Marilyn Cornish

Marilyn Cornish serves as Professor and Director of Training for the Counseling Psychology PhD program within Auburn University's College of Education, Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, and Counseling. Since joining the faculty in 2014, she has held significant leadership roles including Director of Training and service on the Alabama Board of Examiners in Psychology (2025-present), Counseling Psychology Model Training Program Development Working Group (2024-present), and Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs (2023-present).

Her educational background includes:

• PhD in Counseling Psychology, Iowa State University (2014)
• Graduate Certificate in Quantitative Psychology, Iowa State University (2012)
• MA in Psychology, Iowa State University (2010)
• BA in Psychology and Community Psychology, Wartburg College (2008)

Dr. Cornish's research centers on multicultural, emotional, and relational empowerment through her Cultural, Affective, and Relational Empowerment (CARE) Research Group. She develops evidence-based interventions targeting self-forgiveness, relationship well-being, and stigma reduction across diverse populations including military personnel, Black men, and individuals with spinal cord injuries. Her work integrates quantitative and qualitative methodologies to examine barriers to empowerment and pathways to psychological recovery.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications (2019-2024) reveals a cohesive research program focused on forgiveness mechanisms as catalysts for psychological well-being. Key trends include the application of self-forgiveness interventions in military moral injury contexts, exploration of cultural factors in help-seeking behaviors among marginalized groups, and development of measurement tools for forgiveness constructs. Her work bridges clinical practice with empirical research through emotion-focused and cognitive-behavioral frameworks.

Professional service highlights:

• Consulting Editor, Journal of Counseling Psychology (2016, 2020-present)
• Domain Representative, Society for Advancement of Psychotherapy (APA Division 29, 2019-2021)
• Member, Alabama Board of Examiners in Psychology (2025-present)

As Director of Training, Dr. Cornish oversees clinical supervision for doctoral students and teaches advanced courses including Group Counseling and Advanced Practicum. Her CARE Research Group provides doctoral students with opportunities to engage in mixed-methods research examining empowerment pathways. Current projects focus on scalability of forgiveness interventions and cultural adaptations for diverse populations.

The CARE Research Group functions as Dr. Cornish's primary laboratory, employing longitudinal designs and process-outcome methodologies to investigate how multicultural, emotional, and relational factors interact to influence psychological well-being. The lab maintains partnerships with military treatment facilities and community mental health centers to enhance ecological validity of interventions.