Tag: Clinical Science
-
Substance Use and Clinically Relevant Decision-Making
By Caroline Boyd-Rogers, M.A., University of Iowa The landscape of substance use comorbidity has been changing rapidly, particularly with the widespread legalization of cannabis in many states across the United States (SAMHSA, 2021). Even in older adult populations, rates of cannabis use alone, and binge drinking and cannabis co-use, significantly increased from 2015 to 2019 (Kepner et al.,…
-
The Early Faculty Experience in Clinical Science: An interview with Dr. Craig Rodriguez-Seijas and Dr. Leah Richmond-Rakerd
By Margo Menkes, M.S., University of Michigan I interviewed our department’s two newest faculty members about their perspectives on clinical science training, the transition from trainee to early faculty, and more. I have highlighted key points from these interviews to provide current trainees with advice, insight into this career transition period, and considerations for our…
-
Normative Misperception in Clinical Science
By Caroline Boyd-Rogers, M.A., University of Iowa The value of peer support and learning is well-known in clinical science, particularly in group-therapy contexts (American Psychological Association, 2019). However, the role of peers and peer perceptions may be relevant to assess in individual therapy settings as well. Research has demonstrated that peer perceptions significantly relate to one’s…
-
An APPIC Perspective
by Shona Vas, Ph.D., ABPP & Amy Silberbogen, Ph.D., ABPP, Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) Drs. Shona Vas and Amy Silberbogen appreciated the opportunity to represent the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) at the Clinical Science Training Summit and to have a seat at the table…
-
Marginalized Populations Deserve Our Very Best: Measurement Invariance as the Foundation of Mental Health Disparities Research
by Riley McDanal, M.A., Stony Brook University Our ability to understand and reduce mental health problems among marginalized groups rests, in part, on our ability to accurately measure disparities in mental health problems across groups with different levels of privilege. If our measures are inadequate, then so will be our results, conclusions, and applications. When we use a…
-
Tangible Steps for Clinical Students to Navigate Conflicting Demands and the Advisor-advisee Relationship
by Shannon E. Grogans, M.S. & Nicholas P. Marsh, M.S., University of Maryland Among the most important factors for determining a great doctoral program experience is having a successful relationship with your mentor (Gee et al., 2022; Sverdlick et al., 2018). Most of us likely enter the application process hoping for this, but unfortunately for some students,…
-
Improving the Computational Reproducibility of Clinical Science: Tools for Open Data and Code
by Jeremy Eberle, MA University of Virginia Open data and analysis code promote computational reproducibility, or reproducing the results of an analysis when applying the same code to the same data (Nosek & Errington, 2020). Yet, in a random sample of articles published in “best practice” clinical psychology journals in 2017, only 2% reported data available…
-
HiTOP and Clinical Psychology Training: A Conversation with Dr. Aidan Wright
by Matt MattoniTemple University As clinical psychologists, we rely on normed structures and classifications of psychopathology for research, therapy, and assessment. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has long dominated the field, despite flaws of arbitrary cutoffs and boundaries, within-disorder heterogeneity, and between-disorder comorbidity. To address classification-related issues such as these, numerous…
-
Overcoming Gender Inequality in Academia: Spotlight on Women Principal Investigators in Clinical Science
by Candice L. Dwyer, Virginia Tech While women account for over half of all PhDs, they comprise only 20-33% of tenured faculty (Houser, 2019). Women researchers have a smaller research footprint, lagging behind men in grant awards, publications, citation impact of first author publications, length of authorship history, and collaboration network sizes, including number of co-authors…
-
Developing Evidence-based Culturally Responsive Clinical Interventions: Barriers and Potential Solutions
by Shannon M. Savell, M.A., University of Virginia Many scholars have asserted that one vast improvement in the field of clinical psychology over the past few decades has been advances in examining both the efficacy and effectiveness of different therapeutic treatment modalities and a move towards evidence-based practice (Spring, 2007). Developing empirically supported treatments and utilizing…
-
Beyond the Curriculum On Beginning Graduate School
by Matt Mattoni, Temple University Beginning graduate school is a unique and complicated experience. There is excitement to work with people who share your interests, the allure of a new city, and above all, the feeling of finally reaching your goal after countless hours of work, stress, and doubt. Conversely, from the immediate “where should I…
-
How Will COVID-19 Push For Telehealth Services in a Post Pandemic World?
by Hanna Nguyen – University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly affected the entire world in the past two years. From transitioning to online schooling to a myriad of remote job opportunities, individuals of all ages were forced to adjust to the new way of life that the pandemic has caused. Previously,…
-
A Guide to Peer Reviewing for Clinical Science Students
by Lauren Oddo and Melanie Arenson, University of Maryland, College Park Writing, publishing, and editing are critical skills for graduate students, but most receive little to no training in these domains (Badenhorst & Xu, 2016; O’Hara, et al., 2019; Hopwood, 2010; Doran et al, 2014). In this article, we describe the benefits of peer reviewing, detail…
-
Why Clinical Scientists Should Care About Genetics
by Sarah E. Paul, M.A., Washington University in St. Louis Psychopathology is moderately-to-highly heritable, with ~30-80% of the population variance in mental illness attributable to genetic influences (Pettersson et al., 2019; Polderman et al., 2015). The field of psychiatric genetics is making new discoveries at an extraordinarily rapid pace, paralleling the dramatic reduction in cost of…
-
A Call for Social Justice Advocacy in Clinical Science Training Program
by Sarah E. Paul, M.A., Washington University in St. Louis It should not be news to anyone that clinical scientists and training programs have a long way to go to achieve Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in clinical training, research, and practice. Nor should it be a surprise that the field of psychology has a reprehensible…
-
Alan Kraut Farewell Letter
by Robert W. Levenson, University of California, Berkeley As many of you know, Alan Kraut is stepping down after serving for six years as the Executive Director of PCSAS. This is truly a bittersweet moment for us all. On the one hand, we will greatly miss Alan’s steady hand, tireless energy, sophisticated knowledge, and sense…
-
The Conflation of Race and Ethnicity: A Psychological Misconception
by Katrina Rbeiz, Vanderbilt University After conducting multiple clinical assessments and taking psychological surveys online, I kept coming across the same issue of ethnicity and race being treated as the same measure of identity. ‘Ethnicity’ boxes would sometimes only include racial categories, and ‘race’ boxes would dismiss a few identities altogether, relegating any missed categories as…
-
APS and PCSAS: Bringing Science to Clinical Training A Brief Overview of a Powerful Partnership
by Sarah Brookhart When I say “accreditation” to just about anyone, there’s a good chance their eyes will start to glaze over. In fact, your eyes are looking a little glossy reading this. Accreditation, however, has been at the forefront of an important and exciting new movement centered around the clinical science model of training embodied…
-
Student Spotlight: Tina Gupta
by Julia Case, Temple University Tina Gupta, M.A., is a 5th year graduate student at Northwestern University, working with Dr. Vijay Mittal in the Adolescent Development and Preventive Treatment Program (ADAPT). Tina was nominated for our Student Spotlight by a peer, Hollen Reischer. Here’s what Hollen said about why she nominated Tina: “I nominated Tina…
-
What is the APA? A Brief History
by Julia S. Yarrington, M.A., University of California, Los Angeles The American Psychological Association (APA) has become an increasingly contentious body in the field of psychology. Although the APA holds a number of responsibilities, the organization is perhaps most salient to students and faculty through its role in establishing professional standards for psychologists. In keeping…
-
Complicit No More: Stumbling Toward Allyship
by David A. Sbarra, Ph.D., University of Arizona & Past President, Academy of Psychological Clinical Science A lightning strike set the mountains behind our home in Tucson on fire. Far enough to be out of harm’s way, the red embers were distinctly visible on our family’s evening walk. As the sun set, our kids asked…
-
Why PCSAS?
A WORD FROM PCSAS LEADERSHIP “The PCSAS Newsletter offers a place where clinical scientists of today and tomorrow can share important thoughts on PCSAS and the field of psychological clinical science.” Alan Kraut, Executive Director, PCSAS “PCSAS represents a commitment by its member programs to train a new generation of clinical scientists who will have the…
-
Interview with Thomas M. Olino: On Psychology and the PCSAS Philosophy
by Julia Case, Temple University Thomas Olino, Ph.D., is currently an Associate Professor of Psychology at Temple University, where he runs the Child and Adolescent Development of Emotion, Personality, and Psychopathology (CADEPP) Laboratory. Dr. Olino graciously agreed to be interviewed for this pioneer PCSAS Newsletter, after being selected based on the stellar quality of his multi-methodological…
-
A Message from PCSAS President, Bob Levenson
The inaugural PCSAS student newsletter is a bellwether event. It clearly underscores the central role that graduate students have played in the evolution of the clinical science movement and their critical leadership role now and in the future. Although PCSAS’ long-term goals have been to harness existing science and foster new scientific discoveries to reduce…
-
PCSAS By the Numbers
by Alan G. Kraut, PCSAS Executive Director Here’s all you need to know about PCSAS: 43 10 53 98 4 90 28 15 …