Biography
Dr. Thomas holds BS, MS, and PhD degrees in Education (major: educational psychology) as well as an MSN (major: mental health nursing), all received from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Dr. Thomas chairs the PhD Program and teaches doctoral courses at the University of Tennessee, College of Nursing. She focuses on phenomenological approaches to teaching and research. She chairs a transdisciplinary phenomenology research group that meets weekly in the College of Nursing. Primary research foci are women’s mental health issues and recovery from abuse.
Dr. Thomas has served as Editor of “Issues in Mental Health Nursing” since 1997. Currently, she serves on the board of the International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses Foundation and the Expert Panel on Violence of the American Academy of Nursing. She also is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and Fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.