The Clinical Psychology program is designed to provide the graduate student with experience in applied clinical settings and research training in psychopathology and therapy. In addition to other regular course work, students are expected to engage in both practica and research throughout their graduate training. Students generally complete course work during their first three to four years, and complete their dissertation in the fifth year. An additional year is devoted to a predoctoral internship.
Core Faculty at the University Park Campus
Peter A. Arnett, Ph.D., 1992, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Clinical neuropsychology; neuropsychological dysfunction in multiple sclerosis; contributors to and consequences of depression and other forms of psychopathology in multiple sclerosis; psychopathy/antisocial behavior; malingering of memory impairment.
Sandra Azar, Ph.D., 1984, University of Rochester
Child clinical psychology and family processes and risk issues. Her work focuses on maternal behavior, child abuse, gender and aggression, and legal issues affecting families (e.g., definitions of parental competence for custody evaluations; racial, ethnic, and class bias in legal treatment of families)
Karen Linn Bierman, Ph.D., 1981, University of Denver
Karen Bierman has interests in child-clinical psychology and social-emotional development. Her research has focused on peer relations, social skills for peer acceptance, and intervention programs to facilitate social adjustment. Currently, she is involved with the multisite FAST Track Program (Families and Schools Together), which focuses on the early identification and prevention of conduct problems in elementary-aged children.
Thomas D. Borkovec, Ph.D., 1970, University of Illinois
Thomas Borkovec's research focuses on anxiety (mechanisms and treatment, role of autonomic perception, cognitive avoidance), relaxation techniques (mechanisms and treatment applications, relaxation-induced anxiety), worry (nature and treatment), and cognitive therapy.
Louis G. Castonguay, Ph.D., 1992, State University of New York at Stony Brook
Louis Castonguay's primary research interest concerns the process and outcome of different forms of psychotherapy. He studies the impact of the therapist's interventions, client's experience, and therapeutic alliance in cognitive-behavior therapy and psychodynamic-interpersonal therapy for depression and anxiety disorders. He also investigates the role of interpersonal factors in anxiety disorders. In addition, he is interested in the movement of eclecticism and integration in psychotherapy.
Pamela M. Cole, Ph.D., 1980, The Pennsylvania State University
Pamela Cole's research concerns developmental psychopathology with an emphasis on individual differences in young children's emotionality and emotion regulation, their implications for later psychopathology, and the contexts that buffer or promote the development of clinical problems. Current work is focused on follow-up longitudinal study of the emotional lives of children who were behavior problems during their preschool years. Also, a new interest is cultural variations in emotional development and cognition in Asian and U.S. samples and the implications for cultural variations in the development of psychopathology.
Frank G.Hillary, Ph.D., 2000, Drexel University
Frank G. Hillary's research interests are primarily in the area of adult neuropsychology. More specifically, his research examines mechanisms of neural plasticity following brain injury and disease. For example, his prior work has focused on cognitive deficits and the associated neural environment in individuals diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and brain trauma. Neuroimaging techniques including magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and near infrared spectroscopy are an important methodology for examining how the brain adapts to insult. Through the use of structural and functional neuroimaging techniques, investigators are now able to examine alterations in the neural networks representative of a variety of cognitive functions
Cynthia L. Huang-Pollock, Ph.D., 2003, Michigan State University
Cynthia Huang-Pollock is a child clinical psychologist who is interested in identifying neurocognitive deficits that may be associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In recent studies, she has used cognitive paradigms of attention to determine whether attention as a cognitive process is in fact dysfunctional in children with extreme levels of behavioral inattention and hyperactivity. Dr. Huang-Pollock is also interested in determining whether our current understanding of the structure of cognitive processes remains valid when normal development is disrupted. Future research is focused on determining how neuropsychological performance may be affected by motivation, reward, and timing deficits in children with and without ADHD.
Kenneth N. Levy, Ph.D., 1999, City University of New York
Ken Levy is a broadly trained clinical psychologist whose research interests bridge the areas of social, personality, and developmental psychology. His research focuses on attachment theory, emotion regulation, personality disorders, and psychotherapy process and outcome. Recent projects have examined the relationship between adult attachment organization (including mentalization) and personality disorders, neural and neurocognitive aspects of attachment and personality disorders, as well as psychotherapy process and outcome in the treatment of personality disorders. Current projects examine mechanisms of change in psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder, the contextual and personality factors that influence post-treatment adjustment in patients with borderline personality disorder, and the developmental precursors of personality problems in children of parents with personality disorders. He and his students pursue this research in their laboratory at Penn State and also in collaboration with colleagues at the New York Presbyterian Hospital/Cornell Medical Center.
Amy Marshall, Ph.D., 2004, Indiana University
Amy Marshall’s research is designed to determine causal mechanisms and contextual factors that contribute to the occurrence of psychological and physical aggression in intimate relationships. A particular emphasis is placed on the ways in which trauma-related psychopathology interacts with early-stage social information processing skills (i.e., individuals' attention to, and perception of, social stimuli) to lead to aggression both in and outside of intimate relationships. This model includes the study of intrapersonal processes (e.g., emotional and neurohormonal system dysregulation) and interpersonal processes (e.g., reciprocal and multiplicative communication patterns) that may contribute to changes in information processing skills that are particularly important to the maintenance of adaptive close relationships and recovery from posttraumatic sequelae.
Michelle G. Newman, Ph.D., 1992, State University of New York at Stony Brook
Michelle Newman's research focuses on the nature and treatment of anxiety disorders. Dr. Newman is examining the etiology and classification, individual predictors of psychotherapy outcome, and impact of brief psychotherapy with respect to social phobia, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and trauma. Further, she is examining issues relevant to health implications of anxiety disorders. Current research projects include cognitive behavioral and interpersonal therapy for generalized anxiety disorder; evaluation of brief individual and group palmtop computer-assisted cognitive behavioral therapy; classification of generalized and specific social phobia, panic disorder, and GAD; long term health implications of trauma; and impact of various types of psychotherapy on anxiety disorders and health.
Aaron Pincus, Ph.D., 1992, University of British Columbia, Canada
Aaron Pincus' research interests broadly focus on personality in clinical psychology. This includes: (a) personality disorders and alternative conceptions of abnormal personality, (b) integration of personality trait and psychodynamic concepts in personality assessment, (c) interpersonal approaches to personality and psychopathology including circumplex models of interpersonal behavior and structural analysis of social behavior (SASB), and (d) personality factors in psychopathology and psychotherapy. Current projects include: identifying subtypes of narcissistic and dependent personalities; application of SASB to clinical research on personality, psychopathology, and psychotherapy; and examining the concepts of psychological and interpersonal autonomy and their impact on adjustment.
Brian Rabian, Ph.D., 1992, George Washington University
Brian Rabian is interested in the identification of early risk factors for the development of psychopathology in children. Specifically, his research has focused on the role that cognitive factors, such as anxiety sensitivity, play in the onset of anxiety problems, and the development of prevention efforts to preempt this onset. His current research interests include examination of the relationship between early sleep hygiene and later emotional, social, and academic outcomes, for which he received NSF funding.
William J. Ray, Ph.D., 1971, Vanderbilt University
William Ray's research focus lies at the interface of clinical psychology and psychophysiology (particularly EEG), as related to anxiety dissociation, emotionality, and individual differences. Part of this work has been basic in nature as reflected in trying to understand what basic psychophysiological measures can tell us, as well as how they can be applied. Current work in the lab is focusing on anxiety, lapse of awareness, dissociation, and hypnosis as well as the use of nonlinear dynamical techniques referred to as chaos.
José Soto, Ph.D., 2004, University of California, Berkeley
Influence of culture on psychological and physiological processes. Much of his work has centered on understanding the role that culture plays in emotional functioning. How culture and ethnic background affect: 1) how we experience and express emotions and 2) how accurate we are in inferring the emotions of others.
Wilson, Stephen,
Ph.D., 2008, University of Pittsburgh
Stephen Wilson's primary area of research interest is addictive behavior, with a specific focus on cigarette smoking. The overarching goal of his research program is to advance our understanding of the self-regulatory failures characteristic of drug addiction. He utilizes an interdisciplinary approach that integrates theory and methods from traditional behavioral addiction research with those derived from the affective, cognitive and social neurosciences (e.g., functional brain imaging). Theoretically, his work is guided by contemporary neuroscientific models of executive/cognitive control and emotion regulation. These perspectives provide a novel framework for elucidating the mechanisms whereby exposure to drug cues leads to failures of self-regulation. His current work is directed at examining how the engagement of such resources affects the performance of tasks requiring cognitive control, as well as how such effects vary as a function of individual differences in cognitive ability and the nature of the task being performed.
Wolff, Michael, Ph.D., 2006, Penn State University
Michael Wolff’s research interests include a broad range of factors concerning the counseling and psychotherapy process. Specifically, he is interested in therapist and staff variables (e.g. expectancy effects, emotional reactions, experience and training, and self care), which impact therapeutic process and outcome. He is currently the Assistant Director of the Psychological Clinic where he administers many aspects of clinical training and services including individual and group psychotherapy, behavioral consultation, clinical supervision, and community outreach. His clinical and consultation interests, which have significantly informed his research pursuits, include work with substance abuse populations, child and adolescent services, individuals with intellectual disabilities, couples, and families. Many of his current research interests focus on dissemination of evidence based practice methods in naturalistic and community settings.
Other Faculty
Other members of the psychology department at University Park Campus with interests in clinical psychology include:
Health Psychology |
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Effects of Mood State |
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Functional Disorders of the Gastrointestinal System |