Candy Beers
Candy Beers, Ph.D. Student in Family Studies
Department of Human Development and Family Science
candylb@vt.edu
Candy is a doctoral candidate in Human Development, with a focus in family science. Her research examines shame and social conformity within the context of mothering. More specifically, she is interested in how the image of the "good" mother and current mothering ideologies inform, if at all, cycles of social injustice and othering. She has a master’s degree in dance/movement psychotherapy and continues to integrate mindfulness and creativity into her research and collaborations. Her dissertation investigates how affluent, white mothers navigate anti-racist parenting within the context of intensive mothering. Candy is also involved in several transdisciplinary projects focusing on the creative arts, movement analysis, and neuroscience.
- Feminist mothering; mothering towards social change
- Shame and social conformity within the context of mothering during infancy and early childhood
- Mothering towards social change within the context of current mothering ideologies
- Modeling anti-racist behavior and feminism within the context of mothering
- Arts-based and transdisciplinary methodologies
- M.S. in Dance/movement psychotherapy, Pratt Institute, 2006
- B.A. in Psychology with a focus on developmental and social psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, 2001
- Beers, C. (2006). Professional identity as a dance/movement therapist: A story of challenges and revelations. [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Pratt Institute
- Beers, C. (2021, April). Sense of autonomy in aging women: A gender socialization and life-course perspective. Paper presented at Body Politics Conference, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.
- Beers, C., Shin, E., Smith, C. L., Day, K. L., & Dunsmore, J. C. (2020, November). A smile can go a long way: How children’s temperament relates to parental behaviors. Poster presented at The 23rd Occasional Temperament Conference, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
- Beers, C., & Jastrebska, D. (2018, October). Embodying the postpartum experience. Invited workshop conducted at 2018 American Dance Therapy Conference, Salt Lake City, UT.
- Tortora, S., Whitley, J., Comte, L., Ellingston, J., & Beers, C. (2018, October). Ways of seeing in early parenting. Invited workshop conducted at 2018 American Dance Therapy Conference, Salt Lake City, UT.
- Beers, C. (2018, May). The effects of maternal development on early parenting. Invited workshop at MyBirth, Richmond, VA.
- Beers, C. (2017, December). Sleep: For mother and child. Invited panelist at The Motherhood Collective, Lynchburg, VA.
- Beers, C. (2017, October). Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Invited panelist at The Motherhood Collective, Lynchburg, VA.
- Beers, C. (2016, August). Nurturing the bond. Invited panelist at The Motherhood Collective, Lynchburg, VA.
- Tortora, S., Bradley, K., Dekoeyer-Laros, I., Radonovich, K., & Beers, C. (2013, October). Ways of seeing in early parenting. Invited workshop at 2013 American Dance Therapy Conference, Brooklyn, NY.
- Beers, C. (2021, February). Nonverbal analysis in dance/movement psychotherapy and arts-based phenomenology. Invited lecture for Creative Dance, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.
- Beers, C. (2021, April). Making Sense of Children’s Idiosyncratic Behaviors. Invited lecture for Infancy and Early Childhood Development, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA. (also Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020)
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