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Maria T. Riva

Adjunct Faculty

maria.riva@du.edu

303-871-2484 (Office)

https://portfolio.du.edu/mriva

Personal

Katherine A. Ruffatto Hall, 1999 East Evans Avenue Denver, CO 80208-1700

What I do

I teach several different applied counseling courses for both MA and PhD students, conduct research on group topics, and on supervision and training, review manuscripts for three national journals, and work with students on dissertations. I am involved on the Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs (CCPTP), a national board of cousenlig psychology training directors and was Chair of CCPTP during the 2020-2021 year. I continue on the Board as Past Chair of CCPTP. Within the Morgridge College of Education, I was chair of the Appointments, Promotions, and Tenure Committee (APT; 2020-2021) and co-chair of APT from 2018-2021. I serve as chair on the MCE Faculty Awards Comittee that makes recommendations to the DU Facutly Awards Committee (2014 to present). Besides teaching and research, a large part of my position is to serve as PhD Training Director. In this position, I oversee doctoral practica and internship positions, communicate with the American Psychological Association as the point person for our program, provide mentoring to students who are applying for doctoral internships which includes helping with CVs, essays, cover letters, reviewing national internship site selections, and many other mentoring functions. During this year I have also begun to collect data for the APA mid-review which is identified as due September 1, 2022. This includes data on current students and alumni going back 10 years.

Specialization(s)

Group psychotherapy, group leadership, clinical supervision and training, group supervision, group treatment for sexual trauma and violence

Professional Biography

Dr. Riva is a Professor and PhD Training Director in the Department of Counseling Psychology in the Morgridge College of Education at the University of Denver. She received her PhD from the University of Pittsburgh in Counseling Psychology in 1990. During 2021-2022, she is serving as a Board member and Past Chair of the Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs (CCPTP. Dr. Riva has served as a past President of the APA Division 49, Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy, and a past President of the Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW), a division of the American Counseling Association. She is on editorial boards for Group Dynamics: Theory, Research and Practice; Teaching and Education in Professional Psychology (TEPP), and International Journal of Group Psychotherapy (IJGP). Dr. Riva is a Fellow of ASGW and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. She co-edited the Handbook of Group Counseling and Psychotherapy (2004, 2014), and many other articles on group psychotherapy. Her research interests include group leadership, ethics and microaggressions in group supervision, supervision and training, group treatment for sexual trauma, and working with marginalized persons in group supervision. She is the Training Director for the doctoral program in Counseling Psychology and served in the role several different times during her 30 years in the program, and in the most recent time from 2015 to Present.

Degree(s)

  • Ph.D., Counseling Psychology (APA Accredited), University of Pittsburgh, 1990
  • MS, Rehabilitation: Behavior Modification, Southern Illinois University, 1979
  • BA, Psychology, Illinois Wesleyan University, 1976

Licensure / Accreditations

  • Psychology License

Professional Affiliations

  • American Psychological Association
  • APA Division of Group Psychology and Psychotherapy (Division 49)
  • APA Division of Counseling Psychology (Division 17)
  • The Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs

Research

My research is focused on two different broad topics. The first is group psychotherapy. More specific topics include goal setting in groups for at-risk adolescents, group treatment for sexual abuse, and group psychotherapy interpersonal relationship variables. My clinical supervision topic includes microaggressions in group supervision, training novice supervisors, supervisory relationship and novice counselors working with trauma.

Areas of Research

group psychotherapy ethics
clinical supervision
Group supervision microaggressions
practice
and ethics

Featured Publications

Riva, M. T., & Erickson Cornish, J. A. (2018). Ethical considerations in group psychotherapy. In M. M. Leach & E. Reynolds Welfel (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of applied psychological ethics (pp. 218-238). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Riva, M. T., & Smith, R. D. ,. (2018). Termination of Group Therapy: The Neglected Stage. In D. Viers (Ed.), Group Therapist's Notebook, 2nd Edition (pp. 245-253). New York, NY, USA: Routledge Taylor and Francis.
Cornish, J. E., Riva, M. T., & Smith, R. D. (2015). Responding to the Conscience Clause: A Complex and Crucial Issue in the Education and Training of Health Service Psychologists. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 9(4), 271-274.
Smith, R. D., & Riva, M. T. (2018). Preparing Members for Group Therapy: Pre-group Orientation. In D. Viers (Ed.), Group Therapist's Notebook, 2nd Edition (pp. 19-29). New York, NY, USA: Routledge Taylor and Francis.
Owen, J. J. (2020). Clinical congruence of cohesion in group psychotherapy. Professional Psychology: Research & Practice, 51, 598-605.

Presentations

Riva, M. T., & Motzny, C. (2018). The group part of group supervision: Ethical Considerations. American Psychological Association Convention. San Francisco, CA.: Division 49, Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy.
Gafford, J. R., & Riva, M. T. (2018). The impact of a suicidal individual on group therapy: A phenomenological study of leader experience. . American Psychological Association. San Francisco, CA.
Riva, M. T. (2018). Prosocial goal setting in residential treatment groups,. American Psychological Association Conference. San Francisco, CA.: APA, Division 49 (Group).
Hangge, A., & Riva, M. T. (2018). Group membership, group dynamics, and sexual assault. American Psychological Association Conference. San Francisco, CA.: APA, Division 49 (Group).
Tomlin, V., Riva, M. T., Colman, J., Haas, A., Herring, K., Henry, A., & Rushing, L. (2016). Examining Biases: Reflections from a Counseling Psychology Community Engagement Project with Congolese Women Refugees. University of Denver Diversity Summit. Denver, CO: DU.

Awards

  • Fellow, American Psychological Association
  • Apple Award, The College of Education Student Association
  • Fellow, Association for Specialists in Group Work, Division of American Counseling Association