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College of Education College of Education

Francesca Maria Pernice, Ph.D.

Francesca Maria Pernice, Ph.D.

Professor of Educational Psychology

313-577-1718

Pernice@wayne.edu, bb3832@wayne.edu

Office Hours: Varies by semester; by appointment.

351 Education Bldg.

Francesca Maria Pernice, Ph.D.

Degrees and Certifications

  • B.A. Psychology, Oakland University 
  • M.S. Clinical Psychology, Eastern Michigan University
  • Ph.D. Human Ecology, Human Development, Family & Child Ecology with Specialization in Couple & Family Therapy
  • Couple and Family Therapy, LMFT Michigan #4101006337
  • Psychologist, Michigan, LP # 6301014085

Responsibilities

  • Professor, Educational Psychology
  • Director, Counseling Psychology
  • Educational Psychology Area Coordinator
  • Founding member and Associate Faculty Director of College of Education's Mental Health & Wellness Clinic
  • Pernice Research Hub - Research, Scholarship and Community Research Partnerships

Academic Interests

  • Ecological Systems Theory in applying principles, methods, and results of science to the improvement of people’s lives and their environments.
  • Multicultural Psychology
  • Social Cognitive Theory, Self-Effiacy

Area of Expertise

  • Individual, Couples Therapy, Family Therapy
  • Psychotherapy Theory
  • Mental Health Recovery
  • Social Connections and Health
  • Clubhouse Model, Social Practice
  • Quantitative & Qualitative Methods

Research Interests

Dr. Pernice's research, practice, and pedagogy is broadly informed by integrating Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (1986), and a multicultural and post-modern feminist-based framework. This integrative lens  allows for the investigation of phenomena in a holistic and transdisciplinary manner, incorporating many forms of inquiry supported by person-environment-centered values.

Dr. Pernice's academic, clinical, and research interests also reflect the importance of systemic /organizational change, community partnerships , and research across two broad areas: (1) application of ecological theories and methods; (2) social connections and the associations to well-being and mental health recovery. Overall, research interests are interdisciplinary and include approaches to examine systemic and contextual influences on human development, behavior, and well-being.

  • Clubhouse Models
  • Community Systems of Care
  • Social Connections and Recovery from Serious Mental Illness
  • Couples/Relational Therapy

Community Engagement Activities

  • Board of Directors, Assured Family Services, Detroit, MI
  • Recovery Council- Wayne County Mental Health Agency and Project Care
  • Clubhouse Michigan, Fountain House New York

Presentations

Media

  1. Pernice, F. (January, 2024). Fountain House: A “clubhouse” for people with serious mental illness. [Subject Matter Expert]. Public Health in Action, Harvard Public Health & The Studio [producers], Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Wednesday, January 31, 2024, 1pm ET | Online Presented jointly with Harvard Public Health magazine as part of the Public Health in Action, Harvard Public Health magazine website or on YouTube.
  2. Jedrzejczak, K. (Producer) & Pernice, F. (Director, Writer). (2023). Partners in care: Fostering relationships with clubhouses to support recovery from serious mental illness, [Educational video, 1.0 Continuing Medical Education Credit]. Neuroscience Education Institute. https://www.neiglobal.com/Default.aspx?TabId=685
  3. Pernice, F. (August, 2017). Recovery Enhanced Environment (REE). [Subject Matter Expert]. Employee Training Video, Detroit-Wayne County Mental Health Agency, Detroit, MI. https://www.dwctraining.com/Recovery-Enhancing-Environment-REE.id.1779.htm
  4. Pernice, F. (2024, March 14). Community as Therapy: Why LA is getting a Clubhouse for people living with serious mental illness.[Interview]. L.A. National Public Radio https://laist.com/news/health/fountain-house-clubhouse-community-hollywood-serious-mental-illness
  5. Pernice, F. (2023, March 17). We want to be accepted: Clubhouses give community to those with mental illness. [Interview]. Minnesota National Public Radio.
  6. Pernice, F. & Prichett-Johnson, B. (2020, May 22). Wayne State mental health counselors offer free service for pandemic stress, depression. [Interview]. Fox 2 Detroit News. https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/wayne-state-mental-health-counselors-offer-free-services-for-pandemic-stress-depression
  7. Pernice, F. & Prichett-Johnson, B. (2021, January,15). Responding to trauma in the wake of January 6 capital attacks [Interview]. Fox 2 News Detroit, Southfield, MI Jan.
  8. Pernice, F. (2018, September, 19). Anxiety and adolescence. [Interview]. Fox 2 Detroit News, Southfield, MI.

Conferences

  1. Christian, J., Michon, A., Hinchey, L.M., Pernice, F. (2022, August 3-5). Past, present, future: Thematic review of Clubhouse Community Research. [Poster presentation]. American Psychological Association Annual Convention, Minneapolis, MN
  2. Tse, J., Pernice, F., Napolitano, C., Bayer, C., D'Angelo, L., (2022, September 17-22). Partners in care: Strategies for collaborating with psychiatry to support our members [Conference session]. Clubhouse International World Seminar, Baltimore MD.
  3. Pernice, F., Hichney, L., Michon, A.*, Drews, J., & Price, M., (2020, April 2-5). Recovery Oriented Practice for Training Counseling Psychologists [Conference session]. Counseling Psychology Conference (Division 45 Annual Conference), New Orleans, LA. (moved to virtual) https://www.cvent.com/c/abstracts/80c10b34-2532-46c6-8242-d14c44c8ddae
  4. Price, M., & Pernice, F. (2020, August). Why we come: Top 3 reasons members come to clubhouse [Poster presentation]. American Psychological Association, Washington D.C. Virtual Conference. https://irp.cdn-website.com/a5ea5d51/files/uploaded/APA_2020_Program.pdf

 

Featured publications

Disaggregating between- and within-person associations of mastery and cognitive function: age as a moderator

Du, C., Wu, B., Peng, C. et al. Disaggregating between- and within-person associations of mastery and cognitive function: age as a moderator. BMC Geriatr 24, 722 (2024).

Keywords

Multilevel modeling
Cognitive functioning
Ahcging

Mastery may shape the way individuals cope with life challenges and influence cognitive function in later life. Mastery grows out of traumatic experience and could change over the life course. This study examined the within-person and between-person associations of mastery and cognitive function, and if these associations were moderated by age in the United States.

Clubhouse virtual programming: A trend analysis of member engagement patterns before, during, and after pandemic lockdown

Rice, K., Simaitis, G., & Pernice, F. (2024). Clubhouse virtual programming: A trend analysis of member engagement patterns before, during, and after pandemic lockdown. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 47(3), 200–208.

Keywords

Clubhouse
Mental illness
Virtual programs

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the mental health of individuals with serious mental illness, with restricting social gatherings and limiting access to essential community and psychosocial support services. For programs like clubhouses, adapting typically in-person programming to online settings led to the creation of virtual clubhouse programming that persists at many sites even after reopening. Although it has been documented how clubhouses adapted their programming online, it has not been investigated at the individual level how those programs were utilized over time, by different member cohorts, and how they persist in comparison to one another. Method: The present article presents descriptive and inferential statistics, analysis of variance, and secondary trend analysis of the Fountain House clubhouse in-person and virtual engagements of three member cohorts who enrolled in either three time periods before pandemic restrictions (the prior cohort), during pandemic restrictions (the pandemic cohort), and after lockdown restrictions (the reopening cohort). Result: Initial findings show that the prior cohort sustained their overall rate of engagement across time periods. The pandemic cohort had a significantly higher rate of engagement than the prior cohort within the during period but demonstrated a significant decrease in engagement rate between the during and after period. Prior and pandemic cohorts had statistically similar virtual and in-person engagement ratios in the after period, but the reopen cohort differed significantly with a predominant ratio of in-person engagements. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: Member engagement trends within in-person and virtual offerings across the three different pandemic related time periods indicate important considerations for the sustainability and innovation of clubhouse virtual programming.

A Contemporary Review of the Clubhouse Model of Psychosocial Rehabilitation: Past, Present, and Emerging Directions

 Hinchey, L. M. E., Pernice, F. M., Christian, J. N., Michon, A., & Rice, K. (2023). A Contemporary Review of the Clubhouse Model of Psychosocial Rehabilitation: Past, Present, and Emerging Directions. The Psychiatric quarterly, 10.1007/s11126-023-10051-w. Advance online publication.

Keywords

Clubhouse
Narrative review
Psychosocial rehabilitation
Serious mental illness (SMI)
Social practice

Since the 1940s, the Clubhouse model of psychosocial rehabilitation has evolved towards a comprehensive practice of social theory and intervention. A narrative review was conducted using PRISMA guidelines. Using the search term "Clubhouse," 194 articles were identified in online databases. 38 met criteria for inclusion. Most studies were qualitative (60.5%) and few utilized experimental or quasi-experimental designs (7.9%). Narrative synthesis revealed research aims and outcome variables falling into six key areas: social integration and connectedness, quality of life, recovery, relational dynamics, policy, and virtual adaptations of the model. Options for increasing experimental methodologies in this area are reviewed. Recommended future directions involve moving towards a biopsychosocial approach to clarifying the mechanisms through which the model promotes recovery-aims that may yield implications beyond the realm of serious mental illness.

Fountain House and the Clubhouse Movement

Pernice, F., D’Angelo, L., Dudek, K., Michon, A., Aquila, R. (2022). Fountain House and the Clubhouse Movement. In: Sowers, W.E., McQuistion, H.L., Ranz, J.M., Feldman, J.M., Runnels, P.S. (eds) Textbook of Community Psychiatry. Springer, Cham.

Prior to the 1960s, people suffering from a serious mental illness (SMI), such as schizophrenia, major depression, and other conditions, lived in state institutions and asylum wards. Although these asylums for the mentally ill evolved from a caring, therapeutic approach of the moral treatment, by the mid-twentieth century these institutions had become overcrowded, underfunded, and hardly reflective of the humane values upon which they were originally based. The story of Fountain House, a working recovery community known as a “clubhouse,” relates a different narrative concerning the treatment of mental illness. While society historically relegated people living with serious mental illness to the periphery, today Fountain House welcomes them on West 47th Street to find meaning in their lives and invited them to demonstrate their productive talents in the heart of New York City. As early allies in community psychiatry recognized the importance of not only providing physical and psychiatric care but also the social component of relationships and a place to belong Fountain House offers.

The Predictive Utility of Trauma Subtypes in the Assessment of Mental Health Outcomes for Persons Resettled as Refugees

Hinchey, L.M., Grasser, L. R., Saad, B., Gorski, K., Pernice, F., & Javanbakht, A. (2022). The Predictive Utility of Trauma Subtypes in the Assessment of Mental Health Outcomes for Persons Resettled as Refugees. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health.

Authored by Francesca's doctoral student and Community Psychiatry students and faculty.

Responding to the Global Pandemic: A Pulse of the Well-Being of Clubhouse Communities Moving Virtual

Michon, A., Hinchey, L., Pernice, F., Drews, J., Price, M., Christian, J., Rice, K., & Kellogg, L. (2021). Responding to the Global Pandemic: A Pulse of the Well-Being of Clubhouse Communities Moving Virtual. Journal of psychosocial rehabilitation and mental health, 1–13. Advance online publication.

Keywords

COVID-19 pandemic
Clubhouse
Engagement
Virtual communities
Well-being

Clubhouse communities rapidly responded to the COVID-19 pandemic to keep members connected as psychosocial rehabilitation programs were globally disrupted. This investigation aims to elucidate how Clubhouse directors responded to the pandemic and their members' needs, while also directly assessing the needs and well-being of members. This study utilized secondary data from Director and Member surveys designed to capture Clubhouse status, member engagement, and measures of well-being. Descriptive statistics and correlation coefficients were computed across data from directors (n = 140) and members (n = 1136). Directors across 19 countries indicated that the majority of Clubhouses closed and were engaging with members using a variety of technologies, primarily Zoom videoconferencing. For members, greater levels of virtual Clubhouse engagement were positively correlated with physical and mental well-being and negatively correlated with hospitalization rates. This study provides support for an association between virtual Clubhouse engagement and well-being. Repeated measures studies are needed to further investigate this association. 

Why We Come: Clubhouse Members Seek Connection, Purpose and Meaning

Pernice, F.M., Price, M.H. & Rice, K. W. (2021). Why We Come: Clubhouse Members Seek Connection, Purpose and Meaning. Community Mental Health Journal 57, 446–456.

Fountain House and Community Psychiatry

Pernice, F., D’Angelo, Dudek, K.,Michon, A., Aquilla, R. (In Press). Fountain House and Community Psychiatry. In W. Sowers, H. McQuistion, J. Ranz, J. Maus Feldman P. Runnels; (Eds.) Textbook of Community Psychiatry,Springer Publication (Spring 2021).

Publications

Selected Publications; *Denotes Student Co-Author

  1. Pernice, F., D’Angelo, Dudek, K, *Michon, A., Aquila, R. (2022). Fountain House and community psychiatry. In W. Sowers, H. McQuistion, J. Ranz, J. Maus Feldman, P. Runnels (Eds.) Textbook of Community Psychiatry: American Association for Community Psychiatry (2nd ed., pp 535-547). Springer International.
  2. Pernice, F., Hinchey, L., Rice, K., Michon, A., Drews, J., Mackenzie, J., Doyle, A., Madison, E., Kessler, L., Bayer, C., Napolitano, C., Jedrzejczak, J.,Delman, J. (in press). The method and application of social practice in the clubhouse. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal. Impact Factor: 2.949 Rank: 522
  3. Pernice, F., Hinchey, L. M., Rice, K., & Drews, J. (2023). Community as therapy: The theory of social practice. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, https://doi.org/10.1037/prj0000588 Impact Factor: 2.949 Rank: 522
  4. Rice, K., Simaitis, G., Pernice, F. (in press). Clubhouse virtual programming: A trend analysis of member engagement patterns before, during, and after pandemic lockdown. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal.
  5. *Hinchey, L., Pernice, F., *Christian, J., *Michon, A., & Rice, K. (2023). A contemporary review of the clubhouse model of psychosocial rehabilitation: Past, present, and emerging directions. The Psychiatric Quarterly, 94, 569-604.
  6. *Hinchey, L., *Grasser, L., Saad, B., Gorski, K., Pernice, F., & Javanbakht, A. (2022). The predictive utility of trauma subtypes in the assessment of mental health outcomes for persons resettled as refugees. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 25, 274-281. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-022-01407-8
  7. *Michon, A., *Hinchey, L., Pernice, F., *Drews, J., *Price, M., *Christian, J., Rice, K., Kellogg, L., (2021). Responding to the global pandemic: A pulse of the well-being of clubhouse communities moving virtual. Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health, 8, 171-183.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s40737-021-00217-9
  8. Hinchey, L., *Michon, A., *Drews, J., *Price, M., *Christian, J., Pernice, F., & Aquila, R. (2021). Clubhouses as essential communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health, 9, 149-157. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40737-021-00242-8 
  9. Rice, K., Pernice, F., & *Michon, A. (2021). Metacognition and the Clubhouse Model in Treating Serious Mental Illness. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 43(4), 284-289. https://doi.org/10.1037/prj0000464
  10. Pernice, F., *Price, M., & Rice, K. (2020). Why we come: Clubhouse members seek connection, purpose, and meaning. Community Mental Health Journal, 57, 446-456. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-020-00685-6
  11. Pernice, F. M., Biegel, D., Kim, J.-Y., & Conrad-Garrisi, D. (2017). The mediating role of mattering to others in recovery and stigma. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 40(4), 395–404. https://doi.org/10.1037/prj0000269
  12. *Chung, C., Pernice-Duca, F., Biegel, D., Norden, M., & *Chang, C.. (2016). Family perspectives of how their relatives with mental illness benefit from Clubhouse participation: a qualitative inquiry. Journal of Mental Health, 25(4), 372–378. 10.3109/09638237.2016.1149805
  13. Pernice-Duca, F., Biegel, D., *Hess, H., *Chung, C., & *Chang, C.(2015). Family members' perceptions of how they benefit when relatives living with serious mental illness participate in Clubhouse community programs. Family Relations, 64(3), 446-459. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12127
  14. *Chang, C., Chung, C., Biegel, D., Pernice-Duca, F., *Min, O. (2013). Predictors of Loneliness among Clubhouse members. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 37,(1), 51-54. https://doi.org/10.1037/prj0000052
  15. Biegel, D., Pernice-Duca, F., *Chang, C.,*Chung, C., *Min, O., D'Angelo, L.(2013). Family social networks and recovery from severe mental illness of clubhouse members. Journal of Family Social Work, 16(4), 274-296.  https://doi.org/10.1080/10522158.2013.794379
  16. Biegel, B.E., Pernice-Duca, F., *Chang, C., & D’Angelo, L. (2013). Correlates of peer support in a clubhouse setting. Community Mental Health Journal, 49(3), 249-259. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-012-9502-5
  17. Pernice-Duca, F., *Chatervert, H., & Markman, B. (2013). Recovery in the clubhouse: Applying ecological and social cognitive theories. International Journal of Self Help and Self Care, 7(2) 151-165. https://doi.org/10.2190/sh.7.2.d
  18. *Conrad-Garrisi, D., & Pernice-Duca, F. (2013). Sense of mattering to recovery and stigma in consumer-oriented recovery environments. International Journal of Self Help and Self Care Special Issue: Peer Support at Fountain House/Clubhouses as Rehabilitation Efforts in the Mental Health Field, 7(1), 41-57. https://doi.org/10.2190/sh.7.1.d
  19. *Bernardon, S. & Pernice-Duca, F. (2012). Integrating recovery and a narrative-attachment systems perspective to working through borderline personality disorder. The Family Journal, 20(3), 239-248. https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480712448790
  20. Carolan, M., Onaga, E., Pernice-Duca, F., & Jimenez, T. (2011). A place to be: The role of clubhouses in facilitating support. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 35(2), 125-132. https://doi.org/10.2975/35.2.2011.125.132
  21. *Bernardon, S., & Pernice-Duca, F. (2010). A family systems perspective to recovery from post-traumatic stress in children. The Family Journal, 18(4), 349-357. https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480710376618
  22. Pernice-Duca, F. (2010). An examination of family and social support networks as a function of ethnicity and gender: A descriptive study of youths from three ethnic groups. Journal of Youth Studies, 13(3), 391-402. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676260903447536
  23. Pernice-Duca, F. (2010). Family network support and mental health recovery. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 36(1), 13-27. 10.1111/j.1752-0606.2009.00182.x
  24. Pernice-Duca, F. (2010). Staff and member perceptions of the clubhouse environment. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 3(4), 345-356. 10.1007/s10488-009-0242-y
  25. Pernice-Duca, F., *Saxe, B., & *Johnson, J. (2010). Factors influencing staff perceptions of the organizational environment of clubhouses. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 37(4), 334-344.
  26. Pernice-Duca, F., & Onaga. E. (2009) Examining the contribution of social network support to the recovery process among clubhouse members. American Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 12(1), 1-30. 10.1080/15487760802615566
  27. Pernice-Duca, F. (2008). The structure and quality of social network support among mental health consumers of clubhouse programs. Journal of Community Psychology, 36(7), 929-945.
  28. Herman, S., Onaga, E.E, Pernice-Duca, F., Oh, S., & Ferguson, C. (2005). Sense of community in clubhouse programs: Member and staff concepts. American Journal of Community Psychology, 36(3/4), 343-356.
  29. Pernice-Duca, F., Kirk, R., Onaga, E., Martinez, V. (2005). Full participation in the classroom: The early childhood inclusion project. The Community Psychologist, 38(1), 22-25.

Courses taught by Francesca Maria Pernice, Ph.D.

Winter Term 2025 (future)

Fall Term 2024 (current)

Winter Term 2024

Fall Term 2023

Winter Term 2023

Fall Term 2022

Winter Term 2022

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