Shea Graham

Shea Graham is a researcher, teacher, and private practice owner based in Charlottesville, Virginia. She earned her BA at the University of Virginia, MSW at Columbia University, and her PhD in Clinical Sexology. Her research focuses on identifying, adapting, and integrating clinical reasoning methods into clinical sexology, with the ultimate goal of helping sex therapists improve the quality of care their clients receive. Shea's research is the first to propose a collection of sexology-informed clinical reasoning principles. It is also the first to adapt the Learning by Concordance (LBC) model from French to English and to construct the only LBC lesson plan approved for sex therapists using the first graphical model of clinical reasoning that is validated by Modeling using Typified Objects (MOT). In 2022, Shea presented her research findings at the Black Sexuality and Educators Conference in Montreal, Canada, and is scheduled to present at two national conferences in 2023: the Society for Sex Therapy and Research and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. In 2021, Shea was awarded a research fellowship from the California Institute of Integral Studies, where she explored sexual preferences across sexual orientations. In 2018, she established Soulful Wellness, a program that provides field practicum supervision and training to social work graduate students at Fordham University, Arizona State University, Ohio State University, and Tulane University. In addition to her academic and professional experience, Shea is deeply passionate and involved in social justice work. In 2021, she was appointed to the Board of Directors for the Community Investment Collaborative, a nonprofit organization that provides financing and support to under-resourced entrepreneurs (especially women and people of color).