Josh Novak, PhD, LMFT-S profile and information

Professional Experience

Dr. Josh R. Novak is an Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Science at Auburn University and Director of the Relationships and Health Lab. He earned his M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Texas Tech University, his Ph.D. from Brigham Young University, and completed postdoctoral training at Kansas State University. Dr. Novak’s research focuses on relational processes underlying health behavior and chronic illness management, with particular emphasis on dyadic and family-level mechanisms shaping sleep, physical activity, nutrition, and disease adjustment. His interdisciplinary research program integrates family systems theory with health and social psychology, behavioral medicine, and public health, and involves sustained collaboration with scholars in nutrition, exercise science, pharmacy, nursing, and psychology. He is actively engaged in cross-field professional organizations, including the Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine, the International Association for Relationship Research, and the Gerontological Society of America, in addition to the National Council on Family Relations and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. His work has been published in leading journals such as Journal of Sleep Research, Health Psychology, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, and Family Relations.

Innovation

Primary Contribution #1: Family as the Proximal Context for Health Behavior Change and Illness Management 

My research centers on the intersection of family relationships and health, with a particular focus on couple dynamics. Across this work, I demonstrate that relationship processes are inseparable from health, positioning the family as the primary context in which health behaviors and illness management occur. 

Contribution 1A: General Health Behavior Processes 

My research examines how couple dynamics shape key health behaviors, including diet, sleep, and physical activity. This work highlights how partners influence one another through processes such as dietary dynamics (e.g., foodwork roles, undermining, intuitive eating), sleep concordance and conflict, and shared or individual physical activity. Across diverse couples, findings consistently show that health behaviors are deeply embedded in relational and socioecological contexts. Recent work on joint health behaviors identifies shared engagement as a key mechanism linking relationship functioning and health outcomes. Collectively, these studies underscore the importance of dyadic processes and suggest that effective health behavior change efforts should leverage, rather than ignore, relationship dynamics. 

Contribution 1B: Relationships in Disease and Illness Management 

I extend this work into acute and chronic illness contexts, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, aging, and dementia. This research demonstrates that illness management is inherently interpersonal: supportive relationships can buffer against disease burden, whereas strained dynamics can undermine health behaviors and worsen outcomes. In parallel, I examine family member involvement in chronic illness, identifying distinct patterns of engagement, distress, and appraisal. My work also includes intervention development and evaluation, such as an ACT-based program for dementia caregivers and a couple-based relationship education program for chronic illness, both of which show improvements in psychological, relational, and health-related outcomes. Additionally, I critique current family-based interventions for often lacking theoretical grounding, excluding key family subsystems, and overlooking the interconnected health of family members. Overall, this body of work identifies key risk and protective factors, clarifies when health behavior change succeeds or fails, and highlights the need for dyadic and family-level prevention and intervention approaches. 

Primary Contribution #2: Health Behaviors and the Link between Cognitive, Emotional, and Social Health in Therapy Contexts 

Building from this research, my clinical scholarship advances frameworks for integrating health behaviors—diet, sleep, and exercise—into therapy. These conceptual contributions articulate why and how MFTs should address these domains, providing guidance on assessment, psychoeducation, clinical communication, and interdisciplinary collaboration. This work also outlines implications for training and future research, with the goal of identifying how optimizing health behaviors can enhance therapeutic outcomes.