Dr. Córdova received a B.A. from the University of New Mexico in 1989 and a M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Washington at Seattle in 1992 and 1996, respectively. He has been at Clark since 2002.

Current Research and Teaching

The goal of Dr. Córdova's research program is to increase our understanding of the processes that affect marital/couples health and deterioration, particularly those processes that promote greater relationship, mental, and physical health. Dr. Córdova's work involves the theoretical delineation of those processes, the demonstration of their proximal role in relationship health, and the construction of empirically testable procedures for their therapeutic use. The principal processes addressed in his work include intimacy, acceptance, and motivating the adoption of relationship healthy practices. Dr. Córdova's current projects include (1) the Marriage Checkup, a relationship health checkup designed to help partners maintain healthy relationships for a lifetime, (2) observing the process of intimacy development in couples' interactions, and (3) studying the role of emotional skillfulness in relationship health.

Selected Publications

Gray, T., Cordova, J., Hawrilenko, M., Dovala, T., & Sollenberger, J. (2018). The Path of Emotional Least Resistance: Developing Theory Based on the Self-Reported Strengths of Happy and Distressed Couples in the Marriage Checkup. Journal of Relationships Research, 9, E5. doi:10.1017/jrr.2018.4

Gray, T.D. & Cordova, J.V. (2018). Addressing Relationship Problems in an Integrated Primary Care Setting. In A.Maragakis and W.T. O'Donohue (Eds.), Principle-Based Stepped Care and Brief Psychotherapy for Integrated Care Settings.

Cordova, J.V., Cigrang, J.A., Gray, T.D., Najera, E., Hawrilenko, M., Pinkley, C., Nielsen, M., Tatum, J., & Redd, K. (2017). Addressing Relationship Health Needs in Primary Care: Adapting the Marriage Checkup for use in medical settings with military couples. The Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 24, 259-269. doi: 10.1007/s10880-017-9517-8 

Trillingsgaard, T., Fentz, H. N., Hawrilenko, M., & Cordova, J. V. (2016). A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Marriage Checkup Adapted for Private Practice. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 84(12), 1145. doi:10.1037/ccp0000141

Cordova, J.V., and Morse, M. (2016). The Story of Mu. Wisdom Publications, Somerville, MA.

Hawrilenko, M., Gray, T. D., & Córdova, J. V. (2016). The heart of change: Acceptance and intimacy mediate treatment response in a brief couples intervention. Journal of Family Psychology, 30(1), 93-103. doi:10.1037/fam0000160

Morrill, M. I., Hawrilenko, M., & Córdova, J. V. (2016). A longitudinal examination of positive parenting following an acceptance-based couple intervention. Journal of Family Psychology, 30(1), 104-113. doi: 10.1037/fam0000162

Cigrang, J. A., Cordova, J. V., Gray, T. D., Najera, E., Hawrilenko, M., Pinkley, C., Nielsen, M., Tatum, J., & Redd, K. (2016). The Marriage Checkup: Adapting and Implementing a Brief Relationship Intervention for Military Couples. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice. 23(4), 561-570.

Gray, T.D., Hawrilenko, M. & Córdova, J.V. (2015). The Better Part of Valor: Developing a system for studying how couples transition out of untimely conflict conversations. Journal of Relationship Research, 6, e11 doi:10.1017/jrr.2015.7.