Elizabeth Brestan-Knight, PhD., doctorate in clinical and health psychology, is the Alma Holladay Endowed Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Auburn University, where she has been a faculty member for the past 25 years. She has held two professorships at Auburn, won several awards for her teaching, and served as the department co-chair and undergraduate program director. In 2020, she was named the Outstanding Alumna for the University of Florida’s College of Public Health and Health Professions. Dr. Brestan-Knight has authored numerous chapters and articles as well as a book published by Wiley-Blackwell, A Guide to Teaching Developmental Psychology. She is the director of the Parent-Child Research Lab at Auburn where her clinical research team conducts PCIT with local families and evaluates PCIT and CARE training workshops. Recent projects have also included the development of an artificial intelligence program for use in therapy and a psychometric investigation of the Child Rearing Inventory.

Brestan-Knight has conducted training focusing on the dissemination and implementation of PCIT to front-line mental health therapists both directly and through training WATer and Regional Trainer candidates across the US (Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, South Dakota, Washington DC, Wisconsin) and internationally (Japan, Lebanon, Norway, Taiwan, Singapore, and South Korea). As a PCIT International Global Trainer, Brestan-Knight maintains ties with these wonderful professionals and provides ongoing consultation to help them establish their own successful PCIT clinics.