Straus received her undergraduate degree with Honors from Brown University and her master's and doctorate's in Clinical/Community Psychology from the University of Maryland. Straus completed her Internship training at the Yale Child Study Center where she was also a Bush Fellow in Child Development and Social Policy.

Her post-doctoral training in the Harvard Medical School and at Judge Baker Guidance Center/Children's Hospital in Boston included four years of specialization in child forensic psychology. Straus is the author of three books including "Abuse and Victimization Across the Lifespan", "Violence in the Lives of Adolescents" and her newest book, "No-Talk Therapy for Children and Adolescents" as well as numerous journal articles. Her book "All the Rage: Adolescent Girls in Crisis" will be available in 2002. Straus presents and consults nationally on issues of child and family development, trauma and violence.