Katie Hrapczynski, Ph.D., LCMFT

Biography

Katie M. Hrapczynski is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Science at Towson University. She received her Ph.D. in family science and her masters in marriage and family therapy at the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Hrapczynski specializes in interventions aimed at fostering individual and family resilience in preparation for and across transitions. Her research primarily centers on adoptive family processes, including transracial adoption and the transition to adoptive parenthood, but now extends to relational dynamics associated with foster caregiving and divorce and separation. She has published several peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Family Relations, the Journal of Family Theory & Review, Adoption Quarterly, and the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. In addition, she has written three chapters and presented her work at several national, international, and regional professional conferences. Beyond traditional research dissemination, Dr. Hrapczynski has provided several educational trainings for human service professionals and families centering on family therapy and adoptive family processes.

As a couple and family therapist, she views her experience in private practice and in community agencies as crucially linked to her scholarly and teaching endeavors. Dr. Hrapczynski strives to facilitate a learning environment in which students actively participate in their learning, apply course material to the real world, and engage with the communities they wish to serve.

Selected Publications

Hrapczynski, K., & Willis, B. (2025). Who’s around (and who’s not)? Transracial adoptee racial-ethnic identity in context. Adoption Quarterly. 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926755.2025.2533290

Willis, B., Hrapczynski, K., & Fortner, C. (2024). Understanding decision-making processes of prospective adoptive parents: A mixed-methods study. Family Relations, 73(5), 2961-2980. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/fare.13076

Hrapczynski, K.M., Leslie, L.A., & Kim, H. (2022). Family dynamics and racial socialization in transracial adoptive families. Family Relations, 71(5), 1917-1932. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12692

Farr, R.H., & Hrapczynski, K.M. (2020). Transracial adoption: Psychology, law, and policy. In M.C. Stevenson, B.L. Bottoms, & K.C. Burke (Eds.), The legacy of race for children: Psychology, public policy, and law (pp. 91-109). Oxford University Press.

Hrapczynski, K.M., & Leslie, L.A. (2019). Do preparation for bias and cultural socialization protect against discrimination for transracially adopted adolescents? Adoption Quarterly, 22(2), 116-134. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926755.2019.1579136

Leslie, L.A., Hrapczynski, K.M., & Young, J.L. (2019). Biracial families formed through adoption. In R.N. Roy & A. Rollins (Eds.), Biracial families - Crossing boundaries, blending cultures, and challenging racial ideologies (pp. 183-204). Springer Publishing.

Willis Hepp, B., Hrapczynski, K., & Fortner-Wood, C. (2019). Using symbolic interactionism to model transitions to adoptive parenthood. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 11(2), 262-276. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12326

Hrapczynski, K.M., & Leslie, L.A. (2018). Engagement in racial socialization among transracial adoptive families with White parents. Family Relations, 67(3), 354-367. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12316

Koblinsky, S.A., Hrapczynski, K.M., & Leslie, L.A. (2015). Treating veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan: A state needs assessment of civilian physicians in internal and family medicine. Journal of General Practice, 3, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.4172/2329-9126.1000195

Kobinsky, S.A., Hrapczynski, K.M., & Clark, J.E. (2015). Preparing future faculty and professionals for public health careers. American Journal of Public Health, 105, S125-S131. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302509

Leslie, L.A., Smith, J.R., Hrapczynski, K.M., & Riley, D. (2013). Racial socialization in transracial adoptive families: Does it help adolescents deal with discrimination stress? Family Relations, 62, 72-81. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2012.00744.x

 Hrapczynski, K.M., Epstein, N.B., Werlinich, C.A., & LaTaillade, J.J. (2012). Changes in negative attributions during couple therapy for abusive behavior: Relations to changes in satisfaction and behavior. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 38, No. s1, 117-132. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2011.00264.x

Licenses

Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist

Memberships/Affiliations

American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy

National Council on Family Relations

Courses Taught

FMST 301 - Family Relationships

FMST 305 - Parent-Child Relationships Across the Lifespan 

FMST 325 - Ethics in Human Services

FMST 460 - Introduction to Family Therapy

FMST 485 - Research Methods in Family Science