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Jennifer DeDecker

Jennifer

DeDecker

Jennifer DeDecker

Faculty

  • Roles:

  • Co-Facilitator, Maternal Mental Health PLC

  • Facultly Senate

  •  
  • Campus:
  • Saybrook University
  • College of Social Sciences
  • College of Integrative Medicine and Health Sciences
Department
Research
Institution
Saybrook University
Email
Biography

Dr. Jenny DeDecker is Core Faculty in the Department of Research and an associated faculty member in the Clinical Psychology doctoral program. Jenny is a qualitative researcher with an active research agenda and is a strong advocate for health and wellness. She recently published a Constructivist grounded theory study with the Department of Research Chair, Dr. Walker Ladd, regarding birth doulas' experience of compassion. She completed her doctorate in Mind-Body Medicine, specializing in Mindful Leadership in Healthcare at Saybrook University, and was the Department of Research's inaugural Post-Doctoral Teaching and Research Fellow. Her doctoral research was a Straussian grounded theory study that focused on the embodiment of compassion in health care and the potential for compassion to mitigate burnout. Jenny is committed to the education and advancement in the fields of perinatal mental health, women's health, somatic psychology, contemplative neuroscience, ethics, and mind-body medicine. She is a dedicated visionary, scholar-practitioner, and lifelong learner.

Jenny is a certified lactation counselor, childbirth educator, and birth doula. She resides in Michigan's Upper Peninsula with her husband and two children.

Areas of Expertise
Area Expertise
Integrative Medicine Complementary Therapies
Education
Massage therapy
Mindfulness and Meditation
Yoga and Asian Arts
Leadership & Management Leadership Approaches and Practices
Research Design/Methodology Grounded Theory
Phenomenology
Qualitative Inquiry
Education History
Degree Institution Year
BA Human Biology University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 2005
BA Anthropology University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 2005
MS Mind-Body Medicine Saybrook University, California 2019
PhD Mind-Body Medicine Saybrook University, California 2023
Professional Memberships
Role Organization
Approved Provider National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork
Member American Anthropological Association
Member Council on Anthropology and Reproduction
Member Doula Research and Advocacy Collective
Member The International Marce Socieity for Perinatal Mental Health
Licenses
Licensed Massage Therapist, Michigan
Certified Lactation Counselor, Center for Healthy Children
Community Involvement
Role Organization
President NVAS Board of Education
Co-Chair Upper Peninsula of MI Lactation Coalition
Member Association of Bodywork and Massage Professionals
Member Wisconsin Association of Lactation Consultants
Member Council on Anthropology and Reproduction
Co-Chair Full Moon Doulas
Fall-Back Director Bienestar Collective
Presentations
Title Location Date
Co-Authorship Health Experiences Research Network Webinar Series 09/26
The Practice of Engaged Compassion Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, Washington D.C. 03/26
Doulas and the Experience of Compassion Doula Research and Advocacy Council 09/24
Curriculum Vitae
Download
Publications
Chapter

DeDecker, J (Augu). Relationships and Boundaries. In C. Velderman and K. Robinson (Ed.) Ethics for Acupuncturists: Singing Dragon Press.

Journal

Ladd, W. and DeDecker, J. (2022). The lived experience of postpartum anxiety: a hermeneutic phenomenological study. The Qualitative Report, 27 (7), 1316-1340.

DeDecker, J. (2020). “Compassion Fatigue” is a misnomer: How compassion can increase quality of life. Creative Nursing, 26 (4), 246-252.

DeDecker and Ladd (2025). The experience of compassion for birth doulas in hosptial-based births: A constructivist grounded theory study. The Journal of Perinatal Education, 35 (1-2), 4-16.

Other

DeDecker, J. (2023). Fostering compassion: A grounded theory of the experience of engaged compassion. Saybrook Dissertation.

Research

Maternal Health

Compassion in Healthcare

Burnout and neurochemistry

Peripartum mental health disorders
Professional Skills
Qualitative Research, Maternal Mental Health, Compassionate Health Care, Burnout, Birth Work, Maternal and Infant Health, Breastfeeding and Infant Feeding Practices