She received her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Dr. Sher's focuses include couples and illness, couples and communication, women's health, and behavioral medicine. Currently, she is working on a project funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute entitled "A Couples Approach to Cardiac Risk Reduction," which explores the advantage of working with couples facing cardiac disease in favor of a more traditional patient-centered approach.She is coauthor of the book The Psychology of Couples and Illness: Theory, Research, and Practice (with K. B. Schmaling; American Psychological Association, 2000) as well as numerous other articles. Dr. Sher lectures extensively on the topic of couples and health to both lay and professional audiences.