I am a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of California (PSY27588) with over ten years of experience in the field of mental health.

I completed my bachelor's degree in psychology at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, where I conducted research on family therapy at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. I then moved to California to complete my master's degree and doctorate in the Psychology Department at the University of California, Los Angeles. My research advisor was Dr. Andrew Christensen, one of the two co-developers of Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT). During my graduate work at UCLA, I received extensive clinical training in IBCT (supervised directly by Dr. Christensen), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). I was also fortunate to receive grant funding from the National Institute of Mental Health and author journal publications and national conference presentations (see below).

In my last year of graduate school, I completed an APA-accredited clinical internship at the VA Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center in North Hills, CA, where I obtained additional experience with couple therapy (IBCT) and trauma-focused treatment (primarily PE and CPT) in a Veteran population. After graduation, I obtained an APA-accredited postdoctoral fellowship at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, CA, supervising and teaching graduate-level clinicians and psychiatry residents in evidence-based therapies. Based on my training during my fellowship year, I became a Diplomate of the Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies, the national organization for certification of clinicians proficient in CBT.

After obtaining my license, I worked as a staff psychologist at Harbor-UCLA before transferring to a position in administration for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. During my years of clinical practice, I have found I am especially passionate about working with couples and with survivors of trauma. I continue to engage in scholarship in the area of couple therapy and overcoming barriers to implementation of evidence-based practice in community mental health settings. I live in Los Angeles with my husband and two children.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

  • Chen, B. C., Lui, J. H. L., Benson, L. A., Yen-Jui, L. R., Ponce, N., Innes-Gomberg, D., & Lau, A. S. (2022). After the crisis: Racial/ethnic disparities and predictors of care use following youth psychiatric emergencies. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 1-16.

  • Chen, B. C., Lui, J. H. L., Liu, V., Wright, B. A., Benson, L. A., Lin, Y.-J. R., & Lau, A. S. (2022). Mapping racial/ethnic disparities in youth psychiatric emergencies and associations with neighborhood racial composition, child opportunity, and inequality. Clinical Psychological Science.

  • Regan, J., Okamura, K., Rodriguez, A., Benson, L. A., Orimoto, T., & Ward, A. (2020). Applying psychological science in government behavioral health settings – A psychologist’s perspective. The Behavior Therapist, 43(6), 217-223.

  • Benson, L. A., Doss, B. D., & Christensen, A. (2018). Online intervention for couples affected by generalized anxiety disorder. European Journal of Counselling Psychology, 7(1), 1-13.

  • Benson, L. A., & Christensen, A. (2016). Empirically supported couple therapies. In E. Lawrence & K. Sullivan (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Couple Dysfunction. New York: Oxford University Press.

  • Doss, B.D., Cicila, L. N., Georgia, E. J., Roddy, M. K., Nowlan, K. M., Benson, L. A., & Christensen, A. (2016). A randomized controlled trial of the web-based OurRelationship program: Effects on relationship and individual functioning. Journal of Clinical and Consulting Psychology, 84, 285-296.

  • Benson, L. A., Sevier, M., & Christensen, A. (2014). Reply to commentaries: Of course, we do not yet know what it is all about, but functional contextualism is a good place to start. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy.

  • Benson, L. A., Sevier, M., & Christensen, A. (2013). The impact of behavioral couple therapy on attachment in distressed couples. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 39, 407-420.

  • Doss, B.D., Benson, L. A., Georgia, E. J., & Christensen, A. (2013). Translation of integrative behavioral couple therapy to a web-based intervention. Family Process, 52, 139-153.

  • Benson, L. A., McGinn, M. M., & Christensen, A. (2012). Common principles of couple therapy. Behavior Therapy, 43, 25-35.

  • McGinn, M. M., Benson, L. A., & Christensen, A. (2010). Integrative behavioral couple therapy: An acceptance-based approach to improving relationship functioning. In J. D. Herbert & E. Forman (Eds.), Acceptance and Mindfulness in Cognitive Behavior Therapy. New York: Wiley & Sons.

  • Benson, L. A., Christensen, A., & Doss, B. D. (2015, November). Impact of the full OurRelationship couples intervention on mental and physical health. In B. D. Doss (Chair), Impact of Online Relationship Interventions on Couple and Individual Functioning. Symposium conducted at the annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Chicago, IL.

  • Benson, L. A., & Georgia, E. J. (2013, November). Symposium chairs. Early, Preventative, and Low-Intensity Relationship Interventions. Symposium conducted at the annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Nashville, TN.

  • Benson, L. A. (2011, November). Symposium chair. Five-Year Follow-Up Data on a Comparison of Two Couple Therapies. Symposium conducted at the annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Toronto, Canada.

  • Benson, L. A., & Christensen, A. (2010, November). Communication patterns of distressed couples in which one partner has an anxiety disorder. In K. J. W. Baucom & C. J. Eubanks (Chairs), Extending Research on Associations between Individual and Relational Distress in Couples. Symposium conducted at the annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, San Francisco, CA.

  • Benson, L. A., Christensen, A., & Sevier, M. (2009, November). The impact of behavioral couple therapy on attachment in distressed couples. In R. Brock & W. A. Aldridge (Chairs), Moving Beyond Global Relationship Satisfaction: Targeting Specific Relationship Processes in Couples Research. Symposium conducted at the annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, New York, NY.