Lab Director
John L. Cooley, Ph.D. E-mail: john.cooley@ttu.edu
Dr. Cooley began working in the mental health field in the summer of 2008 at a short-term residential treatment program for youth with serious emotional and behavioral difficulties. This experience sparked his interest in clinical child psychology, and he returned to work there again the following summer.
In 2010, Dr. Cooley received his undergraduate degree in Psychology and Global Studies from the College of William & Mary and subsequently took a position as a research coordinator at Emory University School of Medicine. He then began his doctorate at the University of Kansas (KU) in 2012; after participating in the Child Track of the Charleston Consortium Internship Program, Dr. Cooley received his Ph.D. in Clinical Child Psychology with a minor in Quantitative Psychology from KU in 2018. Next, he completed a 2-year NIMH T32 postdoctoral fellowship focused on prevention science at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
In Fall 2020, Dr. Cooley joined the faculty at Texas Tech University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences.
Dr. Cooley has been conducting research on peer relations (peer victimization, bullying, aggressive behavior) and prevention and intervention approaches since 2009, which has been supported through federal, state, foundation, and intramural funding and recognized by multiple awards. Dr. Cooley has authored 44 peer-reviewed journal articles and 2 book chapters and contributed to 79 national and international conference presentations. He has training in advanced quantitative methods (multilevel modeling, structural equation modeling, longitudinal data analysis, psychometrics) and currently works as a statistical consultant. Dr. Cooley also serves as a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Youth and Adolescence and as an active ad hoc reviewer for 17 other peer-reviewed journals.
Dr. Cooley is a Licensed Psychologist in the State of Texas. He is certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Selected Triple P—Positive Parenting Program. Dr. Cooley has worked in a range of clinical settings to date, including university outpatient clinics, a community mental health center, a school-based clinic, a community outreach program, a primary care clinic, and a Head Start consultation and treatment program. He has experience providing evidence-based mental health services for youth with presenting problems related to trauma, anxiety, depression, behavioral difficulties (aggression, oppositional defiant disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), and bullying/peer victimization.
At TTU, Dr. Cooley trains doctoral students in clinical psychology on the provision of evidence-based mental health services for youth and families and teaches an undergraduate course on psychological disorders that occur during childhood and adolescence. He also holds a dual appointment as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.
Below is Dr. Cooley’s address at the 2019 Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology Future Directions Forum: