Amy Taylor, Ph.D., Appointed Inaugural Ruthellen Josselson Chair in Qualitative Inquiry

Amy Taylor, Ph.D.

Amy Taylor, Ph.D., Director of the Alonso Center for Psychodynamic Studies and Clinical Psychology faculty member, was recently appointed to the prestigious role as the inaugural Ruthellen Josselson Chair in Qualitative Inquiry.  

Ruthellen Josselson, Ph.D., has a storied career and is a longtime Clinical Psychology faculty member and psychotherapist. Established in 2020, the Ruthellen Josselson Chair in Qualitative Inquiry fund supports Fielding faculty research, while honoring the legacy of Dr. Josselson and affirming the importance of qualitative research in psychology as acknowledged by the American Psychological Association Division 5, Quantitative and Qualitative Methods. 

Dr. Taylor was inspired by Dr. Josselson’s work at the beginning of her qualitative research journey and credits Dr. Josselson for bringing her to Fielding. 

“I am so excited and honored to take up this role and I thank Ruthellen and the university for this wonderful opportunity,” Dr. Taylor said. “Dr. Josselson is one of the greats in the qualitative research world and her legacy, and the legacy of qualitative research at Fielding, is inspiring and deserves recognition. 

“Fielding provides the conditions for innovative qualitative work to flourish (as shown by some current and recently completed dissertations!), and I am glad to cultivate and grow our qualitative research community as we enter Fielding’s 50th year. Qualitative inquiry offers ways to learn about how people make and are made by their worlds, develop appreciation for the complexity and diversity of human experience, and form genuinely new ways of seeing. Qualitative work is transformative and important, and I see it becoming even more important as we are in an era filled with complex human dilemmas that require us to know ourselves more deeply.” 

As the Josselson Chair, Dr. Taylor will be an advocate for the support and development of qualitative methods of inquiry in the Clinical Psychology Program. The Chair will be provided a stipend of $7,500 in support of efforts that engage students, faculty, and alums, as well as the external scholarly community.  

The Josselson Chair will be appointed for one academic year, September-August, and Dr. Taylor beginning her tenure in September 2023. 

Over the course of a year, Dr. Taylor plans to create opportunities for Fielding clinical psychology doctoral students, faculty, alums, and a wider community of qualitative researchers to learn from and energize one another. This work will present qualitative inquiry as approachable and available to everyone, in part by representing some of the racial, cultural, gender, age, disciplinary, and geographic diversity within the qualitative research world. 

“In my role, I aim to establish or deepen connections between Fielding and the wider qualitative research community, to support student and faculty research with funding and by clarifying paths to learning qualitative inquiry at Fielding, by offering educational opportunities with visiting speakers and discussion groups, and by amplifying the excellent qualitative work already happening in our university,” Dr. Taylor said. 

Her proposal included a Fielding Qualitative Research Symposium; Clinical Psychology Qualitative Dissertation Grant; Qualitative Research Speaker Series; and other supports and initiatives for research, conferences, and more. 

“Dr. Amy Taylor’s creative approach and innovative ideas about promoting and advancing qualitative research at Fielding will very fittingly carry forward the legacy of Dr. Josselson’s efforts to ensure that Fielding is a leader in qualitative inquiry,” said Katherine McGraw, Associate Provost for Research, Extramural Funding, and Faculty Development. “I look forward to working with her and to the results of her exciting plans.” 

About Amy Taylor, Ph.D. 

Amy Taylor, Ph.D., is a core faculty member in the Clinical Psychology program and a practicing psychotherapist and psychoanalyst. She received her Clinical Psychology Ph.D. and her training in interpretive and qualitative research from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA, where Dr. Ruthellen Josselson’s approach to qualitative inquiry informed her dissertation project. Dr. Taylor’s research and scholarly interests include the intersection of gender, sexuality, and technology and how the social world shapes our lived and felt embodied experiences.