About

Dr. Ryan-Pettes joined the Department of Psychological Sciences in July 2025. Her research program at Case Western Reserve University focuses on advancing equity in behavioral health interventions for justice-involved youth and their families. Through the JUSTICE Lab (Juvenile Substance Use Treatment and Innovation to Cultivate Equity), she investigates therapeutic processes in evidence-based family therapies, including Multisystemic Therapy (MST), with particular attention to adolescent substance use treatment and conduct problems within real-world settings such as juvenile probation and community mental health systems.

Her work involves applying artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches to examine therapeutic alliance, client-centered communication, rupture-repair patterns, and other treatment processes. The goal of this work is to enhance implementation science efforts and reduce health disparities in behavioral health services. Dr. Ryan-Pettes collaborates with probation departments, community clinics, and schools. Her current NIH/NIMH-funded research focuses on understanding therapist-family communication processes that influence treatment outcomes in community-based MST settings.

Dr. Ryan-Pettes will be accepting a PhD student this upcoming academic year (2025-2026). Please note that due to the volume of requests, Dr. Ryan-Pettes is not always able to respond to inquiries, and this does not indicate a lack of interest in your application.

Lab and Opportunities: Dr. Ryan-Pettes welcomes inquiries from undergraduate students interested in applied clinical research, especially those with interests in justice-involved youth, family-based interventions, and technology-enhanced treatment. If you are interested in joining her lab, please send her an email with the subject line “Lab Inquiry.”

Note: A comprehensive lab website is currently under development.