Cheri L. Marmarosh, Ph.D.ABPP · CGP · F-APA · F-AGPA
Our personal relationships and the groups we belong to shape how we flourish and grow.
A psychologist, researcher, and consultant working at the intersection of attachment, group dynamics, and psychotherapy — in the therapy room, the research lab, and the organizations that bring me in to help their people work better together.
Cheri Marmarosh, Ph.D.
About
A career spent studying how people stay connected — and what happens when connection breaks
Dr. Marmarosh is a full-time Professor of Clinical Psychology at The George Washington University, where she has taught, supervised, and led research for 20 years — studying how attachment relates to coping with oppression, group processes, and outcome in individual and group psychotherapy. She is currently collaborating with researchers at McLean Hospital on spirituality and mental health, with HealthTree to understand flourishing with incurable cancer, and with physicians at Mass General Hospital to develop and study an intervention supporting the wellbeing of patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma. This year she is Principal Investigator on a Templeton Grant subaward examining training interventions that foster flourishing from a cultural-dynamic perspective in professional psychology education.
A licensed psychologist, Dr. Marmarosh has published more than 50 empirical and theoretical articles on how group and individual psychotherapy facilitate change, and is lead author of two books, Attachment in Group Psychotherapy and Groups: Fostering a Culture of Change, and editor of a third — a monograph drawn from the special edition of the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy devoted to attachment theory. She also produced two videos on group psychotherapy for APA's psychotherapy series.
She is the current Editor of the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, a Board Certified Psychologist (ABPP), a Certified Group Psychotherapist (CGP), and a Fellow of AGPA and of APA Divisions 29 (Psychotherapy) and 49 (Group). She is past President of Division 49 and past Domain Representative for Training and Education for Division 29, was named Group Psychologist of the Year in 2021, received Teaching/Mentoring awards from Division 29 (2019) and Division 49 (2023), and received the Alonso Award for Contribution to Psychodynamic Theory and Group Therapy from AGPA. She maintains a private practice in the D.C. area, working with individuals, couples, and groups.
At a Glance
- Professor, Professional Psychology, GW
- ABPP — Board Certified, Group Psychotherapy
- CGP, American Group Psychotherapy Association
- Editor, Int'l Journal of Group Psychotherapy
- Past President, APA Division 49
- Fellow, AGPA & APA (Div. 29 & 49)
- Director, two active research labs
- Author of 3 books, 50+ journal articles
Clinical Practice
An attachment-informed private practice offering individual psychotherapy, couples work, and group psychotherapy — grounded in over 25 years of clinical training, supervision, and research on what actually helps relationships heal.
- Individual psychodynamic & attachment-based therapy
- Couples psychotherapy
- Process-oriented group psychotherapy
- Consultation for clinicians on rupture & repair
Consulting & Speaking
Bringing an attachment and group-dynamics lens to organizations, training institutes, and clinical teams — keynotes, workshops, and ongoing consultation for leaders navigating conflict, culture, and cohesion.
- Keynotes & invited addresses (AGPA, APA, SPR, international)
- Training & supervision for clinical institutions
- Group dynamics consultation for teams & leadership
- Workshop design on rupture, repair & cohesion
Research & Labs
Director of two active research programs studying attachment, alliance, and flourishing — in psychotherapy training and in patients living with serious illness — funded by Templeton, McLean/Harvard, and GW.
- Psychotherapy Research Lab (alliance, epistemic trust, rupture)
- Psycho-Oncology & Spirituality research program
- $1.5M+ in funded research since 2021
- Mentoring doctoral students & postdoctoral researchers
Research & Labs
Two labs, one throughline: how connection shapes healing
Dr. Marmarosh's research asks how attachment, trust, and relational rupture affect people in psychotherapy — and extends that question to some of the most difficult relational terrain there is: coping with an incurable diagnosis.
Lab One
Psychotherapy Research Lab, GWU
Studies how attachment style, epistemic trust, shame, and therapeutic alliance predict change across individual and group psychotherapy — including how ruptures form and repair between therapist and patient, and between members in a therapy group. Current projects examine developmental trauma, discrimination, and flourishing in community mental health settings, in collaboration with researchers including Paul Hewitt, Dennis Kivlighan, and Rayna Markin.
Lab Two
Psycho-Oncology & Spirituality Research
Founded and directed the International Center for the Study of Spirituality and Mental Health (2020–2024), a collaboration with Divine Mercy University, McLean Hospital, Harvard University, and the University of Navarra. This program studies how attachment and spirituality shape coping, flourishing, and post-traumatic growth in patients with incurable cancer — including a $1.5M study with McLean/Harvard and the THRIVE–MM digital intervention developed with Dana-Farber and Mass General for patients with multiple myeloma.
Selected Publications
Books & selected writing
Dr. Marmarosh is author or editor of three books on attachment and group psychotherapy, and has published more than 50 empirical and theoretical journal articles, along with numerous book chapters, on how individual and group psychotherapy facilitate change.
2013 · American Psychological Association
Attachment in Group Psychotherapy
With Rayna Markin & Eric Spiegel. A foundational text applying attachment theory to group treatment.
View book →
2013 · Sage Publications
Groups: Fostering a Culture of Change
With E. C. Dunton & C. Amendola. A practitioner-facing guide to building effective therapy groups.
View book →
2018 · Taylor & Francis
Attachment in Group Psychotherapy
Edited volume based on the special issue of the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy.
View book →-
In PressMarmarosh, C., Ge, S., Kivlighan, D., Lyons, R., Watts, E., & Hewitt, P. (in press). Observer Ratings of Leader Empathy, Openness, & Perceptiveness: The Impact of Timing on Group Climate. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Special Issue on Leadership.
Find at journal → -
2026Marmarosh, C., Gleischman, K., Nguyen, J., Williams, M., & Flanigan, M. (2026). The burden of shame: Mediating attachment and flourishing in psychodynamic training programs. Academia Mental Health and Wellbeing, 3, 1–15.
Read article → -
Marmarosh, C. L., Sandage, S., Wade, N., Captari, L. E., & Crabtree, S. (2022). New horizons in group psychotherapy research and practice from third wave positive psychology: A practice-friendly review. Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome, 25(3), 258–270.
Read article → -
Marmarosh, C., Forsyth, D., Strauss, B., & Burlingame, G. (2020). The Psychology of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Group-Level Perspective. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 24, 122–138.
Read article → -
Whittingham, M., Marmarosh, C. L., Mallow, P., & Scherer, M. (2023). Mental health care equity and access: A group therapy solution. American Psychologist, 78(2), 119–125.
Read article → -
Marmarosh, C. L. (2021). Ruptures and Repairs in Group Psychotherapy: From Theory to Practice. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 71(2), 205–223.
Read article → -
Marmarosh, C., Vo, D., Abraham, M., & Rajput, A. (2024). The psychological vital signs of incurable cancer: Implications for training and practice. Academia Oncology.
Read article → -
Marmarosh, C. & Tasca, G. (2013). Adult attachment anxiety: Using group therapy to promote change. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 69, 1172–1182.
Read article →
This is a curated selection. A complete curriculum vitae — including full publication list, grant history, and editorial and professional service — is available on request via email.
Speaking & Media
Invited lectures, podcasts & video
2015
Louis Ormont Lecturer, American Group Psychotherapy Association Annual Conference, San Francisco.
2022
Invited Grand Rounds Presenter, "Applying Attachment Theory to Inpatient Group Psychotherapy," McLean Hospital / Harvard University.
2021
Invited Grand Rounds Presenter, "The Psychology of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Group Level Perspective," University of Pennsylvania Department of Medicine.
2021
Invited Grand Rounds Presenter, "Transferring Patients: The Good, Bad, and Ugly," New York Medical College.
2022
Invited presenter, International Meeting of Couple Psychotherapy, Italy — "When the Individual Therapist Harms the Couple."
2023
Invited all-day conference on Attachment in Group Psychotherapy, Toronto Group Psychotherapy Association.
2023
Main presenter, Houston Group Psychotherapy Association Conference.
2024
Invited presenter, Antioch University Supervision Day — "Attachment and Group Psychotherapy: From Practice to Supervision" (CEUs offered).
Podcasts & Interviews
Making Therapy Better
Season 3, Episode 6 — "Belonging as Treatment: The Power of Group Therapy," with host Bruce Wampold, Ph.D. (October 2025). A conversation on how belonging itself functions as treatment, the evidence for group therapy's effectiveness, and the barriers to its wider adoption.
Listen to the episode →Emotional Connections with Dr. Cheri Marmarosh
Interview with Katherine Marshall Woods, Psy.D., for Thrive Global (November 2020) — on attachment theory, secure caregiving as a resilience factor, and how early bonds shape relationships across the lifespan.
Read the interview →COVID-19: Protecting Yourself in Online Groups
Video conversation with Dr. Martyn Whittingham on staying psychologically safe in online groups during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Watch the video →APA Psychotherapy Video Series
Host, American Psychological Association
Since 2022, Dr. Marmarosh has hosted APA's Psychotherapy Video Series, interviewing leading clinicians on their approaches to treatment:
- 2026 Dr. Brian Allen — Attachment in Parent Therapy
- 2025 Dr. Mick Cooper — Personalizing Therapy
- 2024 Dr. Shigeru Iwakabe — Culture & Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Therapy
- 2023 Dr. Jonathan Raskin — Constructivist Therapy
- 2023 Dr. Martyn Whittingham — Focused Brief Group Psychotherapy
- 2023 Dr. Rayna Markin — Treatment for Pre- & Post-Natal Trauma
- 2022 Dr. George Tasca — Interpersonal Psychodynamic Group Psychotherapy
- 2022 Dr. John Murphy — Solution-Focused Psychotherapy
APA Series I · Systems of Psychotherapy
Attachment in Group Therapy: Facilitating the Group Climate
Cheri L. Marmarosh, PhD.
Watch video →
APA Psychotherapy Video Series
The Basics of Group Therapy
Cheri L. Marmarosh, PhD, and Joshua DeSilva, PsyD.
Watch video →Contact
Start a conversation
Whether you're reaching out about clinical work, a speaking engagement, or a consulting or research collaboration, the fastest way to reach me is by email.
Clinical Practice
For individual, couples, or group psychotherapy inquiries in Washington, D.C. or Virginia.
Marmaros@gwu.eduConsulting, Speaking & Research
For keynotes, workshops, organizational consulting, or research collaboration.
Marmaros@gwu.edu