Biography
Dr. Cynthia Ewell Foster is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan. She holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology (Child and Family Subspecialty).
Dr. Ewell Foster’s research program is focused on youth depression and suicide prevention, with particular interests in family, community and systems-based interventions. She has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and has been the Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on multiple federally or foundation funded grants. Dr. Ewell Foster is currently the Co-Investigator and Lead Evaluator for the State of Michigan’s SAMHSA- funded youth suicide prevention initiative and the lead evaluator for Michigan’s CDC-funded Preventing Suicide in Michigan Men (PRISMM) grant initiative.
Dr. Ewell Foster is also a clinician and clinical educator; she specializes in suicide risk assessment and care management, treatments for internalizing disorders, and the development of family and community supports for young people. Dr. Ewell Foster is the co-author of a recently published book: King, CA., Ewell Foster, C.J.and Rogalski, K. (2013) Teen Suicide Risk : A Practitioner Guide to Screening, Assessment, and Management. Guilford Press
Areas of Interest
- Suicide risk assessment and care management
- Development of family and community supports for youth to reduce risk for suicide
- Interventions to promote firearms safety
- Evaluation of community-based public health approaches to suicide prevention
Featured News

Firearm Safety: A Comprehensive Approach
Cynthia Ewell Foster, Ph.D., discussed firearm safety in the "Well Aware" series.

Tailored approach makes inroads in rural firearm safe storage
First test of online prevention strategy in rural Michigan shows promise for reducing risk in firearm-owning families with children.

U-M researchers partner with UP community to improve firearm safety, reduce injuries
Dr. Cynthia Ewell Foster’s efforts to study firearm storage in the U.P. and foster safe storage for suicide prevention are highlighted in this U-M VP of Research story

Turning a psychiatric crisis into a chance to prevent firearm injury
New program hopes to reduce risk for psychiatric emergency patients and their families.

Firearm Injury Prevention Series: Preventing Youth Suicide
This episode of Michigan Minds is part of a special series from University of Michigan Public Engagement & Impact in collaboration with the office of the Vice President for Research on Firearm Injury Prevention
Credentials
- Postdoctoral Fellowship: University of Michigan, Department of Psychiatry, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
- Clinical Internship: Children’s Hospitals and Clinics, Department of Psychology, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota.
- Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, Child and Family Subspecialty; Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
- M.A. in Clinical Psychology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
- B.A. (Psychology; Conferred with High Honors, Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa), Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.