David S. Hargrove, PhD

Dr. Hargrove is professor emeritus at the University of Mississippi, where he served as chair of the Department of Psychology and interim chair of the Departments of Modern Language and Exercise Science. He has also been on the faculty of psychology departments at Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he served as director of clinical training. He was Kulynych/Cline Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Appalachian State University from 2009 to 2011.

Dr. Hargrove encountered Bowen theory in the 1970s, when he was the founding director of a large rural mental health and mental retardation center in Mississippi. Having trained in community psychology during his doctoral program at the University of Georgia, he saw a striking relevance between clinical practice and systems thinking. Work in a rural context provided the setting for testing family systems ideas, and this focus has occupied much of his career. He served as president of the National Association of Rural Mental Health and is past president of the American Orthopsychiatric Association. Dr. Hargrove has also served on the Board of Psychology and the Board of Mental Health in Mississippi.

He participated in the Postgraduate Program at the Bowen Center, 2000–2006 and served a fulltime postdoctoral year during that time. His current interests include the relevance of Bowen theory for higher education and the use of Bowen theory for understanding and interpreting literature.

Contact information: Shargrove26@gmail.com