She is also an adjunct professor at Azusa Pacific University and is part of a national response team responding to workplace tragedies. Ellen has researched the theory, principles, and practice of improvisation, and wrote her doctoral dissertation on the use of improvisation in psychotherapy. She is on the Board of Directors for the Detroit Creativity Project, a nonprofit organization that brings improv to public schools in Detroit. Ellen has used improv to teach clinical skills to doctoral psychology students. She has also used improvisation in group therapy with federal inmates and persons with schizophre