University of Hawai‘i at Manoa
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Last updated on Saturday, March 8, 2025    Make updates ->

John  Souza Jr.

Name :

John Souza Jr.

Title :

Assistant Professor

Unit :

Department of Family and Consumer Sciences

Office :

Department of Family and Consumer Sciences

Address :

2515 Campus Road
                  Honolulu, HI 96822

Room :

Miller Hall 201G

Phone :

(808) 956-2258

Fax :

(808) 956-2419

E-mail :

jgs808@hawaii.edu

Website :

https://mftlab.ctahr.hawaii.edu

Specialties :

marriage and family therapy; MFT supervision; deliberate practice; practice-based evidence; common factors of MFT

Professional Prep/Appointments :


Doctorate of Marriage & Family Therapy (DMFT), 2012
Argosy University Twin Cities (AUTC)
Clinical concentration: Clinical psychopharmacology and addictions studies
Doctoral Thesis: The Relational Diagnostic Assessment: Bridging the Practice-Research Gap in Culturally Diverse Communities

M.A. Marriage & Family Therapy, 2008
Minnesota School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University, Twin Cities

B.S. Business Administration, 2005
Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN 
Minor: Organizational & Industrial Psychology

Projects :


Do You Know the Way to Licensure? From Graduate School to Professional Practice: A Study on Trends in Hawaiʻi’s Mental Health Workforce
(PI: Ongoing Research Project)

Relational Climate Assessment and Violence in Hawai'i's Agricultural Worksites
(PI: 2024-present WCAHS Pilot Study Grant Project)

The MFT Lab: Advancing the Art and Science of Marriage and Family Therapy  
(Director: In Development. Visit us in Miller Hall 111)

Masters Program in MFT
(Co-Chair: In Development)

Culturally-Based Community Connection for Resilience 

(Contributing Investigator: 2024-2028 DHHS-Funded Research Project)

Is Your Intelligence Real or Artificial?
(Grant Mentor: UROP Grant-Funded, Student-Led Project)


Hawai'i Associate Licensing for MFTs, MHCs, SWs, and Psychologists
(Co-Bill Author: Rollout: July, 2026)

Hawai'i-Approved MFT Supervisor Designation Program
(Co-Developer: Sponsored by the Hawaiian Islands Association for Marriage and Family Therapy-HIAMFT)

Empowering Future Therapists: Local BIPOC Licensure Journeys Discussion
(PI: Inactive 2024 SEED IDEAS Grand-Funded Project)

2024-2025 HDFS Faculty Hiring Committee
(Chair: Inactive)


Courses:


HDFS 340 Intimacy, Marriages, and Families

HDFS 333 Adolescence and Early Adulthood


Professional Interests :


Marriage and Family Therapy
MFT Supervision
Deliberate Practice
Practice-Based Evidence
Common Factors of MFT


Selected Publications :


Souza, J., Jr., & Downey, M. (submitted). The myth of independence: Nature-based family therapy with emerging adults.

Jain, S., Souza, Jr., J., Brown, E., Hawkins, A., & Le., T.N. (accepted). Mental Health Equity for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Farmers in Hawai'i. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved.

Freedle, L. R., McGee, M., Blechman, S., Souza, J., & Zandbergen, D. L. (2021). The lava ate my school: The use of group sandplay to reduce anxiety and post-traumatic stress in displaced elementary school students. Journal of Sandplay Therapy, 30(2), 129-147.

Freedle, L. R., Goodwin-Downs, D., Souza, J., Jr., & Cipponeri, A. (2020). The added value of sandplay therapy with emerging adults in an outdoor behavioral healthcare program. Journal of Sandplay Therapy, 29(1), 129-144.

Souza, Jr., J. (2019, June). Pacific Quest’s family program for emerging adults. We are NATSAP: Family therapy edition. 

Souza Jr, J. G. (2012). The relational diagnostic assessment: Bridging the practice-research gap
in culturally diverse communities. ) [Applied clinical project, Argosy University/Twin
Cities]. Proquest Dissertations and Theses Global.