Desiree Frain, PsyD

Desiree Frain, Psy.D. (she/her), is a licensed psychologist in the state of Georgia and an assistant professor at Brenau University. She completed her graduate studies at Regent University and a two-year postdoctoral residency at Emory University and Grady Health System. Dr. Frain finished her predoctoral internship at Georgia Regional Hospital in Atlanta, where she provided clinical services to primarily underserved persons diagnosed with severe mental illnesses (SMI).

Dr. Frain defended her doctoral dissertation titled, “Shame as a Mediator between Negative Faith-Community Reactions to Sexual Assault Disclosure and Psychological Outcomes,” in June of 2022. In addition to her faculty role at Brenau University, she is an adjunct professor at both Emory University School of Medicine and Mercer University. Her interests include teaching, clinical supervision, borderline personality disorder, recovery-oriented cognitive therapy, and trauma-focused therapy. Her current activities include supervision and teaching of future mental health professionals.

Published work

Frain, D., & Wood, K. (2024, August). An alternative framework for addressing serious mental illness: From symptomology to functionality [Poster presentation]. American Psychological Association, Seattle, WA.

Marshall-Lee, E. D., Reddy, S. D., & Frain, D. G. (2024, June 3). What therapists can do to combat body shaming. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/outside-the-box/202406/what-therapists-can-do-to-combat-body-shaming

Mulligan, D., Marshall-Lee, E., & Frain, D. G. (2023, December 22). Gun violence: Separating myths from reality. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/outside-the-box/202312/gun-violence-separating-myths-from-reality

Marshall-Lee, E., & Frain, D. G. (2023, May 15). The mental-health impact of anti-trans legislation. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/outside-the-box/202305/the-mental-health-impact-of-anti-trans-legislation

Sells, J. N., Ripley, J., Frain, D. G., Urh, N., & Wray, K. (2022). The effectiveness of a virtue-based marital curriculum to enhance intimate partner relationality. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 40(4), 317-328.