D. Scott Sibley, Ph.D., LMFT, CFLE

Title:	Associate Professor and Associate Chair
Unit:	Human Development and Family Sciences
Office Location:	Wirtz Hall 164
Office Phone:	815-753-6344
Office Fax:	815-753-1321
Email:	dscottsibley@niu.edu

Courses Taught

• HDFS 284 – Introduction to Family Relationships
• HDFS 477/577 – Domestic Violence and Trauma in the Family
• HDFS 482 – Child Abuse and Neglect

Education

• Ph.D., Kansas State University, Human Ecology: Marriage and Family Therapy, 2015
• M.S., University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Child, Youth and Family Studies: Marriage and Family Therapy, 2012
• M.A., Southern Utah University, Professional Communication, 2010
• B.S., Brigham Young University, Psychology, 2008

Research Interests

• Commitment in couple relationships
• Romantic relationship formation
• Marriage and the prevention of relationship distress and divorce
• Decision making among the emerging adult (18-29 year olds) population
• Marriage and Family Therapy theories (e.g., Contextual, Bowen)

Learn more about Professor Sibley's research.

Published Books

Schmidt, A. E., and Sibley, D. S. (2019). Contextual therapy for family health: Clinical applications. New York, NY: Routledge.

Selected Publications

• Sibley, D. S., Vennum, A., Mallory, A. B., Brown, C. C., and LeFebvre, L. E. (2024). "We’re just talking": Constructing a recent trend in emerging adult romantic relationship development. Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy, 1-33.
• Eddy, B. P., Springer, P., Sibley, D. S., Fife, S., and Turns, B. (2022). Keeping the ledger balanced during pregnancy. International Journal of Systemic Therapy. 33, 2, 87-108.
• Turns, B., Springer, P. R., Eddy, B. P., and Sibley, D. S. (2021). "Your exile is showing": Integrating sandtray with internal family systems therapy. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 49, 1, 74-90.
• Springer, P., Turns, B., Sibley, D. S., and Eddy, B. (2021). Removing the Mystery in Supervision: Engaging in transparent supervision. International Journal of Systemic Therapy, 32, 1, 41-57.
• Turns, B., Springer, P. R., and Sibley, D. S. (2019). Removing the "mystery" in therapy: Transparency as a continuous intervention in family psychotherapy. Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 30, 1, 1-19.
• Turns, B. A., and Sibley, D. S. (2018). Does maternal spanking lead to bullying behaviors at school? A longitudinal study. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27, 9, 2824-2832.
• Li, X., Theisen, A., Sibley, D. S., and Seo, C. (2018). Resourcefulness: Current insights and future directions for family scholars and clinicians. The Family Journal, 26, 4, 433-443.
• Sibley, D. S., Schmidt, A. E., and Kimmes, J. G. (2016). Applying a contextual therapy framework to treat panic disorder: A case study. Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 24(4), 299-317.
• Schmidt, A. E., Green, M. S., Sibley, D. S., and Prouty, A. M. (2016). Effects of parental infidelity on adult children's relational ethics with their partners: A contextual perspective. Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy, 15, 3, 193-212.
• Vennum, A., Hardy, N., Sibley, D. S., and Fincham, F. D. (2015). Dedication and sliding in emerging adult cyclical and non-cyclical romantic relationships. Family Relations, 64, 3, 407-419.
• Sibley, D. S., Springer, P. R., Vennum, A., and Hollist, C. S. (2015). An exploration of the construction of commitment leading to marriage. Marriage & Family Review, 51, 2, 183-203.
• Sibley, D. S., Kimmes, J. G., and Schmidt, A. E. (2015). Generating new stories of commitment in couple relationships by utilizing the sliding versus deciding framework. Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 26(1), 68-73.