Apryl Alexander

Research Associate Professor; Adjunct Faculty

Faculty

apryl.alexander@du.edu

303-871-6323 (Office)

https://portfolio.du.edu/Apryl.Alexander

Personal

Ammi Hyde Annex North, 2450 South Vine Street Denver, CO 80208

Specialization(s)

Forensic Psychology, juvenile justice, trauma, interpersonal/gender-based violence, childhood sexual abuse, violence, sex offending, public policy, social justice, culturally responsive practice, Cultural Humility, popular culture

Professional Biography

Dr. Apryl Alexander is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Professional Psychology at the University of Denver (DU). She received her Psy.D. in clinical psychology from the Florida Institute of Technology with concentrations in forensic psychology and child and family therapy. Dr. Alexander primarily teaches in the master’s in forensic psychology program and serves as Director of the Forensic Institute of Research, Service, and Training (Denver FIRST) Outpatient Competency Restoration Program, which provides outpatient competency education and restoration for low-risk, court-ordered adult defendants and juveniles. In 2020, she received a federal grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to create the Denver FIRST Juvenile Justice Project, an empirically informed and culturally sensitive trauma treatment program for juvenile justice-involved girls.

Dr. Alexander is a DU Public Impact Fellow and has been interviewed by numerous media outlets, including The New York Times, USA Today, and NBC Nightly News, about her research and advocacy work. Her research focuses on violence and victimization, forensic assessment, sexuality, and trauma-informed and culturally informed practice. She is an award-winning researcher and her work has been published in leading journals including Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, Child Maltreatment, Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, and Sexual Abuse. Dr. Alexander is the recipient of the 2017 APA Early Career Achievement Award and the APA Section on Child Maltreatment Early Career Award for Outstanding Contributions to Research. She also received the 2019 APA Early Career Award for Outstanding Contributions to Benefit Children, Youth, and Families and the 2019 Michele Alexander Early Career Award for Scholarship and Service from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI).

Dr. Alexander also enjoys bringing psychology to the public through popular media. She is a frequent presenter at Denver Pop Culture Con and has previously contributed to The Joker Psychology: Evil Clowns and the Women Who Love Them and Black Panther Psychology: Hidden Kingdoms.

Additionally, Dr. Alexander is also a board member for the Colorado Juvenile Defender Center (CJDC) and the Colorado Criminal Defense Institute (CCDI).

Degree(s)

PsyD, Clinical Psychology, Florida Institute of Technology, 2012
MS, Clinical Psychology, Radford University, 2007
BS, Psychology, Virginia Tech, 2005

Professional Affiliations

American Psychological Association
American Psychology-Law Society
Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers
Colorado Psychological Association
Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues

Media Sources

Research

Dr. Alexander’s research broadly focuses on violence, victimization, forensic assessment, and trauma and culturally informed practice. Inspired by her years of providing trauma treatment to child and adolescent victims of sexual violence, much of her research centers on examining outcomes related to childhood maltreatment in adolescents in the general population, juvenile justice-involved adolescents, and emerging adults. Recent projects center on the assessment of adjudicated juveniles, victimization in adolescence and emerging adults, and providing trauma-informed care to individuals with severe and persistent mental illness. As you can see from her CV, her work has been published in leading journals including the Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, Child Maltreatment, Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, and Sexual Abuse. Dr. Alexander is the recipient of the 2017 APA Early Career Achievement Award, as well as the recipient of the 2017 APA Section on Child Maltreatment Early Career Award for Outstanding Contributions to Research.

Key Projects

Denver First Competency Restoration Project
GSPP Reducing Risk for Juvenile Girls in the Juvenile Justice System Project

Featured Publications

Alexander, A. A. (2019). Sex for all: Sex positivity and intersectionality in clinical and counseling psychology. Journal of Black Sexuality and Relationships, 6(1), 49-72. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1353/bsr.2019.0015

Alexander, A. A. (2019). Confluence model of sexual aggression in college males: Examining polyvictimization. Violence and Gender , 6(2), 139-141. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1089/vio.2018.0025

Wood, M. E., Anderson, J. L., Gillespie , M. L., Alexander, A. A., Backstrom-Sieh, T., & Glassmire, D. M. (2019). The association between specific competence-related abilities and competence restoration treatment. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology , 30(2), 250-269. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/14789949.2018.1542448

Danzer, G. S., Wheeler, E. M. A., Alexander, A. A., & Wasser, T. D. (2019). Competency restoration for adult defendants in different treatment environments. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 47(1), 68-81. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.29158/JAAPL.003819-19

Fix, R. L., Falligant, J. M., Alexander, A. A., & Burkhart , B. R. (2019). Race and victim age matter: Sexual behaviors and experiences among confined African American and European American youth with sexual and nonsexual offenses. Sexual Abuse, 31(1), 50-72. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063217720926

Alexander, A. A., Serrano Amerigo , L., & Harrelson , M. E. (2018). Polyvictimization and sexual risk behaviors in college-aged women. Criminal Justice Review, 43(3), 345-359. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/0734016818767727

Fix, R. L., Alexander, A. A., & Burkhart , B. R. (2018). From family violence exposure to violent offending: Examining effects of race and mental health in a moderated mediation model among confined male juveniles. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62(9), 2567-2585. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X17731101

Morais, H. B., Alexander, A. A., Fix, R. L., & Burkhart, B. R. (2018). Childhood sexual abuse in adolescents adjudicated for sexual offenses: Mental health consequences and sexual offending behaviors. Sexual Abuse, 30(1), 23-42. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/1079063215625224

Silverstein, M. W., Fix, R. L., & Alexander, A. A. (2017). Risky sex: Testing moderated mediation among college students. Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, 9(4), 246-256. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1108/JACPR-05-2017-0296

Falligant, J. M., Alexander, A. A., & Burkhart , B. R. (2017). Offence characteristics and cognitive functioning in juveniles adjudicated for illegal sexual behaviour. Journal of Sexual Aggression , 23(3), 291-299. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/13552600.2017.1362271

Awards

Lorraine Williams Greene Award for Social Justice , Division 18-Psychologists in Public Service, American Psychological Association
The Michele Alexander Early Career Award for Scholarship and Service, Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI)
Early Career Award for Outstanding Contributions to Benefit Children, Youth, and Families, Committee on Children, Youth, and Families (CYF), American Psychological Association
APA Achievement Award for Early Career Psychologists, Committee on Early Career Psychologists (CECP), American Psychological Association (APA)
The Early Career Award for Outstanding Contributions to Research/Practice in the Field of Child Maltreatment, Division 37 (Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice), American Psychological Association (APA)