Counseling Psychology

PSY 300 - Research Methods in Psychology

PSY 303 - Psychopathology

My research focuses on grief and loss, resilience, and college student mental health. I am particularly interested in exploring how we can develop an evidence-based understanding of death, grief, and loss, and become more comfortable discussing these topics. A central aim of my research is to promote grief literacy in individuals, organizations, and communities (i.e., the development of knowledge and skills that foster compassionate, informed responses to loss).

Sawyer, J. S. (2024). Grief and bereavement beliefs and their associations with death anxiety and complicated grief in a sample of U. S. college students. Death Studies. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2024.2349933

Sawyer, J. S. & Moore, A. N. (2022). Coping methods and college adjustment in a sample of  U.S. undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of American College Health. 72(8), 2348-2351. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2022.2129976

Sawyer, J. S., Wilner, L. L., & Ertl, M. M. (2022). Grief and bereavement beliefs among U. S. mental health professionals and the general public. Death Studies, 46(10), 2346-2353. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2021.1944399

Sawyer, J. S. (accepted, pre-publication). Counseling nonreligious clients experiencing grief. In D. M. Abbott (Ed.), Culturally Responsive Mental Health Practices with Secular Clients. Rowman & Littlefield.