Fiona O’Farrell
Dept. Chair and Program Director of Marriage and Family Therapy
they/she
Phone: 253-535-8802
Email: ofarrefe@plu.edu
Office Location:Garfield Station - Room 108
Status:Not Teaching
- Professional
- Biography
Education
- Ph.D., Clinical Sexology, Modern Sex Therapy Institutes , 2023
- M.A., Marriage and Family Therapy, Pacific Lutheran University, 2012
- B.A., Psychology, Western University , 2008
Areas of Emphasis or Expertise
- Use of consent-based frameworks to support training standards in MFTs
- Queer-affirmative clinical care
- Sex and intimacy enhancement for relational units
Professional Memberships/Organizations
- American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT)
- American Association of Sexuality Educator, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT)
- International Family Therapy Association (IFTA)
Biography
Dr. Fiona O’Farrell (they/she) graduated from the Marriage and Family Therapy program at PLU in 2012. In 2024, Fiona returned to the department and is the Department Chair and Program Director. Fiona is enthusiastic about training emerging therapists to adopt systemic thinking to explore the intersection of self-development, relational work, consent, and sexuality. Fiona’s clinical practice supports relational clients in full-spectrum identity work, relationship enhancement, consent, shame reduction, dismantling binaries, and queer- affirmative care. Fiona’s research centers on improving clinical training standards by integrating developmental frameworks and consent concepts into andragogical design.