Tiffany Field, Ph.D.
Doctoral Faculty - Clinical Psychology | Fielding Graduate University
Coconut Grove, FL, UNITED STATES
Over thirty years of research on the positive effects of touch
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Biography
Tiffany Field, PhD is a member of the doctoral faculty of the School of Psychology.
Industry Expertise (4)
Mental Health Care
Research
Education/Learning
Training and Development
Areas of Expertise (7)
Biological Bases of Behavior
Infant Mental Health
Alternative Therapies
High-Risk Infants
Depression
Research Methods
Health Psychology
Accomplishments (5)
Senior Research Scientist Award (professional)
Awarded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) 2004-2007.
Merit Award (professional)
Awarded by the National Institute of Health 1991-2002.
Senior Research Scientist Award (professional)
Awarded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) 1991-2002.
Distinguished Alumna Award (professional)
(1989) Awarded by the University of Cincinnati.
Research Scientist Development Award (professional)
Awarded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) 1981-1991.
Education (1)
University of Massachusetts, Amherst: PhD, Developmental Psychology 1976
Affiliations (18)
- American Association for the Advancement of Science : Member
- American Massage Therapy Association : Member
- American Occupational Therapy Association : Member
- American Psychological Association Division (F1 7 12 48) : Member
- American Psychological Society : Member
- Eastern Psychological Association : Member
- International Society of Developmental Psychobiology : Member
- International Society on Infant Studies : Member
- Merrill-Palmer Society : Member
- Phi Kappa Phi : Member
- Psi Chi : Member
- Sigma XI : Member
- Society of Pediatric Psychology : Member
- Society for Perinatal Research : Member
- Society for Research in Child Development : Member
- Southeastern Society for Research in Child Development : Member
- World Association of Infant Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines : Member
- International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development : Member
Media Appearances (5)
What to Expect from Pregnancy Massage
Massage Magazine online
2015-07-31
A 2011 study by Tiffany Field, Ph.D., “Pregnancy and labor massage,” showed that women who received massage during their pregnancies had decreased levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and also “reported decreased depression, anxiety, and leg and back pain.”...
The Arthritis Foundation Reveals the Multiple Benefits of a Massage
Digital Journal online
2015-07-17
Tiffany Field, PhD, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine, states that regular massage can potentially help provide significant pain reduction among individuals suffering from arthritis. It is believed to be effective, whether it is performed by a licensed therapist or by anyone at a spa or at home...
Social science caricature sets back human progress
Los Angeles Times online
2015-07-13
The June 29 op-ed by physician and molecular biologist Henry I. Miller, "With NSF Funds Limited, Is $697,177 for Climate Change Musical Worth It?," raised important questions about accountability, but it unfairly implied that most social science research is frivolous...
The Power of Touch
The New Yorker online
2015-03-04
In fact, though, researchers have discovered that touch need not be social to be effective. In her more than thirty years of research on touch, Tiffany Field, the head of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, has sought repeatedly to disentangle the two. In one series of studies, one group of elderly participants received regular, conversation-filled social visits while another received social visits that also included massage; the second group saw emotional and cognitive benefits over and above those of the first...
UM researcher pioneered massaging premature infants to stimulate growth
Miami Herald online
2014-11-04
Tiffany Field, a psychologist and professor at UM’s Miller School of Medicine, started the neonatal touch research program at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center in 1982. She initially began with a light massage, more like a tickling, which the babies didn’t seem to like, she said. She then observed how lab rats licked their pups, which stimulated pressure receptors under their skin and which, in turn, stimulated their growth and development...
Event Appearances (5)
Prenatal Control Effects on Prematurity
(July, 2006) Invited Address University of Paris
Interaction patterns, BIS/BAS scores, biochemistry and EEG of depressed, withdrawn and intrusive mothers
(April, 2005) Touch Research Symposium Society for Research in Child Development Atlanta, GA.
Massage therapy and progressive muscle relaxation as interventions for depressed pregnant women
(April, 2005) Touch Research Symposium Society for Research in Child Development Atlanta, GA.
Massage therapy for depressed pregnant women
(April, 2005) Touch Research Symposium Society for Research Atlanta, GA.
Co-morbid effects of anxiety, anger and depression on the infant
(August, 2004) American Psychological Association Honolulu, HI.
Articles (5)
Prenatal depression effects on early development: A review
Infant Behavior and Development
(2011) This review of recent research on prenatal depression suggests that it is a strong predictor of postpartum depression and is more common than postpartum depression. Prenatal depression has been associated with excessive activity and growth delays in the fetus as ...
Yoga clinical research review
Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practices
(2011) In this paper recent research is reviewed on the effects of yoga poses on psychological conditions including anxiety and depression, on pain syndromes, cardiovascular, autoimmune and immune conditions and on pregnancy. Further, the physiological effects ...
Postpartum depression effects on early interactions, parenting, and safety practices: a review
Infant Behavior and Development
(2010) In this paper studies are reviewed from the last decade on postpartum depression effects on early interactions, parenting, safety practices and on early interventions. The interaction disturbances of depressed mothers and their infants appear to be universal, across ...
Preterm infant massage therapy research: A review
Infant Behavior and Development
(2010) In this paper, preterm infant massage therapy studies are reviewed. Massage therapy has led to weight gain in preterm infants when moderate pressure massage was provided. In studies on passive movement of the limbs, preterm infants also gained significantly more ...
Comorbid depression and anxiety effects on pregnancy and neonatal outcome
Infant Behavior and Development
(2010) The effects of comorbid depression and anxiety were compared to the effects of depression alone and anxiety alone on pregnancy mood states and biochemistry and on neonatal outcomes in a large multi-ethnic sample. At the prenatal period the comorbid and ...
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