Dr. Deja Young

 

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy in Human Development and Family Studies, specialization in Couple and Family Therapy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, May 2026 
• Master of Arts in Psychology, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC, May 2021
• Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC, May 2017
• Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC, May 2017 

Dr. Young is a professional member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) and an alumna of the Minority Fellowship Program (MFP). She’s also a member of the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR), representing the Family Therapy and the Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Families sections. Dr. Young is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in the state of Michigan, and she maintains a private practice working with individuals, couples, and families. Dr. young is passionate about training and supervising therapists entering the field.

Dr. Young’s research broadly investigates mental health care for families, including examining systemic intervention effectiveness and adaptations for various cultural groups. Recently, her research has focused on the intersection of emotional development processes and relationship sustainment among emerging adult-parent dyads. Dr. Young’s goal is for students to leave UCM with skills to respect individual identities, enhance their emotional competencies, and foster healthy relationships with themselves and others. 

Refereed Journal Articles

Young, D. L., Edwards, C., Pratt, F., Hickman, T., Titus, M., Hathaway, S., Gray, L., & Holtrop, 
K. (2025). Lessons learned from using an academic-community partnership to evaluate a DEI initiative in public mental health services. Psychiatric Services, 76(6), 615-618. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.20240124 

Holtrop, K., Piehler, T. F., Miller, D., Young, D., Tseng, C-F., & Gray, L. J. (2024). The effectiveness of GenerationPMTO during sustained implementation in the public mental health system: A single-arm open trial evaluation. Behavior Therapy, 55(2), 248-262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2023.06.004  

Refereed Conference Presentations 

Young, D. L., & Holtrop, K. (2025, November). Emotional Norms & Family Bonds among African American Emerging Adults (Poster Presentation). National Council on Family Relations Annual Conference, Baltimore, Maryland.

Pratt, F., Young, D., Dwanyen, L., & Bowles, R. (2024, November). Perceived social views and accessibility to mental health care for Black American women: A confirmatory factor analysis (Poster Presentation). American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Systemic Family Therapy Conference, Orlando, Florida.

Young, D., Holtrop, K., Miller, D., Tseng, C.-F., & Gray, L. J. (2022, November). Parents are their children’s best teachers! Examining outcomes of the Parent Management Training‐Oregon (PMTO) model in the real world (Paper Presentation). National Council on Family Relations Annual Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota.