Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies – Auburn University
M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy – Auburn University
B.S. in Psychology – Brigham Young University

Allen K. Sabey, Ph.D., LMFT, is a Clinical Assistant Professor at Northwestern University and a core faculty member in the Master of Science in Marriage & Family Therapy program. He completed his M.S. degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and his Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies at Auburn University. He also completed a postdoctoral clinical research fellowship at The Family Institute at Northwestern University.

Dr. Sabey maintains an active empirical research lab (Emotional Availability & Responsiveness Lab) aimed at understanding how and why family members provide care and support for one another, especially in times of distress. The goal of his research project is to increase emotional availability and responsiveness within families. He utilizes both quantitative and qualitative methodologies and draws from attachment theory and emotion processing principles as his theoretical foundations. He has presented at national and international conferences and has published on the nature of family relationships in numerous academic journals, including Family Process and Journal of Family Psychology.

Sabey, A., Stillar, A., & Lafrance, A. (2021). Processes and outcomes of an Emotion-Focused Family Therapy two-chair intervention for transforming problematic parenting patterns. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy.

Sabey, A. K. Rauer, A. J., Haselschwerdt, M. L., & Volling, B. (2018). Beyond “lots of hugs and kisses”: Expressions of parental love from parents and their young children in two-parent, financially stable families. Family Process, 57, 737–751.

American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

International Institute for Emotion-Focused Family Therapy

International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy National Council on Family Relations

Back to Leadership and Faculty – MFT@Northwestern