Dave Hansen is a Professor of Psychology and Director of the Clinical Psychology Training Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Dave is also temporarily serving as Director of the UNL Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior while co-chairing a national search for the next director.
Dave’s primary research area is child maltreatment (sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect), including development of assessments and interventions for victims and families, maltreatment prevention, and understanding the correlates and consequences of maltreatment. Much of this research activity occurs in conjunction with clinical services and training provided in collaboration with community agencies. Through the UNL Psychological Consultation Center, he and Dr. Mary Fran Flood co-direct the Family Interaction Skills Clinic, which includes mental health consultation, training, and services for local Early Head Start/Head Start programs and Project SAFE, a clinical research and treatment program for sexually abused children and their families. Project SAFE has worked closely with the Child Advocacy Center since its inception in 1998 to provide services to youth and families they serve. Dave greatly enjoys the opportunity to work with students throughout these research, training, and service endeavors.
Dave’s professional service activities include serving as Senior Editor of Education and Treatment of Children, Associate Editor of the Behavior Therapist, and on the Editorial Boards of Aggression and Violent Behavior and Clinical Case Studies. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.
Dave grew up in Omaha and received his undergraduate degree in psychology at Creighton University. He received his master’s and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from the University of Mississippi. Dave’s predoctoral internship was completed at the University of Mississippi Medical Center/Jackson V.A. Consortium. Prior to coming to back to Nebraska to join the faculty at UNL, he was a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at West Virginia University.
Dave’s favorite thing to do is spend time with his family. His wife Mary Kay is an attorney and mediator, specializing in social security disability and family law. Their son Matt is a State Senator who also works for the Center for People in Need, their daughter Marie is a writer and a Youth Treatment Specialist at Child Guidance Center, and their future daughter-in-law (Matt’s fiancé), Jane Schiermeyer, is Education Director at the Lincoln Community Playhouse and a mentor for highly gifted students in the Lincoln Public Schools.
