My Story

Kerstin (Powers) Cornell, LMFT, is a clinician, researcher, and emerging scholar graduating in December 2025 with an EdD in Learning and Organizational Change from Baylor University. Her work focuses on accessibility and motivation for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) treatment, integrating quantitative research, clinical application, and social justice–aligned inquiry. With specialization in OCD and anxiety-spectrum disorders, trauma-informed care, and trans-affirming practice, she is committed to reducing systemic barriers that delay help-seeking and disproportionately impact high-risk and minoritized communities.

Her dissertation, Why Now: A Quantitative Analysis of Barriers Influencing Delay in Treatment-Seeking Behavior for Adults with OCD, explores help-seeking decisions using validated instruments and statistical analyses. Kerstin has experience with SPSS, Qualtrics, Covidence, quantitative, and mixed-methods research approaches. She collaborates on a systematic review examining reporting practices in mixed-methods scholarship over the past decade and co-authors developing publications on race-based traumatic stress and the impact of racism on students with disabilities in higher education.

Kerstin’s scholarly contributions include national and international presentations with the International OCD Foundation, the 18th International Conference on Humanities, Psychology & Social Sciences (Berlin), the WAMFT Annual Conference, and the Baylor Emerging Research Conference. She will serve as a discussant and co-presenter for multiple sessions at AERA 2026.

In clinical practice, Kerstin is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with extensive experience in military and community mental health settings, including crisis stabilization leadership, domestic violence and child abuse prevention, addiction counseling, and private practice work specializing in ERP, CBT, HRT, and DBT. She currently serves as a Family Advocacy Program Clinical Case Manager for the United States Navy, providing high-risk assessment, coordinated intervention, and interagency collaboration to support service members and families experiencing abuse, trauma, or safety concerns. Previous roles include Military Family Life Counselor for Leidos and founder of Cornell Therapy, her private OCD-focused telehealth practice.

Alongside her clinical and research roles, Kerstin is also an All-Star Cheer coach focused on positive behavior change—integrating motivational principles, strengths-based goal setting, and somatic learning to support growth in both youth and adult athletes. She founded and directs an All-Star cheer program, emphasizing character development, resilience, and evidence-informed behavior shaping within competitive environments. As a supervisor and mentor, she supports emerging clinicians in research design, ethical reasoning, and professional identity development.

Her ongoing goals include advancing research on OCD treatment access, advocating for culturally responsive care, and building bridges between academic knowledge and applied practice. Kerstin remains committed to scholarship, leadership, and community-centered approaches that reduce barriers to mental healthcare and expand equitable pathways to well-being.