Juras, Mariana
Mariana Juras
Assistant Professor | College of Psych. and Liberal Arts - School of Psychology
Contact Information
Personal Overview
Dr. Juras is a psychologist and marriage and family therapist from Brazil. She came to the US in 2015 as a visiting research scholar in the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri.
She taught for three years in the Psychology Department at Eastern Illinois University and its Clinical Psychology Master of Arts program, and for one year at Florida Gulf Coast University, where she taught clinical psychology courses and mentored undergraduate and graduate students in research, thesis, and internship.
Dr. Juras is committed to the scientist-practitioner-advocate model, in her teaching, research, service and clinical practice, where research is informed by clinical practice, clinical practice is informed by science and all these capacities must address social transformation within the social justice approach.
Therefore, Dr. Juras research interests are broad and her scholar agenda includes family matters on clinical and forensic psychology. She is also particularly interested in mixed-method research and believes that the integration of quantitative and qualitative data is particularly important to inform best practices in psychology, with participant/client-centered orientation.
Her previous and current studies have particularly focused on topics of divorce, remarriage, domestic violence, parenting interventions, and multicultural differences. Currently, she has ongoing mixed-methods research projects in collaboration with scholars from the US, Mexico and Brazil, and with former and current graduate students.
Her future research agenda will include cross-cultural studies in child-custody evaluations, which aim to inform multicultural competencies in the context of forensic psychology.
She currently serves as a board director of the American Family Therapy Academy, which is an organization devoted to social justice practices with families and communities.
Educational Background
Ph.D., Clinical Psychology and Culture, University of Brasilia, 2016
Graduate Specialization, Marriage and Family Therapy, Catholic University of Goias, 2010
M.S., Clinical Psychology and Culture, University of Brasilia, 2009
B.S., Psychology, University of Brasilia, 2007
Professional Experience
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2021–2022 Florida Gulf Coast University
Psychology Department
Position: Assistant Professor
Description: Engaged in teaching, research, and service activities. Primarily, my duties involve teaching advanced clinical courses to undergraduate students. I also involved students in research projects and offered honors embedded courses.
Courses taught: Abnormal Psychology; Special Topics: Psychotherapy; Introduction to Clinical Psychology; Directed Studies.
2018–2021 Eastern Illinois University
Psychology Department & Clinical Psychology Master Program
Position: Assistant Professor
Description: Engaged in teaching, research, and service activities. Taught clinical psychology courses to undergraduate and graduate levels students. At Department level, I collaborated mainly with the Clinical Psychology Master of Arts Program in admission, advising and supervision of graduate students. I also served in many college and university level committees.
Courses taught (face to face and online deliveries): Abnormal Psychology; Cognitive Behavior Therapy; Psychotherapies; Psychological Assessment; Psychotherapies with Diverse Populations; Clinical Topics in Human Development; Supervision of Undergraduate and Graduate Internships; Honors’ and Masters’ thesis advisor and committee member; Advising undergraduate students.
2013–present Research and Psychosocial Intervention Institute (Interpsi) – Brasilia, Brazil
Marriage and Family Therapy Specialization Program
Position: Instructor
Course taught: Divorce and Remarriage in Family Therapy
2014 Integrated Colleges from Planalto Central Educational Union – Gama, Brazil
Undergraduate Program of the Law School
Position: Adjunct Professor
Course taught: Forensic Psychology
2010–2013 Catholic University of Brasilia (UCB) – Brasilia, Brazil
Undergraduate Program of Psychology
Position: Adjunct Professor
Courses taught: Ecology and Community Psychology; Psychosocial Intervention; Advanced Studies in Psychosocial Intervention, Planning and Assessment; Psychological Group Interventions; Marriage and Family Psychology; Forensic Psychology; Supervision of internship with families, couples, and group interventions
2010 Higher Education Institute of Brasilia (IESB) – Brasilia, Brazil
Forensic Psychology Postgraduate Program
Position: Instructor
Course taught: Psychology and Family Law
CLINICAL EXPERIENCE
2010–2016 Psychosocial Advisory Service for Criminal Courts – Brasilia, Brazil
Federal Courts of Distrito Federal and Territories
Position: Federal public employee – Psychologist
Description: Clinical and forensic assessment of women, men, and children facing domestic violence, sexual abuse, and divorce. Also supervised interns and designed and assisted in research projects.
Services provided: individual and group sessions with children, adolescents, and adults; Home visiting; Multidisciplinary case management meetings; Participating in multidisciplinary hearings in domestic violence and sexually abused children cases; Forensic interviewing; Writing psychosocial reports to the court; Coordinating and conducting research projects; Assisting, mentoring, and supervising undergraduate interns of Psychology and Social Work.
2015–2015 Kids In The Middle (KITM) – Saint Louis, Missouri
Position: Doctoral graduate Intern
Description: Counseling of children, adolescents and adults in individual, family therapy and group sessions in agency and school settings. Also conducted a research project on the co-parenting groups that examined the providers’ perspectives on themes and activities held in the co-parenting groups.
2008–2010 Coordination of Women Issues – Brasilia, Brazil
Government of Distrito Federal
Position: State public employee – Psychologist
Description: Worked in the public sector, offering community psychosocial services for victims and perpetrators of domestic violence against women and children.
Services provided: individual, family, and group therapy related to domestic violence.
2008–2008 Psychological Studies, Research and Service Center – Brasilia, Brazil
Position: Family and children’s therapist
Description: Provided psychological services to children and family facing mental health issues. Participated in clinical supervision sessions.
Current Courses
PSY 5501 - Personality/Psychotherapy
PSY 5121 - Culture and Social Psych
PSY 5591 - Seminar/Ethics 1
PSY 6560 - Supervision Clin Training
Selected Publications
Juras, M. M. (2022). Mediação em casos de divórcio e violência doméstica: Desafios e possibilidades [Mediation in divorce and domestic violence cases: Challenges and possibilities]. In S. J. L. Vasconcellos & V. de M. Lago (Eds.), Psicologia Jurídica e suas interfaces: um panorama atual [Legal Psychology and its interfaces: a current panorama] (2nd ed., pp. 179-202). Editora UFSM. ISBN 9786557160473.
Baumann, A. A., Vazquez, A. L., Macchioni, A. C., Lima, A., Coelho, A. F., Juras, M., Kohldorf, M., & Carothers, B. J. (2022). Translation and validation of the evidence-based practice attitude scale (EBPAS-15) to Brazilian Portuguese: Examining providers’ perspective about evidence-based parent intervention. Children and Youth Services Review, 136, 106421, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106421.
Barbosa, L. P. G., Mendes, J. A. de A., & Juras, M. M. (2021). Dinâmicas disfuncionais, disputa de guarda e alegações de alienação parental: uma compreensão sistêmica [Dysfunctional dynamics in child custody cases and allegations of parental alienation: a systemic approach]. Nova Perspectiva Sistêmica, 30, 78-95. Doi: 10.38034/nps.v30i69.612
Juras, M. M., & Costa, L. F. (2018). Parenting in low-income context: Assessment of a psychosocial group intervention in Brazil. Psychology & Psychological Research International Journal, 3, 1-10. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23880/pprij-16000183. Available at https://medwinpublishers.com/PPRIJ/PPRIJ16000183.pdf
Juras, M. M., & Costa, L. F. (2018). Uma proposta de atendimento psicossocial grupal com pais e mães separados [A psychosocial group methodology for divorced parents]. Interação em Psicologia, 22, 133-143. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5380/psi.v22i2.53252
Juras, M. M., & Costa, L. F. (2016). He was neither a good father nor a good husband: Marital and parental roles in low-income separated families. Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa, 32, 1-9. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0102-3772e32ne215
Juras, M. M., & Costa, L. F. (2011). O divórcio destrutivo na perspectiva de filhos com menos de 12 anos [Destructive divorce in children’s perspective]. Estilos da Clínica, 16, 222–245. DOI:https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1981-1624.v16i1p222-245
Recognition & Awards
2020-2021 Spencer-McGown-Wilson Award from the Psychology Department at Eastern Illinois University
2019-2020 Annual Psi Chi Faculty Contribution Award at Eastern Illinois University
2018-2019 Achievement and Contribution Award in the category of Teaching at the Eastern Illinois University
2019 Visiting Professor Grant at University of Brasilia, Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), Brazil
2018 Student Impact Grant for Faculty Mentors, Eastern Illinois University