coalition of Southwestern Pennsylvania

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