Dr. Brennan Peterson

Dr. Brennan Peterson began teaching at Chapman in 2003 and studies how couple cope with infertility, as well as effective counseling interventions for couples experiencing fertility treatment. He also examines fertility awareness and attitudes towards oocyte cryopreservation among university students and physicians. He has published his work in a large number of journals including Human Reproduction and Fertility & Sterility, and has delivered presentations in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Teaching:

• PSY 355 Diversity in Marital and Family Relationships
• MFT 541 Marriage and Family Therapy Theories I
• MFT 556 Marriage and Family Therapy Theories II
• MFT 561 Couple Therapy
• MFT 610 Family Life Cycle and Aging
• MFT 694 Clinical Supervision

Research:

Dr. Peterson researches the mental health implications of infertility including couple coping processes and fertility awareness issues.  He is a member of the Copenhagen Multi-Centre Psychosocial Infertility (COMPI) Research Program at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.  He also collaborates with researchers at Yale University Medical School, the University of Porto in Portugal, Bar-Ilan University in Israel, Uppsala University in Sweden, the London Health Sciences Centre in Canada, the University of Hong Kong, and with the members of the Special Interest Group in Psychology and Counseling of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE).

Selected Presentations:

Peterson, B. (2017).  Fertility knowledge and awareness among obstetricians and gynecologists.  European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) Annual Meeting Pre-Congress: Fertility Awareness: What role does it play in preventing infertility.  Geneva, Switzerland. 

Peterson, B.  (2016).  Using gender differences as a resource in fertility counseling for couples.  European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) Campus Workshop:  Basic training for infertility counseling: Moving from theory to practice.  Vienna, Austria. 

Peterson, B., Yu, L., Boehm, J., Hodgson, A., Inhorn, M., & Patrizio, P. (2016).  Initiating patient discussions about oocyte cryopreservation: Attitudes of obstetrics and gynecology resident physicians.  3rd European Congress on Preconception Health and Care, Uppsala, Sweden.

Peterson, B. (2015).  Fertility counseling for couples.  Infertility in Global Perspective: Psychosocial aspects in research and clinical practice, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.  

Peterson, B.D., Sejbaek, C., Pirritano, M., & Schmidt, L.  (2014). Severe depressive symptoms predict individual and partner infertility-related distress at one-year follow-up.  Presented at the 30th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, Munich, Germany.

Peterson, B.D., Sejbaek, C., Pirritano, M., & Schmidt, L. (2013).  Depressive symptoms and infertility: Actor and partner effects.  5th Meeting of the Copenhagen Multi-Centre Psychosocial Infertility (COMPI) Research Programme.  University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Peterson, B.D., Pirritano, M., Schmidt, L. (2013).  A typology of coping in couples undergoing infertility treatments.  29th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, London, England.

Peterson, B.D. (2012).  Family Planning Intentions and Fertility Awareness and U.S. Undergraduates.  1st Annual International Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics Advances in Women’s Health. Guangzhou, China.

Peterson, B.D. (2010). Using typical gender differences as a resource in couple counseling.  European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) Symposium - Raising Competence in Psychosocial Care. Amsterdam, Netherlands. 

Peterson, B.D., Pirritano, M., Christensen, U., Boivin, J., Block, J., & Schmidt, L. (2009).  The longitudinal impact of partner coping in couples following five years of unsuccessful fertility treatments.  25th Annual Meeting European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE).  Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Peterson, B. D., Pirritano, M., Christensen, U., & Schmidt, L. (2008).  The impact of partner coping in couples experiencing infertility.  American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) 64th Annual Meeting, San Francisco.

Peterson, B.D., Newton, C.R., Feingold, T. (2007).  Anxiety and sexual stress in men and women undergoing infertility treatment.  American Society for ReproductiveMedicine (ASRM)  Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C.

Peterson, B. D., Newton, C. R., Rosen, K. H., & Skaggs, G. E. (2005).  How men and women referred for in vitro fertilization cope with infertility stress.  American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) 61st Annual Meeting.  Montreal, Canada.

Peterson, B. D., Newton, C. R., Rosen, K. H., & Schulman, R. S. (2004).  Dyadic coping processes of infertile couples and their relationship to infertility stress, marital adjustment, and depression.  American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) 60th Annual Meeting.  Philadelphia, PA.

Awards and Honors

Clinical Science Award (2009).  European Society for Human Reproductive and Embryology's Annual Meeting (ESHRE) - Amsterdam.  Presented to the Top Oral Presentation.  The longitudinal impact of partner coping in couples following5 years of unsuccessful fertility treatments.

Prize Paper: American Society for Reproductive Medicine's (ASRM) Mental Health Professional Group (MHPG).  October 2001, Orlando, Florida.  Examining the congruence between couples' infertility-related stress and its relationship to depression and marital adjustment in infertile menand women. 

Human Reproduction Outstanding Reviewer (2013). Presented at the top 10% of the journal's reviewers for excellent contributions to the journal as judged by the quality and timeliness of their reviews. Oxford University Press.

Professional Service

Reviewer for 40 Peer-Reviewed Journals including:
Social Science and Medicine
Human Reproduction
Fertility and Sterility