Christopher K. Belous, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Director of Couple & Family Therapy Graduate Programs and Services

Interim Coordinator, Counselor Education Programs

Introduction

Christopher Belous is the Director of Couple & Family Therapy Graduate Programs and Services and a core faculty member. Currently, he is also serving as the Interim Coordinator for Counselor Education Graduate Programs. He oversees all aspects of the administration of the program, along with all academic and clinical training requirements.

Research Overview

With a specialization in sex and sexuality, he is conducting ongoing research projects in efficacy and outcome studies, assessment and evaluation, education and supervision process, and clinical management. He is currently involved with several studies in his interest areas – including qualitative, quantitative and mixed methodologies; some of his current projects are collaborative with student authors and colleagues at other institutions.

I honestly love Microsoft Excel and paperwork. It's weird, I know - but I live for it!

Select Publications

Belous, C. K., & *Schulz, E. E. (2022, online first). The sex positivity scale: A new way to measure sex positivity as a trait. Sexual & Relationship Therapy. DOI: 10.1080/14681994.2022.2140136.

Belous, C. K., *Langbartels, L., & *Weldon, A. (2021). Teaching sex therapy as a method of transformative learning: A mixed methods analysis of efficacy. Sexual & Relationship Therapy, 36(4), 480-494. DOI: 10.1080/14681994.2019.1676408

Belous, C. K., Wampler, R. S., & Ledford, B. L. (2021). Testing the Gay and Lesbian Relationship Satisfaction Scale with item response modeling. Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, 20(1), 1-14. DOI: 10.1080/15332691.2020.1746460

Lampis, J., De Simone, S., & Belous, C. K. (2021). Relationship Satisfaction, Social Support, and Psychological Well-Being in a Sample of Italian Lesbian and Gay Individuals. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 17(1), 49-62. DOI: 10.1080/1550428X.2020.1724844

Teaching Focus

He employs a feminist-informed and socially just philosophical orientation when developing and teaching his courses. Pedagogical strategies may include challenging discussion, didactic transmission, and/or an array of experiential activities. He believes that the obligation of every student is to develop their own personal skills, resources, and knowledge abilities; while it is the responsibility of the professor to help them succeed. This is generally accomplished through the promotion of critical thinking and analytical processes based on the multi-layered and systemic socio-cultural environment that we are a part of.