Horatius C. Gittens, Ph.D, M.A, M.B.A, LMFT, AAMFT Approved Supervisor, AAMFT Clinical Fellow.

About

Horatius Gittens’ Brief Biography & Research Interests

Horatius C. Gittens, Ph.D., M.A, M.B.A, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist; AAMFT Approved Supervisor & AAMFT Clinical Fellow. He has been a full-time faculty member teaching in the field of Marriage and Family Therapy for over eight years. 

Dr. Gittens’ Research Interests: 

He engages in research activities that investigate chronic illness and its impact on family functioning and religiosity and its impact on family functioning. 

He has been focusing on “The Experience of Prostate Cancer Screening Behaviors of Heterosexual Caribbean American and African American Men and Their Partners”. He has also been investigating “The Effects of Religiosity on Marital Quality”. 

Dr. Gittens enjoys working from a systemic perspective utilizing integrative psychotherapeutic models in teaching, supervising, and practicing family therapy. He has engaged in teaching and practicing Couples Therapy, Therapy with Adolescents and Families, and Individual Therapy. He is also very attentive to integrating social, social justice, and cultural considerations in marriage and family therapy. 

Education

Horatius Gittens holds a Master’s Degree in Religion and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Andrews University in Berrien Springs Michigan, a Master’s Degree in Psychology and a Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy from a COAMFTE accredited MFT Program from Loma Linda University in Loma Linda California.

Dr Gittens is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist; an American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) Approved Supervisor, and an AAMFT Clinical Fellow. From 2010 to present he has been serving as a Marriage and Family Therapy Associate and as a Marriage and Family Therapist in various clinical settings in communities and at clinical training centers. He has been supervising the training of Marriage and Family Therapists from 2017 to 2024.

He served as Assistant Professor at another university, teaching in the Masters of Marriage and Family Therapy Program from 2016 to 2024. He has been in this position in the Graduate School of Psychology, Marriage and Family Therapy Program, as Assistant Professor, since August 2024. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at multiple universities.

Expertise

In his clinical and therapy activities he has concentrated on families focusing on couples counseling, premarital counseling, and therapy with adolescents and families.

His Research interests are focused on family and chronic illness responses within families. He has focused on Chronic Illness generally and Prostate Cancer Screening activities specifically. His Work included “Understanding the Prostate Cancer Screening Decision Making Process among Heterosexual African and West Indian American Men and their Partners.” He has also been focusing on “The Effects of Specific aspects of Religiosity on Marital Satisfaction and Marital Conflict within the context of John Gottman’s Theory of Marital Dissolution and Marital Stability.”

His Research Positions include:

Supervising Research Assistant at Loma Linda University for NIH funded study on religion and health, March-December 2007. Supervising and participating with a team of research assistants who were responsible for executing a series of standardized testing protocols and samples collection from participants in a study designed to investigate the effects of religion and stress on health. The activities in the study included calling and scheduling participants, ensuring the readiness of the clinic for reception and service of participants, registration of participants, receiving of urine and saliva samples, blood pressure, weight, and body fat checks, blood draws, serving snacks to participants, memory testing using the California Verbal Learning Test- Second Edition (CVLT-II), and physical performance testing for all capable participants.

Research Assistant at Loma Linda University department of Counseling and Family Services for a study on the effects of religious practices on marital and family relations on a specific Caribbean Religious group, 2004 to 2008. Responsible for assisting in the statistical analysis of specific aspects of the data and for participating in the development and outline of a series of ongoing research activities pertaining to this study. Participate in research laboratory with emphasis on varied research activities investigating impact of specific religious practices on family life.