Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences
June Gruber

June Gruber

Psychology
University of Colorado

During her CASBS fellowship, June Gruber will work on “Silver Linings”, a new book that challenges the traditional deficit-focused view of mental illness. Rather than asking only how psychological disorders impair people’s lives, the project explores a complementary question: when might these conditions also be accompanied by unexpected emotional strengths that contribute to resilience, creativity, empathy, meaning, and even flourishing? Integrating interdisciplinary perspectives from psychology, neuroscience, and lived experience interviews, the book aims to develop a more balanced understanding of mental health that recognizes emotional vulnerability alongside human strengths. 

This project builds on Gruber’s broader research program examining the complex role of positive emotions in psychological health. Although pleasant emotions such as happiness and joy are often assumed to be universally beneficial, her research has investigated when it may signal vulnerability to psychological disorders. Her work integrates approaches from affective science, clinical psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy to better understand how emotional processes shape both risk and resilience, with the goal of promoting balanced emotional health.

Gruber is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she directs the Positive Emotion and Psychopathology Laboratory. She received her BA in psychology and PhD in clinical psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and previously served as an assistant professor of psychology at Yale University. She is also editor in chief of Current Directions in Psychological Science.

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