Rachel L. Dyer, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Psychology. Her PhD is in Counseling Psychology, meaning she is well-training as a mental health clinician and academic researcher with a particular eye for the role of sociocultural context. Dr. Dyer is a licensed psychologist in Wisconsin and continues to see therapy clients—an experience that she uses to inform her teaching at Lawrence. Dr. Dyer teaches classes on psychopathology, the psychology of gender, and the clinical psychology lab course.
After joining the Lawrence faculty in 2024, Dr. Dyer established the Pregnancy and Psychology Research (PAPR) Lab which examines how sociocultural narratives impact pregnancy, pregnancy decision-making, and family-building. Her research primarily employs qualitative and mixed-methods approaches.
Dr. Dyer’s work has primarily focused on abortion. She published a chapter on “Emotions After Abortions” in the Handbook of Abortion Care for Mental Health Professionals and co-authored the forthcoming, first-ever American Psychological Association’s Professional Practice Guidelines on Sex and Reproduction. To date, Dr. Dyer has trained nearly 1,000 mental health clinicians in after-abortion support. Her work has also been featured in top journals of her field including American Psychologist and Psychology of Women Quarterly, as well as well as in popular press (Los Angeles Times, ELITE Daily, City Cast) and a Brooklyn art gallery. Dr. Dyer was the former Executive Director of Exhale Pro-Voice (a 20-year-old nonprofit organization providing research-driven, abortion-positive support to people who have had abortions) and is the current CEO of Pro-Choice Therapists, the first national directory of trained and vetted mental health clinicians offering affirming care in this area.
