Melisa Rempfer, Ph.D.

Melisa Rempfer
  • Professor
  • Director of Clinical Training, Clinical Psychology
  • ***Dr. Rempfer will be considering applicants for Fall 2025 admission***
She/her/hers

Contact Info

Fraser Hall Room 306
Lawrence
1415 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence, KS 66045

Education —

B.S. in Psychology and Journalism, University of Iowa
M.A. in Psychology (Clinical), University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
Ph.D. in Psychology (Clinical), University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

Research —

My research aims to understand, meaningfully assess, and improve factors that support recovery, wellness and quality of everyday life among individuals with schizophrenia or other serious mental illness (SMI).



Research interest areas:

• Evidence-based cognitive and psychosocial rehabilitation

• Cognitive and psychological factors influencing community/daily life functioning

• Assessment (cognitive, functional, performance-based, ecological methods)

• Mental health stigma and recovery

• Clinical psychology training issues

• Community-based participatory research

Selected Publications —

Faith, L.A., +Howie, J.H., +Blanco, E., Jarvis, S.P., Rempfer, M.V. (2022). Therapeutic Alliance in a Cognitive Rehabilitation Program for People with Serious Mental Illness: A Qualitative Analysis. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 00. 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1111/papt.12412



+Faith, L., +Grove, A., Jarvis, S., Rempfer, M. (2022). Implementation and Preliminary Outcomes of Cognitive Enhancement Therapy for Serious Mental Illness in an Outpatient Mental Health Program. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465822000017



+Harris, M., +Blanco, E.A., Rempfer, M. (2021). Cognition and daily life functioning among persons with serious mental illness: A cluster analytic examination of heterogeneity on the Test of Grocery Shopping Skills. Neuropsychology, 35(1), 57-68.



Rempfer, M., McDowd, J.M., Brown, C.E. (2020). Longitudinal stability of learning potential in people with schizophrenia: A 2.5 year follow-up. Schizophrenia Research, 224, 193-194.



+Harris, M., & Rempfer, M. (2020). Profiles of self-evaluation as a metacognitive skill: An indicator of rehabilitation potential among people with schizophrenia. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 43(4), 308-317.



Rempfer, M. & +Fowler, C. (2018). Relationships among functional capacity, cognition, and naturalistic skill performance in people with serious mental illness, Psychiatry Research, 270, 453-453.



+Faith, L, & Rempfer, M. (2018). Comparison of performance-based assessment and real world skill in people with serious mental illness: Ecological validity of the Test of Grocery Shopping Skills. Psychiatry Research, 266, 11-17.



Rempfer, M., McDowd, J., & Brown, C. (2017). Measuring learning potential in people with schizophrenia: a comparison of two tasks. Psychiatry Research, 258, 316-321.