Biography

Bradley Donohue is a psychology professor and director of Family Research and Services in the department of psychology. His research expertise is in substance abuse, child maltreatment, family violence, conduct disorders, and the improvement of mental health and sport performance in athletes.

A national expert on sports psychology and wellness, he is the creator of The Optimum Performance Program in Sports (TOPPS), a mental health program targeted specifically to student athletes from elementary-age through college. The program blends traditional mental health services with sport culture and customized performance coaching — essentially meeting athletes where they are to develop ways to enhance both mental health and performance. The program de-stigmatizes mental health care by offering wellness training to all team members and focusing on optimizing performance, not fixing problems. This work focuses on the development, evaluation, and dissemination of family-supported interventions to assist in goal achievement. 

Additionally, Donohue is one of the developers of Family Behavior Therapy (FBT), an evidence-based treatment listed in national clearinghouses, such as SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-based Practices and Programs, and the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare. His research interests include the development and adoption of evidence-based treatments (primarily FBT), psychometric development, and improving the functioning of mental health clinics through effective supervision and quality assurance.

Donahue has directed projects funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). He is a recipient of the Western Psychological Association Early Career Research Award and the UNLV Barrick Scholar Award for Distinguished Research. In 2023, he was appointed to the British & Irish Boxing Authority (BIBA) Medical Advisory Board.