About our authors
Thomas F. Oltmanns is the Edgar James Swift Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences in Arts and Sciences as well as professor of psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis. He received his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin and his Ph.D. from Stony Brook University. Oltmanns was previously professor of psychology at the University of Virginia (1986 to 2003) and at Indiana University (1976 to 1986). His early research studies were concerned with the role of cognitive and emotional factors in schizophrenia. With grant support from NIA, his lab is currently conducting a prospective study of the personality and health in later life. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Association for Psychological Science and was elected president of the Society for Research in Psychopathology, the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology and the Academy of Psychological Clinical Science. Undergraduate students in psychology have selected him to receive outstanding teaching awards at Washington University and at UVA. In 2011, Oltmanns received the Toy Caldwell-Colbert Award for distinguished educator in clinical psychology from the Society for Clinical Psychology (Division 12 of APA). His other books include Schizophrenia (1980), written with John Neale; Delusional Beliefs (1988), edited with Brendan Maher; and Case Studies in Abnormal Psychology (10th Edition, 2012), written with Michele Martin.
Robert E. Emery is professor of psychology and director of the Center for Children, Families and the Law at the University of Virginia, where he served as director of Clinical Training for 9 years. In 2017, Emery was honored with the Cavaliers Distinguished Teaching Fellowship, the highest teaching honor awarded at the University of Virginia. Students have repeatedly voted to elect Emery to give the psychology commencement address. He also has been voted “best professor” by psychology students. Emery received a B.A. from Brown University in 1974 and a Ph.D. from SUNY at Stony Brook in 1982. His research focuses on family conflict, children's mental health, and associated legal issues, particularly divorce mediation and child custody disputes. More recently, he has been involved in genetically informed research of selection into and the consequences of major changes in the family environment. Emery has authored over 150 scientific articles and book chapters. In addition to his teaching awards, he has been honored for Distinguished Contributions to Family Psychology from Division 43 of the American Psychological Association, a Citation Classic from the Institute for Scientific Information, an Outstanding Research Publication Award from the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the Distinguished Researcher Award as well as the President's Award for Distinguished Service from the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York State Council on Divorce Mediation, and several awards and award nominations for his books on divorce: Marriage, Divorce and Children's Adjustment (2nd Edition, 1998, Sage Publications); Renegotiating Family Relationships: Divorce, Child Custody, and Mediation (2nd Edition, 2011, Guilford Press); The Truth About Children and Divorce: Dealing with the Emotions So You and Your Children Can Thrive (2004, Viking) and Two Homes, One Childhood: A Parenting Plan to Last a Lifetime (2016, Avery). Emery currently is social science editor of Family Court Review. In addition to teaching, research, and administration, he maintains a limited practice as a clinical psychologist and mediator.
