Dr. Claudia Grauf-Grounds is a leading expert in Couple & Family Therapy, working for over three decades as a therapist, professor and supervisor. She has advised and coached hundreds of graduate students to help them find their voice as therapists and equip them with the skills and confidence to launch their own careers. In 2007, she was recognized as Supervisor of the Year for the American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy - Washington Division.
Claudia is a tenured professor of Marriage & Family Therapy at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Washington and co-author of ESSENTIAL SKILLS IN FAMILY THERAPY, a primary textbook for family therapists. A self-help book for couples, WE'VE HAD THIS FIGHT BEFORE: A brief guide on why couples fight and what to do about it, can be purchased in paperback or Kindle versions. Her most recent co-edited book, A PRACTICE BEYOND CULTURAL HUMILITY: How clinicians can work more effectively in a diverse world is available on Amazon.
Besides practicing as a licensed marriage & family therapist in Washington State and California, she has taught and supervised graduate students at the University of San Diego, Rosemead Graduate School of Psychology as well as Bethel and Seattle Pacific Seminaries. She held Clinical Faculty positions training physicians through SHARP Heathcare in San Diego and the University of Washington School of Medicine. She presents nationally and internationally on couples, families and relational systems ideas, supervision and medical family therapy.
Dr. Grauf-Grounds grew up in San Diego, California. She completed a BA in psychology from Stanford University as well as receiving honors in humanities. She met her future husband, Larry, a Presbyterian pastor, while playing intramural flag football together at Fuller Theological Seminary. She completed her masters in theology and counseling at Fuller and then her PhD in sociology and family therapy at the University of Southern California. She is the mother of three grown children (who are all amazing) and “ITA” to 6 grandchildren. She resides in San Diego where she loves to watch movies, throw dinner parties and remodel homes.
