Academic interests
Couple and family therapy
How poverty, socioeconomic status and other contextual factors influence mental health in couples and families
Equal access to mental health services
Emotion focused therapy, emotions, and affective processes in therapy
Psychotherapy research
Process and outcome research
Mixed methods
Critical psychology
PhD project
"The emotionally distressed couple in context and as context: Exploring predictors, such as socioeconomic status and emotional processes, in couples therapy"
The project aims to investigate how internal and external factors, such as emotions or financial situation, affect the outcome in couples therapy. What I am interested in is finding out how these stressors affect the couple and the family while they are undergoing treatment. How does life’s many challenges affect their therapeutic process? What happens if both partners are experiencing emotional overload and severe stress?
Data will be gathered through qualitative interviews and a routine outcome monitoring system (ROM) known as Modum Process Outcome Questionnaire (M-POQ), that collects data concerning symptoms, common factors (therapist-patient factors, as well as couple and family factors), in addition to emotional, therapy-specific factors.
Project period
January 2023 - august 2026
Background
Specialist in clinical psychology with further training in emotion-focused couple therapy (EFT)
Degree in clinical psychology from SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Polen (2007-2012)
Affiliation
joanna.rzadkowska@modum-bad.no
Supervisors
PhD and senior researcher at Modum Bad, Terje Tilden (main supervisor)
PhD and director of the Research Institute, Modum Bad, KariAnne Vrabel (co-supervisor)
Professor of clinical psychology, University of Oslo, Helene Amundsen Nissen-Lie (co-supervisor)