- Email:
- kelsey.bonfils@usm.edu
Bio
Kelsey A. Bonfils, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi and Director of the Social Cognition and Recovery in Schizophrenia (SCORS) Lab. She received her degree in Clinical Psychology from Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, and completed clinical internship at UCLA. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship with the Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) of the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System and the Western Psychiatric Hospital of UPMC at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Bonfils has expertise in the research and treatment of social cognitive deficits in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and other psychopathology. Dr. Bonfils’ work has revealed significant deficits in empathy, a less-studied social cognitive process in schizophrenia, and examined how distress and emotion regulatory processes intersect with social cognitive abilities for this group. Dr. Bonfils also conducts research examining how social cognitive processes are related to functional outcomes for those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Dr. Bonfils is driven in her work to apply findings to treatment and optimize outcomes for patients with severe mental illnesses to promote recovery. She is particularly interested in how we may change or expand our current treatment approaches to improve social cognitive gains during treatment.