A Closer Look at Juvenile Homicide / SpringerBriefs in Psychology (PDF)

Sara Ferguson, M.S.



Sara Ferguson is currently a 5th year psychology intern in the forensic concentration at Nova Southeastern University's Clinical Psychology doctoral program. Prior to attending NSU, she received her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Florida State University. Ms. Ferguson's clinical interests include forensic assessment and contemporary relational psychotherapy in the areas of complex trauma, serious mental illness, and autism spectrum disorder. Her clinical training compliments her interests, as she has worked in a variety of settings and with highly diverse populations. Her practica training has included forensic evaluations and correctional psychological services, along with outpatient psychotherapy services with individuals with chronic, serious mental illness. Further, Ms. Ferguson has provided psychological interventions and assessments in both inpatient and outpatient hospital settings for Veterans presenting with dual diagnoses of substance abuse and a range of pathology. Additionally, she has provided clinical and educational consultation and support to individuals with autism spectrum disorder, along with their families and related professionals at the University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (UM-NSU CARD) for the last seven years. Currently, Ms. Ferguson is completing her Predoctoral Internship in Clinical Psychology at the Trauma Resolution Integration Program (TRIP) housed at NSU's Psychological Services Center, an outpatient clinical that provides sliding scale psychotherapy services in Davie, Florida. Ms. Ferguson's research interests are primarily in the forensic domain, including serial homicide, juvenile offending, neuropsychology of crime, death penalty, and domestic violence.







Tom Kennedy, PhD, BFB

Tom Kennedy is an Associate Professor for the College of Psychology at Nova Southeastern University (NSU). He serves as a representative for the NSU IRB and is the site supervisor for the forensic practicum. He received his PhD from the University of Miami. He previously served as Associate Professor for the College of Education at NSU where he was co-director of the Applied Research Center and developed and taught multiple courses including: Methods of Inquiry, Statistics, Advanced Statistics, Research Design, Mixed Methods, Program Evaluation, Survey and Measurement and Testing. His clinical experience consists of providing forensic evaluations, neuropsychological assessments, behavioral medicine interventions, and child and adolescent therapy in inpatient and outpatient settings including: the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, UM Mailman Center for Child Development, Jackson Memorial Hospital, UM Institute for Individual and Family Therapy, and the Dallas County Jail. Before coming to NSU, he spent five years at the Mailman Center for Child Development, where he trained and supervised school psychologists and assessed children throughout Miami-Dade County Schools. He is board certified in Biofeedback. His research interests include two convergent forensic tracks, one focused on at-risk children and adolescents, and the other on domestic violence and human trafficking. He has procured grant funding and served as lead evaluator for multiple organizations including Catholic Charities, Miami Dade-Schools Police, and national Bullying programs. He has published books and book chapters, and written articles in the areas of juvenile crime, psychological assessment, bullying, psychophysiology and research design.