Education
Dr. Bocknek holds a master’s degree in Couples and Family Therapy, a doctorate in Child Development, and two postdoctoral fellowships in Child Psychiatry and Infant Mental Health.
Bio
Dr. Erika is a university professor, family therapist, Jewish mom of 3, and Detroiter. She has spent 20 years cultivating expertise in the science of parenting, child development, and couple and family therapy. Specific teaching and research interests include stress, trauma, and the risk-resilience continuum; early social and emotional development; research methods; developmental systems theories; and justice-oriented perspectives on research, programming, and policy. A specific area of current interest is in positive emotionality inclusive of joy, curiosity, wonder, and hope. Dr. Bocknek works with parents, teachers, and families to invest in our children as citizens, problem solvers, and changemakers.
Dr. Bocknek holds a master’s degree in Couples and Family Therapy, a doctorate in Child Development, and two postdoctoral fellowships in Child Psychiatry and Infant Mental Health. She is a former preschool teacher and early childhood educational consultant. She is the Associate Editor of the Infant Mental Health Journal (IMHJ), is a member of the IMHJ anti-racism workgroup, and she serves on the editorial boards of Adversity and Resilience Science and Infancy. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed research papers and book chapters for professional audiences, and she has also written articles for parents that have been seen in PBS Newshour, Marketwatch, the San Francisco Chronicle, and K’veller.