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All the latest news and updates from VCU's Department of Psychology.
Citation preview
reetings from 806 W Franklin St
Our year is off to a terrific start Wersquove welcomed two new fac-ulty to the department ndash Zewelanji Serpell PhD and Kurt Cran-dall PhD (Page 10)- and our research mission received a giant boost with the receipt of an $181 million five-year grant from the US Food and Drug Administration to study so-called modi-fied risk tobacco products Co-led by Tom Eissenberg PhD and Robert BalsterPhD the FDA grantmdashthe third largest in VCUrsquos historymdashwill establish the Center for the Study of Tobacco Prod-ucts in our department The Center will focus on evaluating nov-el tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes and developing an evaluation tool to help inform US tobacco regulatory policy As a hub for health and prevention research on the Monroe Park Campus the Department of Psychology is striving to grow our emphasis in substance abuse research and training Given that the grant includes a training component for pre- and post-doctoral students the FDA funding will help us capitalize on op-portunities for research and training in the area of tobacco and tobacco products Read more about the award on Page 5 Our department also seeks to expand our focus on prevention including the prevention of youth violence substance abuse academic failure depression and other mental health problems and obesity and associated health disorders Our department is a national leader in work on the prevention of youth violence We are particularly proud of Albert Farrell PhD whose contri-butions to the field of youth violence prevention were recog-nized by the university at this yearrsquos faculty convocation when he was awarded the universityrsquos highest academic honor the Uni-versity Award of Excellence (see Page 11) Our strong focus on community-based prevention and intervention is also evidenced by a $24 million grant award to Joshua Langberg PhD from the Institute for Educational Sciences The four-year grant will be used to compare two different types of school-based inter-ventions for improving the academic performance of middle-school students with ADHD (see Page 8) In addition to our faculty our students continue to excel Read about the accomplishments of Linda A Mensah-Etsi (cover pho-to) a junior psychology major on Page 17 and Adriana Rodri-guez doctoral student of clinical psychology on Page 16
We are looking forward to an ex-citing fall and hope you will drop us a line and let us know what is happening in your life Sincerely
Wendy Kliewer Professor and Chair
PROGRAM DIRECTORS
Eric Benotsch
Health
Jeff Green
Social
Barbara Myers
Developmental
Bruce Rybarczyk
Clinical
Everett Worthington
Counseling
Jennifer Elswick
Newsmagazine Production
Jody Davis
Web and Facebook
Important Alumni Links
Submit a class note
Update your contact information
Join VCU Alumni
View the alumni directory
Get your alumni email address
Michael Southam-Gerow Director
Graduate Studies
Dorothy Fillmore Associate Director for Academic Operations
Wendy Kliewer Chair
Linda Zyzniewski Director
Undergraduate Studies
1 Cover photography by
Alexis Mathis (class of 2015)
Featured in photo
Linda Metsah-Etsi class of 2015
See undergraduate student spotlight p17
4-5 Research Spotlight
Thomas Eissenberg PhD
6-7 Alumni news and notes
8-9 Department news and updates
10
Meet our new faculty members
Kurt Crandall PhD
Zewelanji Serpell PhD
11 Recipient of the
University Award of Excellence
Al Farrell PhD
12-13 VCU students faculty and alumni
contribute to advancing the
treatment of insomnia
Bruce Rybarczyk PhD
14-15 The impact of recent US government
actions on the departmentrsquos research
mission
Brigette S Pfister MHRD CRA
16 Graduate student spotlight
Adriana Rodriguez MS
Clinical psychology program
17 Undergraduate student spotlight
Linda Metsah-Etsi class of 2015
(cover photo)
18-19 Spotlight on international research
and learning
Paul Perrin PhD goes to Spain
20 Campus vistors
Kristin Heron PhD Penn State
and
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
University of Virginia
21 August 2013 graduates
22 Department contact information
Tom Eissenberg PhD came to our de-
partment in 1997 and has not slowed
down since A professor of biopsychology
and health psychology Eissenberg re-
searches the addictive properties and
health effects of the use of alternative to-
bacco products such as electronic ciga-
rettesmdashsee exciting new grant announce-
ment on opposite page For the last ten
years Eissenberg and his collaborators
have also been studying the effects of wa-
terpipe or ldquohookahrdquo smoking
The origins of waterpipe smoking can be
traced back to the 1600rsquos in the Middle
East and India More recently hookah
smoking has become extremely popular in
the United States and continues to grow
among adolescents and young
adult populations Often used in
social settings such as in ldquohookah
barsrdquo waterpipe smoking is a
popular method of smoking to-
bacco (usually flavored) where
one puts charcoal on top of a per-
forated piece of aluminum foil
which is then placed on the head
of the hookahmdashsee diagram As
the smoker inhales through the
mouthpiece the water in the ba-
sin of the pipe cools the smoke
making the smoke milder and
more palatable than the smoke
from cigarettes
A common misconception and a leading
contributor to the increase in the popular-
ity of waterpipe smoking is the belief by
non-cigarette smokers that waterpipe
smoke is less dangerous than cigarette
smoke One of the goals of his research is
to determine whether or not there are
data to support these beliefs
Eissenberg and his team have assessed the
composition of waterpipe smoke what
compounds in the smoke make their way
into the smoker and what physiological
and subjective effects waterpipe smoke
has on the smoker
As part of this assessment the research
team has found that hookah smokers
often take relatively large puffs when
smokingmdashup to ten times larger than that
of the average cigarette puff Though an
average cigarette smoker will inhale 50 ml
of smoke per puff for example the hook-
ah smoker averages 500 ml of smoke per
puff (about one quarter of a two liter
bottle) During a typical 45-minute smok-
ing session waterpipe smokers will take
an average of 100 puffs and end up inhal-
ing 50000 ml of smoke Typical levels of
smoke inhalation from a smoking session
can range in quantity from 50 to 100 times
the amount of inhaled smoke than the
amount inhaled from a single cigarette
According to Eissenberg there is no rea-
son to believe waterpipe smoking is less
lethal than cigarette smoking or causes
less dependence Hookah smoke as it
turns out also contains high levels of toxic
compounds including tar carbon monox-
ide heavy metals and cancer-causing
chemicals (carcinogens) Because water-
pipe smokers inhale tobacco smoke along
with charcoal smoke the full inhalation
also contains higher levels of carbon mon-
oxide than does cigarette smoke
Another shared belief among many water-
pipe users is that the water somehow fil-
ters the smoke they inhale making it less
toxic than cigarette smoke Eissenberg
though says there is no evidence to sup-
port this claim He says that the levels of
nicotine carbon monoxide and other com-
pounds remain constant in the hookah
smoke both before and after the smoke
hits the water
Eissenberg also notes that dependency
can become a major problem ac-
companying waterpipe smoking
especially in places where the wa-
terpipe has a longer history of
use such as in the Middle East
Eissenberg and his colleagues
have worked on strengthening
their research methods by devel-
oping and validating a new tech-
nology ndash the real time smoke sam-
pler ndash which randomly samples
smoke content in the lab when
research participants are smoking
a waterpipe The tool can meas-
ure how many puffs are taken
how long the draws are how
Research Spotlight
Thomas Eissenberg PhD
much time elapses between puffs and the
speed at which the air is drawn from the
waterpipe He then takes the data and
sends them to his colleague Alan
Shihadeh PhD at the American Universi-
ty of Beirut in Lebanon From the data
Shihadeh can create an exact replica of
the smoking session all the way down to
the same tobacco This allows him to
measure the content of the smoke in a
noninvasive manner Upon validation of
the instrument the real time smoke sam-
pler was taken out of the lab setting into a
popular cafeacute in Beirut to gather data in a
more natural environment The composi-
tion of the smoke in the bar was found to
be consistent with similar measures taken
in the lab The next step in this line of in-
quiry will be to conduct the same research
in waterpipe bars in Richmond
In addition to conducting his own re-
search Eissenberg actively works to pro-
mote the responsible conduct of research
particularly with regard to interactions
between local Institutional Review Boards
and behavioral scientists His work in this
realm resulted in a recent invitation from
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the US
Department of Health and Human Services
to join the Secretarys Advisory Committee
on Human Research The purpose of the
committee is to advise the secretary on a
range of issues involving experimentation
with humans such as clinical trials re-
search with children deception in re-
search and consent and confidentiality in
Internet research
Furthermore Eissenberg is a member of
the US Food and Drug Administrationrsquos
tobacco product scientific advisory com-
mittee Because the FDA has been given
the authority to regulate tobacco products
in recent years the scientific advisory
committee was formed to keep the agency
abreast of the most current scientific re-
search findings on tobacco and tobacco
products
The next step for Eissenberg is to devote
his energies to the establishment and
management of the Center for the Study
of Tobacco Products (see news article be-
low) The Center will be a hub of scholar-
ship and training and will yield opportuni-
ties at VCU to generate more multi-
investigator funding in the future Its goal
is to better inform government agencies
through evidence-based research about
the regulation of tobacco and tobacco
products as pertinent legislation is consid-
ered
Read the full article on VCU News Excerpt Virginia Commonwealth University has received an $181 million federal grant ndash
VCUs third largest to date ndash to study so-called modified risk tobacco products and other novel tobacco products such as electronic
cigarettes and to develop an evaluation tool to help inform United States tobacco regulatory policy VCU is among 14 institutions
across the country selected to participate in a regulatory science research program that will provide vital scientific evidence to the
US Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health Researchers in the VCU Department of Psychologys Cen-
ter for the Study of Tobacco Products in the College of Humanities and Sciences will study methods for evaluating modified risk
tobacco products as one of 14 Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science a new program launched by the US Food and Drug Admin-
istration and the National Institutes of Health Thomas Eissenberg PhD professor of psychology and director of VCUrsquos Clinical
Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory and Robert Balster PhD professor of pharmacology and toxicology in the VCU School of
Medicine are the co-principal investigators on the grant Listen to Eissenbergrsquos interview on Richmond public radio
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student
in the health psychology program
Christopher Kilmartin (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo88)
is a professor of psychology at Mary Wash-
ington University For the current year
though he is Distinguished Visiting Profes-
sor of Behavioral Science and Leadership
at the United States Air Force Academy in
Colorado Springs His work on the
ldquoculture of hyper-masculinityrdquo was high-
lighted in a recent New York Times op-ed
article by Frank Bruni called ldquoTackling the
Roots of Raperdquo In addition he and co-
author John Lynch Jr (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo89)
just published the second edition of the
book ldquoOvercoming Masculine Depression
The Pain Behind the Maskrdquo
Dorothy Espelage PhD (BS rsquo91) recent-
ly accepted the Lifetime Achievement
Award from the American Psychological
Associationrsquos Prevention Section Award-
ees are recognized for their outstanding
achievements and contributions to psy-
chology Her work stood out in a
crowded and impressive group and was
described as exemplifying excellence in
prevention science and practice according
to the APA section Espelage has also
been appointed Edward William Gutgsell
amp Jane Marr Gutgsell Endowed Professor
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign We were thrilled to welcome
Espelage back to campus in May when she
delivered the commencement address at
the diploma ceremony for Psychology
graduates
Adam Joseph Prus (PhD lsquo04) is an associ-
ate professor in the Department of Psy-
chology at Northern Michigan University
He recently published the book ldquoAn Intro-
duction to Drugs and the Neuroscience of
Behaviorrdquo Joe Porter PhD professor of
biospsychology at VCU
will be using this very
book for spring 2014
when he teaches the
new undergraduate course
ldquoPsychopharmacology Drugs and Behav-
iorrdquo
Jeffrey Holder (BS lsquo05) is currently work-
ing as a BPMSix Sigma Black Belt Consult-
ant for a local company based in Rich-
mond BPM means business process man-
agement and Six Sigma is improvement
and project management work Over the
past two years he has traveled to Jamaica
Prague and Belgium and has discovered a
great affinity for Eastern Europe and WWII
history He says he has ldquohellipa small coffee
disorder in that he has to have itrdquo and
misses the college environment and the
academic level of discourse
Melinda Moore (PhD rsquo07) has started her
own company Spectrum Transformation
Group The company is a Richmond-based
behavioral health organization offering
intensive one-on-one treatment services
for children with autism and related neu-
rodevelopmental disorders
Ian Wallace (MS lsquo06 PhD lsquo09) recently
started a new position as a counseling psy-
chologist in Counseling and Psychological
Services at The California Maritime Acade-
my (a California State University campus)
located in Vallejo Calif He and his wife
Claire welcomed their second son Miles
to the family in July
Raymond Tademy (BS lsquo03 MS lsquo07 PhD
lsquo10) finished his three-year postdoctoral
fellowship with our department in the
Center for Cultural Experiences in Preven-
tion and is now working as an assistant
professor in the Department of Psychology
at Norfolk State University He says he is
enjoying this wonderful new personal and
professional challenge and expresses
thanks to our department for preparing
him so well for the teaching research
community service and advising aspects of
his new position Tademy has wasted no
time jumping right into things at Norfolk
State and is already part of several depart-
ment and university committees
Lindsey Dorflinger (MS lsquo09 PhD lsquo11)
recently accepted a position at the Con-
necticut VA Health Care System in
West Haven as health behavior coordina-
tor She says she is having a blast working
alongside VCU postdoctoral fellows Leila
Islam (MS lsquo03 PhD rsquo13) and Aaron Mar-
tin (PhD rsquo13) In this new position she
will get to participate in a wide range of
activities including individual and group
interventions for health behavior change
research training physicians and other
medical providers and program develop-
ment and evaluation She is also part of
the clinical health psychology training pro-
gram which she particularly loves and
where she gets to work with Aaron Leila
and the other health psychology trainees
It is a busy and exciting time for KC Con-
ley (MS rsquo09 PhD rsquo12 ) She completed
her internship at the New Jersey VA in Au-
gust 2012 and her postdoctoral fellowship
in college mental health at Pace University
in August 2013 She is happy to report
Alumni News and Notes
Adam Prus PhD holding his
new book ldquoAn Introduction
to Drugs and the Neurosci-
ence of Behaviorrdquo
VCU Alumni travel 2014 opportunities Panama Canal 100th Anniversary cruise Jan 4-12
Tahitian Jewels Jan 15-25
Asian Explorations Feb 20-March 10
Tanzania Safari During Great Migration March 3-13
Lesser Antilles cruise March 10-17
Southern Culture amp The Civil War paddlewheel cruise March 28-April 6
Passage to India April 2-15
Historic Reflections Mediterranean cruise April 20-May 1
Italyrsquos Lake District May 13-21
Mediterranean Grandeur May 15-26
Oxford England May 17-25
Mediterranean Antiquities May 21-29
The Great Rivers of Europe June 7-22
National Parks amp Lodges of the Old West June 28-July 7
Canadian Rockies Parks amp Resorts July 17-23
Adriatic Antiquities cruise June 26-July 9
Iceland to Greenland cruise Aug 2-14
Discover Switzerland Aug 6-21
Russia Revealed Moscow to Petersburg river cruise Aug 21ndashSept 5hellip (see more)
having passed the Examination for the
Professional Practice in Psychology in May
and receiving her New York license this
September Conley recently accepted a
staff psychologist position at the Center
for Motivation and Change where she will
be treating individuals who have problems
with substance use andor compulsive
behaviors She just celebrated her one
year wedding anniversary and is happily
living in Brooklyn NY
Shannon Hourigan (MS lsquo09 PhD lsquo12)
completed her postdoctoral fellowship at
Boston Childrens Hospital at the end of
August and then accepted a position in
the Division of Psychology Department of
Psychiatry as a full time attending psy-
chologist working in the Optimal Weight
for Life Program part of the New Balance
Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at
BCH She also has an academic appoint-
ment at Harvard Medical School as an in-
structor in psychology in the Department
of Psychiatry
Half of her time is spent doing clinical re-
search and she is currently working on an
exciting interdisciplinary collaborationmdasha
combined behavior and nutrition inter-
vention pilot using a telehealth approach
to reach families and served by an excel-
lent community pediatrics practice with
whom her program is partnering As the
only psychologist on the team she de-
signed and has been implementing the
behavioral intervention Her work on this
project has been significantly informed by
the ADAPT study and Chorpitas modular
approach
The other research project in the works is
a secondary prevention study with a local
pediatrics practice for toddler children to
provide anticipatory guidance to parents
regarding behavioral issues around feed-
ing to facilitate development of healthful
eating This has been partially informed
by her dissertation as well as her work
with the New Balance Foundation Obesity
Prevention Center She and the Center
are planning to submit an R21 and hoping
to collaborate with the Brazleton Institute
In addition to her clinical work she has
been tasked with developing the behav-
ioral medicine curriculum for the clinic
In Memoriam
James E Conner PhD (BS rsquo49) of Ra-
leigh NC Jan 4 2013 at age 88
Maria Devens (MS rsquo93 PhD rsquo96) of Chi-
cago April 10 2013 at age 46
Robin B Bunster (BS rsquo99) of Lake
Oswego Ore April 20 2013 at age 45
We want to hear
from you too
Click HERE and give us your update
to feature in the next issue
Jasmine Abrams MS a
doctoral student in
the health psychology
program is the 2013 re-
cipient of the Psychology
of Black Graduate Stu-
dent Women Award for
her manuscript entitled
Demystification of the lsquoStrong Black
Womanrsquordquo Abrams was honored during
the Division 35 Section 1 awards ceremo-
ny at the 2013 American Psychological
Association convention in Hawaii
Faye Belgrave PhD
professor of social psy-
chology and director of
the Center for Cultural
Experiences in Preven-
tion will serve as the fac-
ulty fellow for advancing
diverse faculty in research
in VCUrsquos Division for Inclusive Excellence
In this role she will be responsible for
providing seminars consultation and pro-
fessional development to support diverse
faculty in sponsored research
Mary Beth Heller PhD
will serve the department
as interim director of the
Center for Psychological
Services and Develop-
ment Her appointment
follows the departure of
Leticia Flores PhD Flores
is the new associate director of University
of Tennesseersquos Psychological Clinic
Wendy Kliewer PhD
professor of developmen-
tal psychology and de-
partment chair and Jo
Lynne Robins PhD as-
sistant professor in the
VCU School of Nursing
have been awarded a VCU Presidential
Research Quest Award for Project HEART
Their study will examine the impact of
stress on the physical body for mothers of
teenagers in underserved communities in
the Richmond area and its surrounding
communities Also the study will examine
relationships between stress and resilien-
cy on heart health in adolescents and
mothers living in underserved communi-
ties Read more about this important in-
terdisciplinary effort at improved commu-
nity engagement and health
Joshua Langberg PhD
assistant professor in the
clinical psychology pro-
gram received a $24
million grant from the
Institute of Educational
Sciences for the project
ldquoEfficacy of an Organiza-
tional Skills Intervention for Middle School
Students with ADHD The four-year grant
will be used to compare two different
types of school-based interventions for
improving the academic performance of
middle school-age students with ADHD
Read more about it
Micah McCreary PhD
associate professor in the
counseling psychology
program led a group of
seven students and one
kindergarten teacher to
the ravaged island of Haiti
as part of the VCU service-
learning Haitian Empowerment Program
between science and religion Read the
news release from VCU News
VCU recently made a promotional video
highlighting four facultystudent research
partnerships and discussing some of the
benefits of participating in research and
what students need to
know to ensure a success-
ful experience Joe Por-
ter PhD professor of
biopsychology and his
undergraduate student
Brian Joseph were fea-
tured Watch the video
Bruce Rybarczyk PhD
director of clinical training
for our clinical program
and newly promoted pro-
fessor of clinical psycholo-
gy was recently featured
in an article in the maga-
zine ldquoVirginia Livingrdquo for his expertise in
the study and treatment of insomnia
Read the article
Third year doctoral stu-
dent in the health psy-
chology program Daniel
Snipes MS recently
learned that his first au-
thor publication (co-
authored by Eric Be-
notsch PhD) entitled High-
risk cocktails and high-risk sex Examining
the relation between alcohol mixed with
energy drink consumption sexual behav-
ior and drug use in college students was
the second most downloaded article in the
journal Addictive Behaviors for the month
of August Read the abstract
Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD professor
in the clinical psychology
program director of
graduate studies and co-
director of the Anxiety
Clinic at the Center for
Psychological Services
and Development was recently called up-
on to address the management of the
Department News and Updates
Kliewer
McCreary
Porter
Langberg
Southam-Gerow
Rybarczyk
Belgrave
Snipes
Abrams
Heller
Hulsey Van Tongeren Green
anxiety children sometimes feel about go-
ing back to school in the fall Read the
VCU News QampA Another bit of good
news for Southam-Gerow is his recent
promotion from associate professor to full
professor
Everett Worthington
PhD director of clinical
training in the counseling
psychology program was
nominated for the pres-
tigious Joseph B and To-
by Gittler Prize The
$25000 prize includes a medal and a lec-
ture at Brandeis University by the recipi-
ent The awardee must have produced a
body of published work that reflects schol-
arly excellence and a lasting contribution
to racial ethnic andor religious relations
anywhere in the world
Worthington has also been featured in
several media and print outlets recently
For example an article he wrote on forgiv-
ing the man who murdered his mother
appeared in Septemberrsquos issue of Christi-
anity Today the largest popular magazine
in American Christianity He was also
quoted as an expert in forgiveness in a
recent online article regarding the ordeal
of Ariel Castro and the three women he
held as captives in his Cleveland base-
ment
In addition Worthington has published a
new book ldquoMoving Forward Six Steps to
Forgiving Yourself and Breaking Free from
the Pastrdquo that was featured in a VCU
news article Read an excerpt
Linda Zyzniewski PhD associate profes-
sor of social psychology director of under-
graduate studies and deanrsquos fellow for the
College of Humanities and Sciences is
president-elect of VCUrsquos chapter of Phi
Kappa Phi Her term will
be for the 2014-15
school year ΦΚΦ faculty
have made significant
contributions to ad-
vancement of knowledge
and understanding
through research publication profession-
al innovation or artistic creativity sus-
tained excellence in teaching achieve-
ments transcending customary levels of
service in academic or professional socie-
ties of national scope recognition by other
major honor societies special honors and
awards and significant leadership in the
VCU academic community
Congratulations to the
recipients of this yearrsquos
annual department fac-
ulty awards for excel-
lence The Outstanding
Service Award was given
to Barbara Myers
PhD for sustained ex-
cellence in service to her community uni-
versity College department and field
Myers has been instrumental in establish-
ing and maintaining VCUrsquos community
partnership with Richmond City Jails
The winner of this yearrsquos Outstanding
Scholarship Award goes to Joshua Lang-
berg PhD Langberg is a strong ADHD
researcher who continues to publish high
impact findings and obtain substantial
grant funding for his work
Finally we would like to recognize Micah
McCreary PhD as this yearrsquos winner of
the Outstanding Teaching Award
McCreary continues to be one of the high-
est student-rated instructors in our de-
partment He provided an excellent ser-
vice learning opportunity for our students
this summer in Haiti
Support Staff Updates
Jennifer Elswick Direc-
tor for Strategic Initia-
tives and Assistant to
Chair was appointed to
serve as one of two in-
augural staff members
on the VCU Academic
Affairs Committee She
was also featured in a recent article in the
College of Humanities and Sciences news-
letter
Stephanie Hart MBA
CRA service center di-
rector of operations par-
ticipated in the National
Council of University Re-
search Administrators
Financial Research Ad-
ministration Workshop The
two and a half day workshop focused pri-
marily on the financial aspects of research
administration and provided an in-depth
look at financial compliance issues
through a combination of lecture case
studies review of federal audit reports
and a discussion of best practices
Yin Huang grants manag-
er just completed the
three-credit course Busi-
ness Statistics to supple-
ment the knowledge base
for her position
Diana Pauley executive
secretary received a Spot Award for Day-
to-Day Excellence for her persistence in
getting Williams House a new roof
Department News and Updates
Worthington
Elswick
Zyzniewski
Myers
Hart
Kurt Crandall PhD is a licensed clinical
psychologist who joined our faculty this
fall Crandall received his PhD in clinical
psychology from the University of Kansas
with a specialty in health psychology He
interned at the Veterans Affairs Medical
Center in Washington DC where he
worked in psychiatric triage counseled pa-
tients with chronic pain and conducted
group therapy for veterans who were en-
rolled in a partial hospitalization program
Following his internship year he spent
three years as an assistant professor in the
Department of Psychology at Wesleyan Col-
lege in Macon Georgia From there Cran-
dall left academia and returned to clinical
work to complete a postdoctoral fellowship
with an emphasis on couples and family
therapy at a community mental health cen-
ter in Chicago After his postdoctoral expe-
rience he worked as a staff psychologist in
the Primary Care Clinic at the VA Hospital in
Seattle
Upon his move back to the east coast Cran-
dall returned to academia and joined the
psychology faculty at Longwood University
For the past several years he has also been
employed as a psychologist in a private
practice here in Richmond Crandall prac-
tices as a cognitive behavioral therapist and
is trained to work with adults His clinical
areas of interest and experience include
promoting health through behavioral
change treating mood and anxiety disor-
ders helping clients cope with physical ill-
ness and disease facilitating stress manage-
ment and counseling couples His general
research interests are in the areas of health
psychology and positive psychology More
specifically he is interested in the effect
positive frames of thinking (eg hope opti-
mism forgiveness) may have on onersquos phys-
ical and emotional health
Zewelanji Serpell PhD joined our depart-
ment this fall as an associate professor in
the developmental program Before VCU
she was an associate professor in the psy-
chology department at Virginia State Uni-
versity Prior to that Serpell held a re-
search faculty position at James Madison
University and served as the associate di-
rector of the Alvin V Baird Attention and
Learning Disabilities Center She has also
held research positions at the Research Tri-
angle Institute-International the Eunice
Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development Study of
Early Childcare the American Association
for Colleges of Teacher Education and the
Center for Research on Children Placed At-
Risk
Serpellrsquos principle research interest is har-
nessing advances in cognitive science to
develop interventions that target executive
functions Translation is a particular goal of
her work which often takes the form of a
series of iterative small-N lab studies to in-
dividualize or perfect the design of inter-
ventions followed by often challenging
attempts to implement these interventions
in the real world of schools
Serpell currently has three active projects
In collaboration with former department
assistant professor Michelle Ellefson PhD
and Teresa Parr (BS lsquo93 MS lsquo95 PhD
lsquo99) the first project explores whether the
mental activities associated with playing
chess improve executive function and aca-
demic outcomes in elementary school stu-
dents The second and third projects are
funded by the National Science Foundation
and conducted in collaboration with col-
leagues from Virginia State University and
University of California San Diego These
projects involve testing the efficacy of com-
mercially available ldquobrain trainingrdquo pro-
grams with African American students and
examining the role of non-cognitive factors
specifically motivation and affect in cogni-
tive training contexts
Serpell was born and raised in Zambia and
reports having family all over the world
She received her bachelorrsquos degree in psy-
chology from Clark University in Worcester
Mass and her masterrsquos degree and PhD in
developmental psychology from Howard
University in Washington DC In her spare
time Serpell enjoys reading novels cooking
vegetarian meals and swimming with her
two sons She says she came to VCU for the
research opportunitiesmdashnew faculty collab-
orations working with VCUrsquos diverse stu-
dent body and getting involved with efforts
to improve outcomes for K-12 students
attending urban public schools
Meet our New Faculty Members
Zewelanji Serpell PhD
Kurt Crandall PhD
An affable psychology professor with a tidy office Dr Albert D Farrell warmly greets visi-tors to the West Franklin Street space that houses the Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth De-velopment The institute serves as a hub for studies led by Dr Farrell its director and one of the na-tionrsquos leading research scientists on risk and protective factors associated with problem behaviors during adolescence He began his academic career at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1980 as an assis-tant professor with the goal of ldquoworking with students who are involved in and excited about researchrdquo In 1992 he joined an effort that dramatically shaped the rest of his career It began with evaluating a Richmond youth violence prevention program Since then Dr Farrell has received nearly $16 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue re-searching youth violence including developing and evaluating a middle school program Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways which was designed to reduce violence by promoting positive problem-solving skills Grants totaling $26 million have supported his research which has been cited more than 1500 times and as often as 100 times annually in recent years Dr Farrellrsquos work has been continuously funded by the CDC for 21 straight years ldquoHis empirically supported model for youth violence prevention is considered the gold standard by psychologistsrdquo writes Dr James Coleman dean of the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences In 2005 the Clark-Hill Institute was selected by the CDC as one of eight Academic Centers of Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention and received $43 million in funding over five years Five years later VCU edged out Johns Hopkins Harvard Columbia and the University of California Berkley among others for a second round of funding securing $65 million to run the institute through September 2015 ldquoIrsquom really proud we were able accomplish thatrdquo Dr Farrell says ldquoWe competed extremely well against elite institutions with considerable resourcesrdquo For one CDC-funded project Dr Farrell collaborated on the Multisite Youth Violence Prevention Project with researchers from Duke University the University of Georgia and the University of Illinois at Chicago He developed most key aspects of the study according to Dr Thomas Simon deputy associate director for science in the CDCrsquos division of violence prevention ldquoDr Farrell has a gift for bringing together diverse opinions and identifying a path that utilizes the best science and practice principlesrdquo Dr Simon writes He uses that same quality in the classroom where he continues to teach the ldquoResearch Methods in Clinical Psychologyrdquo course he created 32 years ago Dr Farrell describes his role as more facilitator than teacher as he works to get students thinking about problems instead of looking to him for answers Dr Monique Vulin Reynolds a former student describes his class as one of the most useful and enjoyable she took at VCU ldquoHis own passion and dedication to the subject matter was what made the difference in keeping us absorbed and working hard to meet his expectationsrdquo she writes He earns near-perfect ratings on student evaluations according to Dr Wendy Kliewer chair of the psychology department Thatrsquos an unparalleled feat she writes especially since he taught a graduate statistics course she says both students and faculty shy away from Dr Scott Vrana a VCU psychology professor notes that one thing is missing from Dr Farrellrsquos resume mdash that he pours ldquothousands of hours into promoting and advancing the careers of other faculty members graduate students and postdoctoral fel-lowsrdquo His record does reflect some of that time Dr Farrell has chaired advisory committees for 30 masterrsquos theses and 22 doctoral dissertations Students and faculty describe him as a mentor who is approachable open and supportive and who always makes time for others no matter his schedule In reflecting on his career at VCU Dr Farrell says the way its pieces ended up fitting together seems sensible Its specific course however was strongly shaped by opportunities that presented themselves along the way Being at VCU provided advantages over other universities he worked with on youth violence prevention research he says mdash chiefly the lack of barriers between VCU and the community because most Richmonders are connected to VCU in some way While he has no imminent plans for retirement Dr Farrell says he hopes that he will be remembered as the first director of the Clark-Hill Institute as it continues making important strides in youth violence prevention ldquoWe are so totally aligned with VCUrsquos Quest for Distinctionrdquo he says ldquoWersquore interdisciplinary and well---positioned to really expand We have tremendous potentialrdquo
Recipient of the University Award of Excellence
Albert Farrell PhD
Picture and article courtesy of VCU University Relations
Graduate students in the clinical and
counseling psychology doctoral pro-
grams have completed a series of studies
under the mentorship of Bruce
Rybarczyk PhD (lsquo89 clinical program
graduate professor of clinical psycholo-
gy and director of clinical training) mak-
ing substantial contributions to advanc-
ing the treatment of insomnia in individ-
uals with co-morbid psychiatric condi-
tions Three of those studies were fea-
tured in a special issue of the Journal of
Clinical Psychology Two of the studies
were intervention studies with individu-
als with psychiatric diagnoses The first
was a dissertation by Nile Wagley PhD
(rsquo10 counseling program) providing cog-
nitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to pa-
tients undergoing treatment at the VCU
Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic These pa-
tients were receiving treatment for an
average of 36 years and continued to
have insomnia symptoms in spite of their
psychiatric care Two sessions of CBT for
insomnia including one conducted via
telephone were effective in improving
sleep and reducing depressive symp-
toms Among the twenty patients who
participated in treatment 38 were able
to achieve normal sleep eight weeks
after the start of treatment relative to
none in the control group A second dis-
sertation study at the same clinic em-
ploying a large group of patients all of
whom were dependent on hypnotic
medication for managing their insomnia
and a longer format of treatment was
recently completed by sixth year clinical
psychology graduate student Hannah
Lund It also obtained encouraging re-
sults that will be written up for publica-
tion in the near future
A second intervention study targeting
recent veterans with Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) conducted by
Skye Margolies PhD (rsquo11 clinical pro-
gram) was also featured in the special
issue This dissertation study tested four
sessions of CBT-I and an optional supple-
mentary treatment for nightmares
(imagery rehearsal therapy) with forty
combat veterans (mean age 377 years)
who served in Afghanistan andor Iraq a
group that has experienced high levels of
both PTSD and insomnia The treatment
sessions were provided at the McGuire
Veterans Administration Hospital in Rich-
mond The treatment led to significant
improvements in self-reported and ob-
jectively measured sleep a reduction in
PTSD symptom severity and PTSD-
related nighttime symptoms and a re-
duction in depression and distressed
mood compared to the waitlist control
group This study was replicated by Lau-
rin Mack PhD (rsquo13 clinical program)
Her study provided a classroom CBT in-
tervention to a wide array of veterans as
a follow-up supplement to a recently
completed a psycho-educational course
on coping with PTSD This study replicat-
ed the earlier findings of improved sleep
although it did not obtain the same re-
sult for reductions in PTSD symptoms
possibly related to the fact that many of
VCU Students Faculty and
Alumni Contribute to
Advancing the Treatment of
Insomnia Bruce Rybarczyk PhD
the participants had PTSD for several
decades rather than several years Both
Margolies and Mack were funded by
prestigious Rehabilitation Research Fel-
lowship awards for over $61000 com-
bined from the Department of Veteran
Affairs
CBT for insomnia was developed by a
group of pioneering researchers begin-
ning twenty-five years ago VCU Psychol-
ogy and Psychiatry has a long history
with this pioneering work One of the
most prolific researchers in this area
Jack Edinger PhD (rsquo78) is an alumnus of
the clinical psychology program and an-
other prominent researcher Charles
Morin PhD was a faculty member at
VCU While here Morin conducted one
of the first randomized clinical trials
showing that CBT was superior to hyp-
notic sleep medications CBT has several
treatment components including an ini-
tial reduction in sleep to increase sleep
drive and retrain normal sleep as well as
a method for eliminating time spent in
bed while awake to weaken the associa-
tion between being in bed and having
anxiety about not falling asleep The
treatment also includes education in the
science of
sleep in order
to provide the
patient with an
ldquoownerrsquos man-
ualrdquo for their
sleep system
These studies
contribute to
growing evi-
dence that CBT
for insomnia is
a treatment
that should be
offered to all
mental health
patients as a
supplement to
other treatments they are receiving that
are targeting the primary mental health
diagnosis Not only is sleep substantially
improved as a result of these interven-
tions but other mental health symptoms
are alleviated as a consequence of im-
proved sleep Additionally there are no
side effects treatment is brief the bene-
fits are sustained over time and the cost
is limited especially when employing self
-help materials The challenge that lies
ahead is training more clinicians to deliv-
er this brief treatment and getting the
word is out to health professionals and
the public that this should be a first line
treatment for persistent insomnia Alt-
hough a 2005 National Institutes of
Health expert panel recommended that
CBT be offered to all chronic insomnia
sufferers before prescribing a medica-
tion there has been very limited pro-
gress in dissemination thus far This is
due to the public and professional bias
towards the use of medications and the
lack of awareness of this newer treat-
ment approach To address the science-
practice gap future research by
Rybarczyk and colleagues will test a
ldquostepped carerdquo approach to delivering
CBT in primary care using varied levels
of treatment intensity and different
methods of delivery including the Inter-
net This stepped care approach will be
tested in primary care offices The con-
cept was detailed in a 2011 publication
by Mack and Rybarczyk
Although there are less than two hun-
dred clinical psychologists who are ex-
perts and researchers in CBT for insom-
nia a remarkable number of them are
VCU clinical psychology alumni In addi-
tion to Edinger and Rybarczyk Jason
Ong PhD (rsquo04 clinical program) is
board certified in behavioral sleep medi-
cine and is a prominent insomnia re-
searcher at Rush University Medical Cen-
ter in Chicago Don Townsend PhD
(rsquo99 clinical program) is a board certified
sleep clinician at the Fairview Sleep Cen-
ter in Minnesota and Kevin Smith PhD
(rsquo04 clinical program) is an assistant pro-
fessor of pediatrics at the University of
Missouri-Kansas City and is board certi-
fied in behavioral sleep medicine VCU
alumni are likely to have an even larger
impact on the growing field of behavioral
sleep medicine in the future as all four
of the recent graduates who conducted
the research
described
above are con-
tinuing to work
in this field
VCU faculty contributors to the studies de-scribed above include Drs Steve Danish David Leszczyszyn John Lynch (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo89) Tim Nay and Scott Vra-na
Bruce Rybarczyk PhD and Denise Borden MD discuss a patientrsquos care in VCUrsquos Primary Care Clinic
Over the past year the news has been filled with ongoing
legislative disputes in Washington Terms like fiscal cliff
debt ceiling and sequestration have become part of our vo-
cabulary With myriad predictions being made it can be
hard to decipher what impact recent government actions
could have here in our department
There are several recent government actions that could sub-
stantially influence research activity in Psychology The
first is known as sequestration or the ldquofiscal cliffrdquo This
was a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011 which im-
posed across-the-board cuts to defense and discretionary
programs in the event that Congress could not reach a com-
promise on the federal budget The Act was supposed to
motivate Congress to reach a solution as no one wanted or
expected to see sequestration implemented Unfortunately
Congress failed to reach a compromise and sequestration
went into effect on March 1 2013
Sequestration resulted in substantial budget cuts to our ma-
jor federal funders The National Institutes for Health Psy-
chologyrsquos largest funding source lost 5 of its total budget
amounting to $155 billion Since these were across-the-
board cuts no area of health research was spared As a
result we have received fewer new awards and our contin-
uing awards have been reduced VCU President Michael
Rao estimated in February that VCUrsquos grant portfolio could
see reductions of $12-$21 million by September 2013 as a
direct result of sequestration Luckily we have not seen
this dire outcome just yetmdashVCUrsquos grant award portfolio
showed excellent performance in fiscal year 2013mdashbut that
does not mean that effects will not be felt later
For example at the department level fewer new grant
awards could result in a lack of replacement funding for
projects slated to end soon Individuals paid from those
projects would likely be laid off if no source of new fund-
ing could be found Reduced budgets for continuing pro-
jects could result in cuts to the number of people a given
project could support Sequestration will also make it hard-
er for new faculty to get their first grants as grant programs
become increasingly competitive This in turn makes it
harder for them to support graduate students and postdoc-
toral associates There could also be an impact on federally
funded fellowships scholarships and student aid The fed-
eral work-study program for example could lose up to $50
million dollars as a result of sequestration That represents
a substantial number of students who would have to find
other sources of income
As if that were not enough sequestration is only one piece
of the puzzle Other government actions have the potential
to compound the impacts One such action is the Afforda-
ble Care Act otherwise known as ldquoObamacarerdquo Aside
from the obvious controversy the ACA has had some unin-
tended consequences In Virginia it resulted in the Man-
power Control Act or the 29-Hour Rule This law limits
part-time and hourly employees to a total of 29 hours per
week This has resulted in loss of income for students and
other part-time employees some of whom have historically
held multiple jobs at the university Multiple university
jobs are no longer allowed under the Manpower Control
Act In addition since the rule applies to adjunct faculty
too it has resulted in a reduction in the number of credit
hours they can teach This means an additional burden on
the already overloaded full-time faculty who must make up
The Impact of Recent US Government Actions on the
Departmentrsquos Research Mission
Brigette S Pfister MHRD CRA
Page 9
the shortfall in credit hours taught in addition to their ex-
isting responsibilitiesmdashlike grant writing This could fur-
ther depress our new award activity over the next few
years
The recent government shutdown adds another dimension
of complexity The government shutdown was brought
about by circumstances similar to those of sequestration
Once again legislators needed to compromise on the feder-
al budget in order to avert disaster This time the point of
contention was the Affordable Care Act Republicans
wanted to defund the ACA as a condition of passing the
Continuing Resolution that would keep the government
operational Democrats refused to approve any bill that
attempted to defund or otherwise nullify the ACA Once
again no compromise was reached and the government
shutdown took effect on October 1 2013
Immediately many federal systems were taken of-
fline We could not submit new proposals progress reports
or even establish new accounts Awards already delayed
and reduced by sequestration stopped altogether for the
duration of the shutdown Though there is widespread
conjecture on the subject no one really knows what the
long term impact will be on university research
During the shutdown work on existing projects was al-
lowed to continue provided that funding had already been
made available However we were unable to draw down
funds from the federal government In other words if we
didnrsquot already have it then we couldnrsquot spend it If the
shutdown had gone on longer even existing projects would
have probably had to lay off grant funded personnel and in
some cases completely stop work Also the government
doesnrsquot process passports and visas during the shutdown
so projects that depend on foreign travel were held up con-
siderably
The situation could worsen if Congress fails to devise a
workable long-term solution when the current debt ceiling
expires on February 7 If there is failure to compromise
the United States could default on our national debt There
is no clear picture of what the impacts of that would be but
we know they would not be positive
Since our overall grant portfolio at VCU did not appear to
suffer in fiscal year 2013 it might be tempting to disregard
some of the more dire warnings However it is important
to recognize that incoming awards are based on proposals
submitted in fiscal year 2012 or earlier so many of those
funding decisions were made prior to the most current cri-
sis We probably wont see the true impact of all of the
above until fiscal year 2014 or thereafter At minimum
the cessation of all proposal activity during the shutdown
will result in delayed resumption of award activity in addi-
tion to the delays and budget cuts already happening be-
cause of sequestration This will likely cause our total
awarded dollars to decrease over the next few years
Overall the impact on VCU research may not be disas-
trous but at the department level grant projects and the
individuals working on those projects could suffer signifi-
cant impact from the cumulative effects
Brigette S Pfister is director of sponsored programs for the
College of Humanities and Sciences at VCU
Dome United States Capitol Washington DC
Architect of the Capitol
Adriana Rodriguez graduated from the
University of California Berkeley in 2008
with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and
a minor in ethnic studies Following grad-
uation Rodriguez obtained a research as-
sistant position with Bruce Chorpita
PhD at UCLA helping to advance the
effectiveness of mental health treatment
for children and adolescents Her work
with Chorpita further solidified her aspira-
tion to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical
psychology working specifically with racial
andor ethnic minority youth
Rodriguez joined the Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD research laboratory as a
doctoral student in clinical psychology in
the fall of 2010 When asked why Rodri-
guez decided to attend VCU she stated
that she felt inspired and motivated by the
energy and innovation that Southam-
Gerow brings to the field of psychology
ldquoIt was the best decision I could have
maderdquo
In reflecting on her experience at VCU
Rodriguez is struck by how collaborative
the department in general and her lab in
particular are Her research interests lie
broadly in the dissemination and imple-
mentation of mental health treatment for
children and adolescents She is also in-
terested in cultural and linguistic adapta-
tions of assessments to minority popula-
tions in real-world clinic settings Recent-
ly Rodriguez was able to collaborate with
Rosalie Corona PhD of the clinical psy-
chology program whose work focuses on
health promotion and risk reduction
among ethnic minority populations In
working with Latina college students Ro-
driguez notes ldquoI understand the difficul-
ties that this population is facing from a
policy perspective and also through my
personal experiencehellip I was that kid who
didnrsquot have enough money for the bus
farerdquo
Born to a working-class Mexican family
Rodriguez is the first to receive a college
education let alone pursue a graduate
degree Her work is driven in part by a
desire to empower her family and culture
while forging her own identity
When asked about career aspirations she
responds ldquoI want to keep goinghellip go as far
as I canrdquo Rodriguez is molding herself for
a research position in academia where she
would ideally like to serve at the public
policy level of mental health treatment
dissemination and implementation
In her spare time she enjoys running long
distances around Richmondrsquos Byrd Park
and Brownrsquos Island She also spends time
drawing particularly individuals with pro-
nounced facial expressions Rodriguez
jokes that this interest probably stems
from all the time she has spent coding vid-
eotapes in the Southam-Gerow lab
Graduate Student Spotlight
Adriana Rodriguez MS Clinical Psychology program
The Global Bridges Project is a community engaged research pro-ject directed by Maghboeba Mosavel PhD of VCUrsquos Department of Social and Behavioral Health School of Medicine This summer Mosavel led a small team of six students to the University of Kwa-Zulu-Natalmdasha VCU international partner universitymdashin Durban South Africa to conduct community engaged research in the Ken-neth Gardens public housing community in Durban Jasmine Abrams and Morgan Maxwell were two of those students A third student Carrie Miller is a second year master of public health student who has previously worked for the Department of Psychol-ogy as project coordinator for Clarissa Holmes PhD Abrams and Maxwell chronicled their work in Durban on this blog httpbuilding-global-bridgesblogspotcom Itrsquos a great read
Submitted by Annie Rabinovitz doctoral
student in the clinical psychology program
Abrams Maxwell
Linda A Mensah-Etsi (see front cover) a
junior psychology major is a recent recipi-
ent of the Melvin V Lubman Scholarship
in Psychology The Melvin V Lubman
Scholarship was established by Mrs Golde
Lubman Feldman to honor her husbandrsquos
dedication and service as a professor in
the Department of Psychology Mensah-
Etsi reports that the scholarship will help
her greatly with her tuition and fees
When asked why she chose psychology as
a major Mensah-Etsi said that she is curi-
ous about many things and psychology
was the one subject that kept her interest
piqued at all times She said ldquoI like how I
can always be surprised by all the different
topics covered under psychology alonerdquo
Surely her constant interest is in part due
to her two ldquoall-time favoriterdquo classesmdash
Statistical Applications in the Psychology
Field with Linda Zyzniewski PhD and
Abnormal Psychology with adjunct profes-
sor Jessica Brown Mensah-Etsi picked
these as her favorites because she likes
the mathematical focus of statistics and
admitted to having an ldquoobsessionrdquo with
mental illnesses
Continuing her love for the subject Men-
sah-Etsi has decided to further her skills by
applying for several internships through-
out the department After narrowing
down her choices for internships this fall
from three options she is excited to have
begun her new internship at VCUrsquos Clark
Hill Institute for Positive Youth
Development She says she chose this op-
portunity because ldquonot only is it in the
field in which I am currently interested
the internship will give me the opportunity
to learn a valuable coding skill that I might
eventually need to userdquo
A former volunteer elementary school
teachers aide she has a clear interest in
working with children and teens and
would like to pursue another volunteer
opportunity with the organization Stop
Child Abuse Now here in Richmond
With time on her side Mensah-Etsi cer-
tainly has plenty of opportunities to
change her career path She hopes she
can get a job with her degree or perhaps
continue on to graduate school and even
sees a career in research as a possibility
Ultimately though she is interested in
counseling young children or teens who
have experienced trauma Her goal is to
help kids ldquounderstand that at least one
person is on their side even if it seems that
they have to deal with it on their ownrdquo
One of the many interesting aspects of
this junior is that she is only 18 years old
She was a mere 16 years of age when she
first enrolled at VCU and proves daily that
age has nothing to do with capacity for
success A very hard worker when asked
about her free time Mensah-Etsi says she
has been very preoccupied with school-
work as well as with working two jobs
However she says working out at the gym
has been very close to a hobby for her
lately
When shersquos not in Richmond Mensah-Etsi
lives in Alexandria with her family We
asked her why she chose to settle in Rich-
mond and attend VCU and she jokingly
said it is because her two favorite colors
are black and yellow ldquoOn a serious noterdquo
she stated ldquoI just really fell in love with
the city when I visited so there was no
doubt in my mind that I wanted to attend
VCU I grew up in a city so this felt close
to homerdquo
A native of Togo in West Africa Mensah-
Etsi moved to the US in 2007 shortly be-
fore she turned 13 She says it wasnrsquot a
hard transition for her as she already
spoke French and Ewe (an ethnic lan-
guage) so English was quite easy to learn
by comparison She indeed misses the
spicy foods of Togo but also says that
while other people in Richmond may be
annoyed by the street sounds lights and
crooked sidewalks it makes her feel right
at home
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral stu-
dent in the health psychology program
Undergraduate Student Spotlight
Linda A Mensah-Etsi Class of lsquo15
Congratulations to David Rockman class of 2013 for receiving the Benjamin A Gilman Scholarship Rockman will receive $5000 to study in one country from four weeks to one academic year Named after retired Congressman Benjamin A Gilman from New York the programrsquos goal is to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go
This summer Paul Perrin PhD led six
VCU psychology doctoral students on a
month-long expedition to the University of
Deusto in Bilbao Spain to participate in a
research training program on racialethnic
disparities in health The trip was due in
large part to Perrinrsquos ongoing collabora-
tion with Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla
PhD a research professor in the Universi-
ty of Deustorsquos Department of Psychology
and former faculty member in VCUrsquos De-
partment of Physical Medicine and Reha-
bilitation Perrin and Arango-Lasprilla
spent the past year planning and coordi-
nating this unique opportunity for stu-
dents who worked with them on various
research projects meeting and collabo-
rating with researchers from all over the
world Among the group of 20 interna-
tional researchers contributing to and par-
ticipating in this training program were
psychology doctoral students Gillian Lei-
bach and Stephen Trapp of the counseling
program Sarah Doyle of the developmen-
tal program Shaina Gulin of the clinical
program and Alejandra Morlett Paredes
and Megan Sutter of the health program
The students worked with a team of inter-
national researchers spanning ten differ-
ent countries The purpose of the training
program was to teach students to conduct
health disparities research in an interna-
tional context and build collaborative
teams at various universities and rehabili-
tation facilities The specific focus was the
psychosocial functioning of individuals
from understudied global regions with
neurological conditions such as traumatic
brain injury dementia spinal cord injury
and multiple sclerosis Unpaid family care-
givers often provide the majority of the
informal care to individuals with these
conditions yet have very few resources in
order to meet their family and caregiving
needs Therefore a major goal of these
projects was to study the factors related
to mental and physical health of caregiv-
ers and to create culturally sensitive
health care recommendations for these
regions The team is accumulating evi-
dence for interventions that will improve
the quality of informal care for individuals
with neurological conditions in regions
such as Latin America where much of this
research is being conducted
Each of the VCU doctoral students had the
opportunity to take the lead on projects
studying the potential protective and risk
factors associated with caregiver mental
and physical health in either older adults
with dementia or in children with spinal
cord injuries and disorders They were
also able to propose potential future pro-
jects with existing data or completely new
data collections based in various under-
studied global regions such as in Neiva
Colombia Auckland New Zealand Copen-
hagen Denmark and Mexico City Mexico
among many others Perrin and the team
of international researchers offered a
number of seminars on advanced research
methods and statistics such as factor
analysis structural equation modeling
qualitative research methods meta-
analysis neuroimaging and scientific man-
uscript preparation
The
group
was able
to take
part in
many
cultural
experi-
ences
and enjoyed exploring the city of Bilbao
and the surrounding countryside and
beaches The researchers and students
spent most of their time in the countryrsquos
Basque region where they were able to
visit the iconic Guggenheim Museum of
modern and contemporary art innumera-
ble pintxo restaurants (a specialty of this
region similar to tapas) and a celebration
of Bilbaorsquos 713th anniversary
The group also traveled to many places
around the country including Bermeo and
San Sebastiaacuten which are located on the
Northern coast of Spain near the border of
France In Bermeo they made a trek to
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe a hermitage
that is accessed by hiking down a narrow
trail crossing a stone bridge and walking
up approximately 230 steps The group
felt the hike was definitely worth the
effort though andmdashas a legend in-
structsmdashgot to the peak rang a bell three
times and made three wishes Together
many of the researchers and students also
took a day trip to San Sebastiaacuten a coastal
town that rests on the Bay of Biscay fa-
mous for its renowned Basque food and
of course its shoreline They also got the
chance to venture to southern France and
Barcelona
Spotlight on International Research and Learning
Paul Perrin PhD
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student
in the health psychology program
ldquoA major goal of these
projects was to study the
factors related to mental
and physical health of
caregivers and to create
culturally sensitive health
care recommendations for
these regionsrdquo
ldquoI had a wonderful experience in Bilbao When I started graduate
school I certainly did not expect I would get to travel abroad to do
research It was a really unique opportunity getting to meet and work with well-known researchers from around the world Bilbao
is beautiful and I did quite a bit of exploring in and around the city
learning the areas rich cultural customs and history It is a good
feeling to know that our research has the potential to help im-prove the quality of life of patients with neurological conditions
and their caregiversrdquo
Shaina Gulin clinical psychology doctoral student
Back row [L to R] Javier Pentildea
(Spain) Hinemoa Elder (New Zea-
land) Nada Andelic (Norway)
Alfonso Caracuel (Spain) Hugo
Senra (Portugal) Stephen Trapp
(USA) Ivan Panyavin (Spain)
Anne Norup (Denmark) Charles
Hallmark (USA) Alejandra Morlett
(USA) Alexander Moreno
(Canada) Rociacuteo Del Pino Saacuteez
(Spain) Clara Isabel Gonzaacutelez
Berdugo (Spain) Maria Cristina
Quijano (Colombia) Yaneth Rodri-
guez (Mexico)
Front row [L to R] Juan Carlos
Arango-Lasprilla (Spain) Carlos de
los Reyes (Colombia) Megan
Sutter (USA) Sarah Doyle (USA)
Gillian Leibach (USA) Shaina Gulin
(USA) Naroa Ibarretxe (Spain)
Paul Perrin (USA)
Kristin Heron PhD from Penn State University visited the de-
partment early in the fall semester Heron is associate director
of the Dynamic Real-time Ecological Ambulatory Methodologies
Initiative at Penn States Survey Research Center In this posi-
tion she uses ecological momentary assessment and ecological
momentary intervention in her research focused on a range of
clinical health topics including eating behaviors body image
physical activity promotion and smoking cessation Ecological
momentary assessment broadly refers to the use of assess-
ments (eg questionnaires) that capture information about
people as they go about their daily lives in their natural environ-
ment (eg home) Ecological momentary intervention refers to
interventions or treat-
ments that are delivered
to individuals as they go
about their daily lives
Heron spent time training
students in Dr Robin
Everharts research lab on
ecological momentary
assessment for a pediatric
asthma study that will
allow families to use
smart phones as they re-
port on their childs asth-
ma care in real time
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
professor of psychology
at the University of Vir-
ginia presented a talk to
the department in Sep-
tember titled ldquoThe Psy-
chological Wealth of
Nationsrdquo
Here is the abstract
What is a good society
Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good
society is a happy society―namely a society in which most citi-
zens are happy and free from fear Since the publication of
ldquoThe Wealth of Nationsrdquo by Adam Smith in 1776 most econo-
mists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a material-
ly wealthy society Thus gross national product and related
indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of
nations from the 1950rsquos to date Recently however prominent
economists as well as political scientists sociologists and psy-
chologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materi-
ally wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust
one another have a sense of freedom and have close social re-
lationships The inquiry into the psychological wealth of na-
tions or the subjective well-being of nations helps answer a
fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for mil-
lennia lsquolsquoWhat is a good societyrsquo
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
Kristin Heron PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Benita Belvet
Jessica Brown
Suzzette Chopin
Lillian Christon Arnold
Ashley Dibble
Rebecca Hubbard
David Jennings
Nichole Kelly
Laurin Mack
Priscilla Powell
Molly Neff
Laura Slosky
Denicia Titchner
Stephanie Wolf
Bachelor of Science
Vanessa Agyeman
Hasen Alghamdi
Latessa Allums
Michael Amon
Sonja Ayers
Sweska Basnet
Kirstie Breland
Erica Brown
Ashley Callis
Jakwame Carey
Megan Cavanagh
Grace Charriez
Courtney Christian
Alicia Cook
Aldijana Cordic
Jonathan Cox
Mary Dean
Anne Fishback
Sherona Gardner
Andrew Gibbs
Myra Glorioso
Logan Gravitt
Lateisha Greene
Katelyn Gruber
Jamila Harris
Tiquana Hill
James Hovermale
Savonne Howard
Marshall Hunter
Kelley Hurdle
Arturo Iglesias
Lucas Keckley
Hira Khalid
Jamison Lancaster
Dana Larson
Russ Lawrence
Michele Mascatello
Rachel Mason
Tiffany Mayo
Natasha McCoy
Alexandra McDougall
Brandie Mckenzie
Xue Ju Meyer
Scott Misturini
Lindsay Mitchiner
Lea Moisa
Brooke Myers
Krislee Nelson
Paul Norton
Sierre Norton
Kristin Oravetz
Stephen Page
Ryan Pannell
Kevin Papile
Natalie Parks
Krishna Patel
Justin Payne
James Peacock
Quy Phan
Cecilia Presseau
Nathalie Rieder
Kylessia Ross
Faryal Shahid
Katelyn Sisk
Angel Slach
Indira Smajlagic
Natalie Taylor
Adrienne Tetreault
Brandon Tolbert
Tierraney Truss
James Vosti
Brenda Wei
Patrick Wiley
Alaysia Williams
Lyndsay Wilshaw
Christopher Wilson
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to
education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual
orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of Psychology
806 W Franklin St
PO Box 842018
Richmond VA 23284-2018
Phone 804-828-1193
Fax 804-828-2237
Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu
Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu
Virginia Commonwealth
University
Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology
A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine
Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from
bottom on far right
1 Cover photography by
Alexis Mathis (class of 2015)
Featured in photo
Linda Metsah-Etsi class of 2015
See undergraduate student spotlight p17
4-5 Research Spotlight
Thomas Eissenberg PhD
6-7 Alumni news and notes
8-9 Department news and updates
10
Meet our new faculty members
Kurt Crandall PhD
Zewelanji Serpell PhD
11 Recipient of the
University Award of Excellence
Al Farrell PhD
12-13 VCU students faculty and alumni
contribute to advancing the
treatment of insomnia
Bruce Rybarczyk PhD
14-15 The impact of recent US government
actions on the departmentrsquos research
mission
Brigette S Pfister MHRD CRA
16 Graduate student spotlight
Adriana Rodriguez MS
Clinical psychology program
17 Undergraduate student spotlight
Linda Metsah-Etsi class of 2015
(cover photo)
18-19 Spotlight on international research
and learning
Paul Perrin PhD goes to Spain
20 Campus vistors
Kristin Heron PhD Penn State
and
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
University of Virginia
21 August 2013 graduates
22 Department contact information
Tom Eissenberg PhD came to our de-
partment in 1997 and has not slowed
down since A professor of biopsychology
and health psychology Eissenberg re-
searches the addictive properties and
health effects of the use of alternative to-
bacco products such as electronic ciga-
rettesmdashsee exciting new grant announce-
ment on opposite page For the last ten
years Eissenberg and his collaborators
have also been studying the effects of wa-
terpipe or ldquohookahrdquo smoking
The origins of waterpipe smoking can be
traced back to the 1600rsquos in the Middle
East and India More recently hookah
smoking has become extremely popular in
the United States and continues to grow
among adolescents and young
adult populations Often used in
social settings such as in ldquohookah
barsrdquo waterpipe smoking is a
popular method of smoking to-
bacco (usually flavored) where
one puts charcoal on top of a per-
forated piece of aluminum foil
which is then placed on the head
of the hookahmdashsee diagram As
the smoker inhales through the
mouthpiece the water in the ba-
sin of the pipe cools the smoke
making the smoke milder and
more palatable than the smoke
from cigarettes
A common misconception and a leading
contributor to the increase in the popular-
ity of waterpipe smoking is the belief by
non-cigarette smokers that waterpipe
smoke is less dangerous than cigarette
smoke One of the goals of his research is
to determine whether or not there are
data to support these beliefs
Eissenberg and his team have assessed the
composition of waterpipe smoke what
compounds in the smoke make their way
into the smoker and what physiological
and subjective effects waterpipe smoke
has on the smoker
As part of this assessment the research
team has found that hookah smokers
often take relatively large puffs when
smokingmdashup to ten times larger than that
of the average cigarette puff Though an
average cigarette smoker will inhale 50 ml
of smoke per puff for example the hook-
ah smoker averages 500 ml of smoke per
puff (about one quarter of a two liter
bottle) During a typical 45-minute smok-
ing session waterpipe smokers will take
an average of 100 puffs and end up inhal-
ing 50000 ml of smoke Typical levels of
smoke inhalation from a smoking session
can range in quantity from 50 to 100 times
the amount of inhaled smoke than the
amount inhaled from a single cigarette
According to Eissenberg there is no rea-
son to believe waterpipe smoking is less
lethal than cigarette smoking or causes
less dependence Hookah smoke as it
turns out also contains high levels of toxic
compounds including tar carbon monox-
ide heavy metals and cancer-causing
chemicals (carcinogens) Because water-
pipe smokers inhale tobacco smoke along
with charcoal smoke the full inhalation
also contains higher levels of carbon mon-
oxide than does cigarette smoke
Another shared belief among many water-
pipe users is that the water somehow fil-
ters the smoke they inhale making it less
toxic than cigarette smoke Eissenberg
though says there is no evidence to sup-
port this claim He says that the levels of
nicotine carbon monoxide and other com-
pounds remain constant in the hookah
smoke both before and after the smoke
hits the water
Eissenberg also notes that dependency
can become a major problem ac-
companying waterpipe smoking
especially in places where the wa-
terpipe has a longer history of
use such as in the Middle East
Eissenberg and his colleagues
have worked on strengthening
their research methods by devel-
oping and validating a new tech-
nology ndash the real time smoke sam-
pler ndash which randomly samples
smoke content in the lab when
research participants are smoking
a waterpipe The tool can meas-
ure how many puffs are taken
how long the draws are how
Research Spotlight
Thomas Eissenberg PhD
much time elapses between puffs and the
speed at which the air is drawn from the
waterpipe He then takes the data and
sends them to his colleague Alan
Shihadeh PhD at the American Universi-
ty of Beirut in Lebanon From the data
Shihadeh can create an exact replica of
the smoking session all the way down to
the same tobacco This allows him to
measure the content of the smoke in a
noninvasive manner Upon validation of
the instrument the real time smoke sam-
pler was taken out of the lab setting into a
popular cafeacute in Beirut to gather data in a
more natural environment The composi-
tion of the smoke in the bar was found to
be consistent with similar measures taken
in the lab The next step in this line of in-
quiry will be to conduct the same research
in waterpipe bars in Richmond
In addition to conducting his own re-
search Eissenberg actively works to pro-
mote the responsible conduct of research
particularly with regard to interactions
between local Institutional Review Boards
and behavioral scientists His work in this
realm resulted in a recent invitation from
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the US
Department of Health and Human Services
to join the Secretarys Advisory Committee
on Human Research The purpose of the
committee is to advise the secretary on a
range of issues involving experimentation
with humans such as clinical trials re-
search with children deception in re-
search and consent and confidentiality in
Internet research
Furthermore Eissenberg is a member of
the US Food and Drug Administrationrsquos
tobacco product scientific advisory com-
mittee Because the FDA has been given
the authority to regulate tobacco products
in recent years the scientific advisory
committee was formed to keep the agency
abreast of the most current scientific re-
search findings on tobacco and tobacco
products
The next step for Eissenberg is to devote
his energies to the establishment and
management of the Center for the Study
of Tobacco Products (see news article be-
low) The Center will be a hub of scholar-
ship and training and will yield opportuni-
ties at VCU to generate more multi-
investigator funding in the future Its goal
is to better inform government agencies
through evidence-based research about
the regulation of tobacco and tobacco
products as pertinent legislation is consid-
ered
Read the full article on VCU News Excerpt Virginia Commonwealth University has received an $181 million federal grant ndash
VCUs third largest to date ndash to study so-called modified risk tobacco products and other novel tobacco products such as electronic
cigarettes and to develop an evaluation tool to help inform United States tobacco regulatory policy VCU is among 14 institutions
across the country selected to participate in a regulatory science research program that will provide vital scientific evidence to the
US Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health Researchers in the VCU Department of Psychologys Cen-
ter for the Study of Tobacco Products in the College of Humanities and Sciences will study methods for evaluating modified risk
tobacco products as one of 14 Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science a new program launched by the US Food and Drug Admin-
istration and the National Institutes of Health Thomas Eissenberg PhD professor of psychology and director of VCUrsquos Clinical
Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory and Robert Balster PhD professor of pharmacology and toxicology in the VCU School of
Medicine are the co-principal investigators on the grant Listen to Eissenbergrsquos interview on Richmond public radio
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student
in the health psychology program
Christopher Kilmartin (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo88)
is a professor of psychology at Mary Wash-
ington University For the current year
though he is Distinguished Visiting Profes-
sor of Behavioral Science and Leadership
at the United States Air Force Academy in
Colorado Springs His work on the
ldquoculture of hyper-masculinityrdquo was high-
lighted in a recent New York Times op-ed
article by Frank Bruni called ldquoTackling the
Roots of Raperdquo In addition he and co-
author John Lynch Jr (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo89)
just published the second edition of the
book ldquoOvercoming Masculine Depression
The Pain Behind the Maskrdquo
Dorothy Espelage PhD (BS rsquo91) recent-
ly accepted the Lifetime Achievement
Award from the American Psychological
Associationrsquos Prevention Section Award-
ees are recognized for their outstanding
achievements and contributions to psy-
chology Her work stood out in a
crowded and impressive group and was
described as exemplifying excellence in
prevention science and practice according
to the APA section Espelage has also
been appointed Edward William Gutgsell
amp Jane Marr Gutgsell Endowed Professor
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign We were thrilled to welcome
Espelage back to campus in May when she
delivered the commencement address at
the diploma ceremony for Psychology
graduates
Adam Joseph Prus (PhD lsquo04) is an associ-
ate professor in the Department of Psy-
chology at Northern Michigan University
He recently published the book ldquoAn Intro-
duction to Drugs and the Neuroscience of
Behaviorrdquo Joe Porter PhD professor of
biospsychology at VCU
will be using this very
book for spring 2014
when he teaches the
new undergraduate course
ldquoPsychopharmacology Drugs and Behav-
iorrdquo
Jeffrey Holder (BS lsquo05) is currently work-
ing as a BPMSix Sigma Black Belt Consult-
ant for a local company based in Rich-
mond BPM means business process man-
agement and Six Sigma is improvement
and project management work Over the
past two years he has traveled to Jamaica
Prague and Belgium and has discovered a
great affinity for Eastern Europe and WWII
history He says he has ldquohellipa small coffee
disorder in that he has to have itrdquo and
misses the college environment and the
academic level of discourse
Melinda Moore (PhD rsquo07) has started her
own company Spectrum Transformation
Group The company is a Richmond-based
behavioral health organization offering
intensive one-on-one treatment services
for children with autism and related neu-
rodevelopmental disorders
Ian Wallace (MS lsquo06 PhD lsquo09) recently
started a new position as a counseling psy-
chologist in Counseling and Psychological
Services at The California Maritime Acade-
my (a California State University campus)
located in Vallejo Calif He and his wife
Claire welcomed their second son Miles
to the family in July
Raymond Tademy (BS lsquo03 MS lsquo07 PhD
lsquo10) finished his three-year postdoctoral
fellowship with our department in the
Center for Cultural Experiences in Preven-
tion and is now working as an assistant
professor in the Department of Psychology
at Norfolk State University He says he is
enjoying this wonderful new personal and
professional challenge and expresses
thanks to our department for preparing
him so well for the teaching research
community service and advising aspects of
his new position Tademy has wasted no
time jumping right into things at Norfolk
State and is already part of several depart-
ment and university committees
Lindsey Dorflinger (MS lsquo09 PhD lsquo11)
recently accepted a position at the Con-
necticut VA Health Care System in
West Haven as health behavior coordina-
tor She says she is having a blast working
alongside VCU postdoctoral fellows Leila
Islam (MS lsquo03 PhD rsquo13) and Aaron Mar-
tin (PhD rsquo13) In this new position she
will get to participate in a wide range of
activities including individual and group
interventions for health behavior change
research training physicians and other
medical providers and program develop-
ment and evaluation She is also part of
the clinical health psychology training pro-
gram which she particularly loves and
where she gets to work with Aaron Leila
and the other health psychology trainees
It is a busy and exciting time for KC Con-
ley (MS rsquo09 PhD rsquo12 ) She completed
her internship at the New Jersey VA in Au-
gust 2012 and her postdoctoral fellowship
in college mental health at Pace University
in August 2013 She is happy to report
Alumni News and Notes
Adam Prus PhD holding his
new book ldquoAn Introduction
to Drugs and the Neurosci-
ence of Behaviorrdquo
VCU Alumni travel 2014 opportunities Panama Canal 100th Anniversary cruise Jan 4-12
Tahitian Jewels Jan 15-25
Asian Explorations Feb 20-March 10
Tanzania Safari During Great Migration March 3-13
Lesser Antilles cruise March 10-17
Southern Culture amp The Civil War paddlewheel cruise March 28-April 6
Passage to India April 2-15
Historic Reflections Mediterranean cruise April 20-May 1
Italyrsquos Lake District May 13-21
Mediterranean Grandeur May 15-26
Oxford England May 17-25
Mediterranean Antiquities May 21-29
The Great Rivers of Europe June 7-22
National Parks amp Lodges of the Old West June 28-July 7
Canadian Rockies Parks amp Resorts July 17-23
Adriatic Antiquities cruise June 26-July 9
Iceland to Greenland cruise Aug 2-14
Discover Switzerland Aug 6-21
Russia Revealed Moscow to Petersburg river cruise Aug 21ndashSept 5hellip (see more)
having passed the Examination for the
Professional Practice in Psychology in May
and receiving her New York license this
September Conley recently accepted a
staff psychologist position at the Center
for Motivation and Change where she will
be treating individuals who have problems
with substance use andor compulsive
behaviors She just celebrated her one
year wedding anniversary and is happily
living in Brooklyn NY
Shannon Hourigan (MS lsquo09 PhD lsquo12)
completed her postdoctoral fellowship at
Boston Childrens Hospital at the end of
August and then accepted a position in
the Division of Psychology Department of
Psychiatry as a full time attending psy-
chologist working in the Optimal Weight
for Life Program part of the New Balance
Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at
BCH She also has an academic appoint-
ment at Harvard Medical School as an in-
structor in psychology in the Department
of Psychiatry
Half of her time is spent doing clinical re-
search and she is currently working on an
exciting interdisciplinary collaborationmdasha
combined behavior and nutrition inter-
vention pilot using a telehealth approach
to reach families and served by an excel-
lent community pediatrics practice with
whom her program is partnering As the
only psychologist on the team she de-
signed and has been implementing the
behavioral intervention Her work on this
project has been significantly informed by
the ADAPT study and Chorpitas modular
approach
The other research project in the works is
a secondary prevention study with a local
pediatrics practice for toddler children to
provide anticipatory guidance to parents
regarding behavioral issues around feed-
ing to facilitate development of healthful
eating This has been partially informed
by her dissertation as well as her work
with the New Balance Foundation Obesity
Prevention Center She and the Center
are planning to submit an R21 and hoping
to collaborate with the Brazleton Institute
In addition to her clinical work she has
been tasked with developing the behav-
ioral medicine curriculum for the clinic
In Memoriam
James E Conner PhD (BS rsquo49) of Ra-
leigh NC Jan 4 2013 at age 88
Maria Devens (MS rsquo93 PhD rsquo96) of Chi-
cago April 10 2013 at age 46
Robin B Bunster (BS rsquo99) of Lake
Oswego Ore April 20 2013 at age 45
We want to hear
from you too
Click HERE and give us your update
to feature in the next issue
Jasmine Abrams MS a
doctoral student in
the health psychology
program is the 2013 re-
cipient of the Psychology
of Black Graduate Stu-
dent Women Award for
her manuscript entitled
Demystification of the lsquoStrong Black
Womanrsquordquo Abrams was honored during
the Division 35 Section 1 awards ceremo-
ny at the 2013 American Psychological
Association convention in Hawaii
Faye Belgrave PhD
professor of social psy-
chology and director of
the Center for Cultural
Experiences in Preven-
tion will serve as the fac-
ulty fellow for advancing
diverse faculty in research
in VCUrsquos Division for Inclusive Excellence
In this role she will be responsible for
providing seminars consultation and pro-
fessional development to support diverse
faculty in sponsored research
Mary Beth Heller PhD
will serve the department
as interim director of the
Center for Psychological
Services and Develop-
ment Her appointment
follows the departure of
Leticia Flores PhD Flores
is the new associate director of University
of Tennesseersquos Psychological Clinic
Wendy Kliewer PhD
professor of developmen-
tal psychology and de-
partment chair and Jo
Lynne Robins PhD as-
sistant professor in the
VCU School of Nursing
have been awarded a VCU Presidential
Research Quest Award for Project HEART
Their study will examine the impact of
stress on the physical body for mothers of
teenagers in underserved communities in
the Richmond area and its surrounding
communities Also the study will examine
relationships between stress and resilien-
cy on heart health in adolescents and
mothers living in underserved communi-
ties Read more about this important in-
terdisciplinary effort at improved commu-
nity engagement and health
Joshua Langberg PhD
assistant professor in the
clinical psychology pro-
gram received a $24
million grant from the
Institute of Educational
Sciences for the project
ldquoEfficacy of an Organiza-
tional Skills Intervention for Middle School
Students with ADHD The four-year grant
will be used to compare two different
types of school-based interventions for
improving the academic performance of
middle school-age students with ADHD
Read more about it
Micah McCreary PhD
associate professor in the
counseling psychology
program led a group of
seven students and one
kindergarten teacher to
the ravaged island of Haiti
as part of the VCU service-
learning Haitian Empowerment Program
between science and religion Read the
news release from VCU News
VCU recently made a promotional video
highlighting four facultystudent research
partnerships and discussing some of the
benefits of participating in research and
what students need to
know to ensure a success-
ful experience Joe Por-
ter PhD professor of
biopsychology and his
undergraduate student
Brian Joseph were fea-
tured Watch the video
Bruce Rybarczyk PhD
director of clinical training
for our clinical program
and newly promoted pro-
fessor of clinical psycholo-
gy was recently featured
in an article in the maga-
zine ldquoVirginia Livingrdquo for his expertise in
the study and treatment of insomnia
Read the article
Third year doctoral stu-
dent in the health psy-
chology program Daniel
Snipes MS recently
learned that his first au-
thor publication (co-
authored by Eric Be-
notsch PhD) entitled High-
risk cocktails and high-risk sex Examining
the relation between alcohol mixed with
energy drink consumption sexual behav-
ior and drug use in college students was
the second most downloaded article in the
journal Addictive Behaviors for the month
of August Read the abstract
Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD professor
in the clinical psychology
program director of
graduate studies and co-
director of the Anxiety
Clinic at the Center for
Psychological Services
and Development was recently called up-
on to address the management of the
Department News and Updates
Kliewer
McCreary
Porter
Langberg
Southam-Gerow
Rybarczyk
Belgrave
Snipes
Abrams
Heller
Hulsey Van Tongeren Green
anxiety children sometimes feel about go-
ing back to school in the fall Read the
VCU News QampA Another bit of good
news for Southam-Gerow is his recent
promotion from associate professor to full
professor
Everett Worthington
PhD director of clinical
training in the counseling
psychology program was
nominated for the pres-
tigious Joseph B and To-
by Gittler Prize The
$25000 prize includes a medal and a lec-
ture at Brandeis University by the recipi-
ent The awardee must have produced a
body of published work that reflects schol-
arly excellence and a lasting contribution
to racial ethnic andor religious relations
anywhere in the world
Worthington has also been featured in
several media and print outlets recently
For example an article he wrote on forgiv-
ing the man who murdered his mother
appeared in Septemberrsquos issue of Christi-
anity Today the largest popular magazine
in American Christianity He was also
quoted as an expert in forgiveness in a
recent online article regarding the ordeal
of Ariel Castro and the three women he
held as captives in his Cleveland base-
ment
In addition Worthington has published a
new book ldquoMoving Forward Six Steps to
Forgiving Yourself and Breaking Free from
the Pastrdquo that was featured in a VCU
news article Read an excerpt
Linda Zyzniewski PhD associate profes-
sor of social psychology director of under-
graduate studies and deanrsquos fellow for the
College of Humanities and Sciences is
president-elect of VCUrsquos chapter of Phi
Kappa Phi Her term will
be for the 2014-15
school year ΦΚΦ faculty
have made significant
contributions to ad-
vancement of knowledge
and understanding
through research publication profession-
al innovation or artistic creativity sus-
tained excellence in teaching achieve-
ments transcending customary levels of
service in academic or professional socie-
ties of national scope recognition by other
major honor societies special honors and
awards and significant leadership in the
VCU academic community
Congratulations to the
recipients of this yearrsquos
annual department fac-
ulty awards for excel-
lence The Outstanding
Service Award was given
to Barbara Myers
PhD for sustained ex-
cellence in service to her community uni-
versity College department and field
Myers has been instrumental in establish-
ing and maintaining VCUrsquos community
partnership with Richmond City Jails
The winner of this yearrsquos Outstanding
Scholarship Award goes to Joshua Lang-
berg PhD Langberg is a strong ADHD
researcher who continues to publish high
impact findings and obtain substantial
grant funding for his work
Finally we would like to recognize Micah
McCreary PhD as this yearrsquos winner of
the Outstanding Teaching Award
McCreary continues to be one of the high-
est student-rated instructors in our de-
partment He provided an excellent ser-
vice learning opportunity for our students
this summer in Haiti
Support Staff Updates
Jennifer Elswick Direc-
tor for Strategic Initia-
tives and Assistant to
Chair was appointed to
serve as one of two in-
augural staff members
on the VCU Academic
Affairs Committee She
was also featured in a recent article in the
College of Humanities and Sciences news-
letter
Stephanie Hart MBA
CRA service center di-
rector of operations par-
ticipated in the National
Council of University Re-
search Administrators
Financial Research Ad-
ministration Workshop The
two and a half day workshop focused pri-
marily on the financial aspects of research
administration and provided an in-depth
look at financial compliance issues
through a combination of lecture case
studies review of federal audit reports
and a discussion of best practices
Yin Huang grants manag-
er just completed the
three-credit course Busi-
ness Statistics to supple-
ment the knowledge base
for her position
Diana Pauley executive
secretary received a Spot Award for Day-
to-Day Excellence for her persistence in
getting Williams House a new roof
Department News and Updates
Worthington
Elswick
Zyzniewski
Myers
Hart
Kurt Crandall PhD is a licensed clinical
psychologist who joined our faculty this
fall Crandall received his PhD in clinical
psychology from the University of Kansas
with a specialty in health psychology He
interned at the Veterans Affairs Medical
Center in Washington DC where he
worked in psychiatric triage counseled pa-
tients with chronic pain and conducted
group therapy for veterans who were en-
rolled in a partial hospitalization program
Following his internship year he spent
three years as an assistant professor in the
Department of Psychology at Wesleyan Col-
lege in Macon Georgia From there Cran-
dall left academia and returned to clinical
work to complete a postdoctoral fellowship
with an emphasis on couples and family
therapy at a community mental health cen-
ter in Chicago After his postdoctoral expe-
rience he worked as a staff psychologist in
the Primary Care Clinic at the VA Hospital in
Seattle
Upon his move back to the east coast Cran-
dall returned to academia and joined the
psychology faculty at Longwood University
For the past several years he has also been
employed as a psychologist in a private
practice here in Richmond Crandall prac-
tices as a cognitive behavioral therapist and
is trained to work with adults His clinical
areas of interest and experience include
promoting health through behavioral
change treating mood and anxiety disor-
ders helping clients cope with physical ill-
ness and disease facilitating stress manage-
ment and counseling couples His general
research interests are in the areas of health
psychology and positive psychology More
specifically he is interested in the effect
positive frames of thinking (eg hope opti-
mism forgiveness) may have on onersquos phys-
ical and emotional health
Zewelanji Serpell PhD joined our depart-
ment this fall as an associate professor in
the developmental program Before VCU
she was an associate professor in the psy-
chology department at Virginia State Uni-
versity Prior to that Serpell held a re-
search faculty position at James Madison
University and served as the associate di-
rector of the Alvin V Baird Attention and
Learning Disabilities Center She has also
held research positions at the Research Tri-
angle Institute-International the Eunice
Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development Study of
Early Childcare the American Association
for Colleges of Teacher Education and the
Center for Research on Children Placed At-
Risk
Serpellrsquos principle research interest is har-
nessing advances in cognitive science to
develop interventions that target executive
functions Translation is a particular goal of
her work which often takes the form of a
series of iterative small-N lab studies to in-
dividualize or perfect the design of inter-
ventions followed by often challenging
attempts to implement these interventions
in the real world of schools
Serpell currently has three active projects
In collaboration with former department
assistant professor Michelle Ellefson PhD
and Teresa Parr (BS lsquo93 MS lsquo95 PhD
lsquo99) the first project explores whether the
mental activities associated with playing
chess improve executive function and aca-
demic outcomes in elementary school stu-
dents The second and third projects are
funded by the National Science Foundation
and conducted in collaboration with col-
leagues from Virginia State University and
University of California San Diego These
projects involve testing the efficacy of com-
mercially available ldquobrain trainingrdquo pro-
grams with African American students and
examining the role of non-cognitive factors
specifically motivation and affect in cogni-
tive training contexts
Serpell was born and raised in Zambia and
reports having family all over the world
She received her bachelorrsquos degree in psy-
chology from Clark University in Worcester
Mass and her masterrsquos degree and PhD in
developmental psychology from Howard
University in Washington DC In her spare
time Serpell enjoys reading novels cooking
vegetarian meals and swimming with her
two sons She says she came to VCU for the
research opportunitiesmdashnew faculty collab-
orations working with VCUrsquos diverse stu-
dent body and getting involved with efforts
to improve outcomes for K-12 students
attending urban public schools
Meet our New Faculty Members
Zewelanji Serpell PhD
Kurt Crandall PhD
An affable psychology professor with a tidy office Dr Albert D Farrell warmly greets visi-tors to the West Franklin Street space that houses the Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth De-velopment The institute serves as a hub for studies led by Dr Farrell its director and one of the na-tionrsquos leading research scientists on risk and protective factors associated with problem behaviors during adolescence He began his academic career at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1980 as an assis-tant professor with the goal of ldquoworking with students who are involved in and excited about researchrdquo In 1992 he joined an effort that dramatically shaped the rest of his career It began with evaluating a Richmond youth violence prevention program Since then Dr Farrell has received nearly $16 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue re-searching youth violence including developing and evaluating a middle school program Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways which was designed to reduce violence by promoting positive problem-solving skills Grants totaling $26 million have supported his research which has been cited more than 1500 times and as often as 100 times annually in recent years Dr Farrellrsquos work has been continuously funded by the CDC for 21 straight years ldquoHis empirically supported model for youth violence prevention is considered the gold standard by psychologistsrdquo writes Dr James Coleman dean of the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences In 2005 the Clark-Hill Institute was selected by the CDC as one of eight Academic Centers of Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention and received $43 million in funding over five years Five years later VCU edged out Johns Hopkins Harvard Columbia and the University of California Berkley among others for a second round of funding securing $65 million to run the institute through September 2015 ldquoIrsquom really proud we were able accomplish thatrdquo Dr Farrell says ldquoWe competed extremely well against elite institutions with considerable resourcesrdquo For one CDC-funded project Dr Farrell collaborated on the Multisite Youth Violence Prevention Project with researchers from Duke University the University of Georgia and the University of Illinois at Chicago He developed most key aspects of the study according to Dr Thomas Simon deputy associate director for science in the CDCrsquos division of violence prevention ldquoDr Farrell has a gift for bringing together diverse opinions and identifying a path that utilizes the best science and practice principlesrdquo Dr Simon writes He uses that same quality in the classroom where he continues to teach the ldquoResearch Methods in Clinical Psychologyrdquo course he created 32 years ago Dr Farrell describes his role as more facilitator than teacher as he works to get students thinking about problems instead of looking to him for answers Dr Monique Vulin Reynolds a former student describes his class as one of the most useful and enjoyable she took at VCU ldquoHis own passion and dedication to the subject matter was what made the difference in keeping us absorbed and working hard to meet his expectationsrdquo she writes He earns near-perfect ratings on student evaluations according to Dr Wendy Kliewer chair of the psychology department Thatrsquos an unparalleled feat she writes especially since he taught a graduate statistics course she says both students and faculty shy away from Dr Scott Vrana a VCU psychology professor notes that one thing is missing from Dr Farrellrsquos resume mdash that he pours ldquothousands of hours into promoting and advancing the careers of other faculty members graduate students and postdoctoral fel-lowsrdquo His record does reflect some of that time Dr Farrell has chaired advisory committees for 30 masterrsquos theses and 22 doctoral dissertations Students and faculty describe him as a mentor who is approachable open and supportive and who always makes time for others no matter his schedule In reflecting on his career at VCU Dr Farrell says the way its pieces ended up fitting together seems sensible Its specific course however was strongly shaped by opportunities that presented themselves along the way Being at VCU provided advantages over other universities he worked with on youth violence prevention research he says mdash chiefly the lack of barriers between VCU and the community because most Richmonders are connected to VCU in some way While he has no imminent plans for retirement Dr Farrell says he hopes that he will be remembered as the first director of the Clark-Hill Institute as it continues making important strides in youth violence prevention ldquoWe are so totally aligned with VCUrsquos Quest for Distinctionrdquo he says ldquoWersquore interdisciplinary and well---positioned to really expand We have tremendous potentialrdquo
Recipient of the University Award of Excellence
Albert Farrell PhD
Picture and article courtesy of VCU University Relations
Graduate students in the clinical and
counseling psychology doctoral pro-
grams have completed a series of studies
under the mentorship of Bruce
Rybarczyk PhD (lsquo89 clinical program
graduate professor of clinical psycholo-
gy and director of clinical training) mak-
ing substantial contributions to advanc-
ing the treatment of insomnia in individ-
uals with co-morbid psychiatric condi-
tions Three of those studies were fea-
tured in a special issue of the Journal of
Clinical Psychology Two of the studies
were intervention studies with individu-
als with psychiatric diagnoses The first
was a dissertation by Nile Wagley PhD
(rsquo10 counseling program) providing cog-
nitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to pa-
tients undergoing treatment at the VCU
Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic These pa-
tients were receiving treatment for an
average of 36 years and continued to
have insomnia symptoms in spite of their
psychiatric care Two sessions of CBT for
insomnia including one conducted via
telephone were effective in improving
sleep and reducing depressive symp-
toms Among the twenty patients who
participated in treatment 38 were able
to achieve normal sleep eight weeks
after the start of treatment relative to
none in the control group A second dis-
sertation study at the same clinic em-
ploying a large group of patients all of
whom were dependent on hypnotic
medication for managing their insomnia
and a longer format of treatment was
recently completed by sixth year clinical
psychology graduate student Hannah
Lund It also obtained encouraging re-
sults that will be written up for publica-
tion in the near future
A second intervention study targeting
recent veterans with Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) conducted by
Skye Margolies PhD (rsquo11 clinical pro-
gram) was also featured in the special
issue This dissertation study tested four
sessions of CBT-I and an optional supple-
mentary treatment for nightmares
(imagery rehearsal therapy) with forty
combat veterans (mean age 377 years)
who served in Afghanistan andor Iraq a
group that has experienced high levels of
both PTSD and insomnia The treatment
sessions were provided at the McGuire
Veterans Administration Hospital in Rich-
mond The treatment led to significant
improvements in self-reported and ob-
jectively measured sleep a reduction in
PTSD symptom severity and PTSD-
related nighttime symptoms and a re-
duction in depression and distressed
mood compared to the waitlist control
group This study was replicated by Lau-
rin Mack PhD (rsquo13 clinical program)
Her study provided a classroom CBT in-
tervention to a wide array of veterans as
a follow-up supplement to a recently
completed a psycho-educational course
on coping with PTSD This study replicat-
ed the earlier findings of improved sleep
although it did not obtain the same re-
sult for reductions in PTSD symptoms
possibly related to the fact that many of
VCU Students Faculty and
Alumni Contribute to
Advancing the Treatment of
Insomnia Bruce Rybarczyk PhD
the participants had PTSD for several
decades rather than several years Both
Margolies and Mack were funded by
prestigious Rehabilitation Research Fel-
lowship awards for over $61000 com-
bined from the Department of Veteran
Affairs
CBT for insomnia was developed by a
group of pioneering researchers begin-
ning twenty-five years ago VCU Psychol-
ogy and Psychiatry has a long history
with this pioneering work One of the
most prolific researchers in this area
Jack Edinger PhD (rsquo78) is an alumnus of
the clinical psychology program and an-
other prominent researcher Charles
Morin PhD was a faculty member at
VCU While here Morin conducted one
of the first randomized clinical trials
showing that CBT was superior to hyp-
notic sleep medications CBT has several
treatment components including an ini-
tial reduction in sleep to increase sleep
drive and retrain normal sleep as well as
a method for eliminating time spent in
bed while awake to weaken the associa-
tion between being in bed and having
anxiety about not falling asleep The
treatment also includes education in the
science of
sleep in order
to provide the
patient with an
ldquoownerrsquos man-
ualrdquo for their
sleep system
These studies
contribute to
growing evi-
dence that CBT
for insomnia is
a treatment
that should be
offered to all
mental health
patients as a
supplement to
other treatments they are receiving that
are targeting the primary mental health
diagnosis Not only is sleep substantially
improved as a result of these interven-
tions but other mental health symptoms
are alleviated as a consequence of im-
proved sleep Additionally there are no
side effects treatment is brief the bene-
fits are sustained over time and the cost
is limited especially when employing self
-help materials The challenge that lies
ahead is training more clinicians to deliv-
er this brief treatment and getting the
word is out to health professionals and
the public that this should be a first line
treatment for persistent insomnia Alt-
hough a 2005 National Institutes of
Health expert panel recommended that
CBT be offered to all chronic insomnia
sufferers before prescribing a medica-
tion there has been very limited pro-
gress in dissemination thus far This is
due to the public and professional bias
towards the use of medications and the
lack of awareness of this newer treat-
ment approach To address the science-
practice gap future research by
Rybarczyk and colleagues will test a
ldquostepped carerdquo approach to delivering
CBT in primary care using varied levels
of treatment intensity and different
methods of delivery including the Inter-
net This stepped care approach will be
tested in primary care offices The con-
cept was detailed in a 2011 publication
by Mack and Rybarczyk
Although there are less than two hun-
dred clinical psychologists who are ex-
perts and researchers in CBT for insom-
nia a remarkable number of them are
VCU clinical psychology alumni In addi-
tion to Edinger and Rybarczyk Jason
Ong PhD (rsquo04 clinical program) is
board certified in behavioral sleep medi-
cine and is a prominent insomnia re-
searcher at Rush University Medical Cen-
ter in Chicago Don Townsend PhD
(rsquo99 clinical program) is a board certified
sleep clinician at the Fairview Sleep Cen-
ter in Minnesota and Kevin Smith PhD
(rsquo04 clinical program) is an assistant pro-
fessor of pediatrics at the University of
Missouri-Kansas City and is board certi-
fied in behavioral sleep medicine VCU
alumni are likely to have an even larger
impact on the growing field of behavioral
sleep medicine in the future as all four
of the recent graduates who conducted
the research
described
above are con-
tinuing to work
in this field
VCU faculty contributors to the studies de-scribed above include Drs Steve Danish David Leszczyszyn John Lynch (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo89) Tim Nay and Scott Vra-na
Bruce Rybarczyk PhD and Denise Borden MD discuss a patientrsquos care in VCUrsquos Primary Care Clinic
Over the past year the news has been filled with ongoing
legislative disputes in Washington Terms like fiscal cliff
debt ceiling and sequestration have become part of our vo-
cabulary With myriad predictions being made it can be
hard to decipher what impact recent government actions
could have here in our department
There are several recent government actions that could sub-
stantially influence research activity in Psychology The
first is known as sequestration or the ldquofiscal cliffrdquo This
was a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011 which im-
posed across-the-board cuts to defense and discretionary
programs in the event that Congress could not reach a com-
promise on the federal budget The Act was supposed to
motivate Congress to reach a solution as no one wanted or
expected to see sequestration implemented Unfortunately
Congress failed to reach a compromise and sequestration
went into effect on March 1 2013
Sequestration resulted in substantial budget cuts to our ma-
jor federal funders The National Institutes for Health Psy-
chologyrsquos largest funding source lost 5 of its total budget
amounting to $155 billion Since these were across-the-
board cuts no area of health research was spared As a
result we have received fewer new awards and our contin-
uing awards have been reduced VCU President Michael
Rao estimated in February that VCUrsquos grant portfolio could
see reductions of $12-$21 million by September 2013 as a
direct result of sequestration Luckily we have not seen
this dire outcome just yetmdashVCUrsquos grant award portfolio
showed excellent performance in fiscal year 2013mdashbut that
does not mean that effects will not be felt later
For example at the department level fewer new grant
awards could result in a lack of replacement funding for
projects slated to end soon Individuals paid from those
projects would likely be laid off if no source of new fund-
ing could be found Reduced budgets for continuing pro-
jects could result in cuts to the number of people a given
project could support Sequestration will also make it hard-
er for new faculty to get their first grants as grant programs
become increasingly competitive This in turn makes it
harder for them to support graduate students and postdoc-
toral associates There could also be an impact on federally
funded fellowships scholarships and student aid The fed-
eral work-study program for example could lose up to $50
million dollars as a result of sequestration That represents
a substantial number of students who would have to find
other sources of income
As if that were not enough sequestration is only one piece
of the puzzle Other government actions have the potential
to compound the impacts One such action is the Afforda-
ble Care Act otherwise known as ldquoObamacarerdquo Aside
from the obvious controversy the ACA has had some unin-
tended consequences In Virginia it resulted in the Man-
power Control Act or the 29-Hour Rule This law limits
part-time and hourly employees to a total of 29 hours per
week This has resulted in loss of income for students and
other part-time employees some of whom have historically
held multiple jobs at the university Multiple university
jobs are no longer allowed under the Manpower Control
Act In addition since the rule applies to adjunct faculty
too it has resulted in a reduction in the number of credit
hours they can teach This means an additional burden on
the already overloaded full-time faculty who must make up
The Impact of Recent US Government Actions on the
Departmentrsquos Research Mission
Brigette S Pfister MHRD CRA
Page 9
the shortfall in credit hours taught in addition to their ex-
isting responsibilitiesmdashlike grant writing This could fur-
ther depress our new award activity over the next few
years
The recent government shutdown adds another dimension
of complexity The government shutdown was brought
about by circumstances similar to those of sequestration
Once again legislators needed to compromise on the feder-
al budget in order to avert disaster This time the point of
contention was the Affordable Care Act Republicans
wanted to defund the ACA as a condition of passing the
Continuing Resolution that would keep the government
operational Democrats refused to approve any bill that
attempted to defund or otherwise nullify the ACA Once
again no compromise was reached and the government
shutdown took effect on October 1 2013
Immediately many federal systems were taken of-
fline We could not submit new proposals progress reports
or even establish new accounts Awards already delayed
and reduced by sequestration stopped altogether for the
duration of the shutdown Though there is widespread
conjecture on the subject no one really knows what the
long term impact will be on university research
During the shutdown work on existing projects was al-
lowed to continue provided that funding had already been
made available However we were unable to draw down
funds from the federal government In other words if we
didnrsquot already have it then we couldnrsquot spend it If the
shutdown had gone on longer even existing projects would
have probably had to lay off grant funded personnel and in
some cases completely stop work Also the government
doesnrsquot process passports and visas during the shutdown
so projects that depend on foreign travel were held up con-
siderably
The situation could worsen if Congress fails to devise a
workable long-term solution when the current debt ceiling
expires on February 7 If there is failure to compromise
the United States could default on our national debt There
is no clear picture of what the impacts of that would be but
we know they would not be positive
Since our overall grant portfolio at VCU did not appear to
suffer in fiscal year 2013 it might be tempting to disregard
some of the more dire warnings However it is important
to recognize that incoming awards are based on proposals
submitted in fiscal year 2012 or earlier so many of those
funding decisions were made prior to the most current cri-
sis We probably wont see the true impact of all of the
above until fiscal year 2014 or thereafter At minimum
the cessation of all proposal activity during the shutdown
will result in delayed resumption of award activity in addi-
tion to the delays and budget cuts already happening be-
cause of sequestration This will likely cause our total
awarded dollars to decrease over the next few years
Overall the impact on VCU research may not be disas-
trous but at the department level grant projects and the
individuals working on those projects could suffer signifi-
cant impact from the cumulative effects
Brigette S Pfister is director of sponsored programs for the
College of Humanities and Sciences at VCU
Dome United States Capitol Washington DC
Architect of the Capitol
Adriana Rodriguez graduated from the
University of California Berkeley in 2008
with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and
a minor in ethnic studies Following grad-
uation Rodriguez obtained a research as-
sistant position with Bruce Chorpita
PhD at UCLA helping to advance the
effectiveness of mental health treatment
for children and adolescents Her work
with Chorpita further solidified her aspira-
tion to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical
psychology working specifically with racial
andor ethnic minority youth
Rodriguez joined the Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD research laboratory as a
doctoral student in clinical psychology in
the fall of 2010 When asked why Rodri-
guez decided to attend VCU she stated
that she felt inspired and motivated by the
energy and innovation that Southam-
Gerow brings to the field of psychology
ldquoIt was the best decision I could have
maderdquo
In reflecting on her experience at VCU
Rodriguez is struck by how collaborative
the department in general and her lab in
particular are Her research interests lie
broadly in the dissemination and imple-
mentation of mental health treatment for
children and adolescents She is also in-
terested in cultural and linguistic adapta-
tions of assessments to minority popula-
tions in real-world clinic settings Recent-
ly Rodriguez was able to collaborate with
Rosalie Corona PhD of the clinical psy-
chology program whose work focuses on
health promotion and risk reduction
among ethnic minority populations In
working with Latina college students Ro-
driguez notes ldquoI understand the difficul-
ties that this population is facing from a
policy perspective and also through my
personal experiencehellip I was that kid who
didnrsquot have enough money for the bus
farerdquo
Born to a working-class Mexican family
Rodriguez is the first to receive a college
education let alone pursue a graduate
degree Her work is driven in part by a
desire to empower her family and culture
while forging her own identity
When asked about career aspirations she
responds ldquoI want to keep goinghellip go as far
as I canrdquo Rodriguez is molding herself for
a research position in academia where she
would ideally like to serve at the public
policy level of mental health treatment
dissemination and implementation
In her spare time she enjoys running long
distances around Richmondrsquos Byrd Park
and Brownrsquos Island She also spends time
drawing particularly individuals with pro-
nounced facial expressions Rodriguez
jokes that this interest probably stems
from all the time she has spent coding vid-
eotapes in the Southam-Gerow lab
Graduate Student Spotlight
Adriana Rodriguez MS Clinical Psychology program
The Global Bridges Project is a community engaged research pro-ject directed by Maghboeba Mosavel PhD of VCUrsquos Department of Social and Behavioral Health School of Medicine This summer Mosavel led a small team of six students to the University of Kwa-Zulu-Natalmdasha VCU international partner universitymdashin Durban South Africa to conduct community engaged research in the Ken-neth Gardens public housing community in Durban Jasmine Abrams and Morgan Maxwell were two of those students A third student Carrie Miller is a second year master of public health student who has previously worked for the Department of Psychol-ogy as project coordinator for Clarissa Holmes PhD Abrams and Maxwell chronicled their work in Durban on this blog httpbuilding-global-bridgesblogspotcom Itrsquos a great read
Submitted by Annie Rabinovitz doctoral
student in the clinical psychology program
Abrams Maxwell
Linda A Mensah-Etsi (see front cover) a
junior psychology major is a recent recipi-
ent of the Melvin V Lubman Scholarship
in Psychology The Melvin V Lubman
Scholarship was established by Mrs Golde
Lubman Feldman to honor her husbandrsquos
dedication and service as a professor in
the Department of Psychology Mensah-
Etsi reports that the scholarship will help
her greatly with her tuition and fees
When asked why she chose psychology as
a major Mensah-Etsi said that she is curi-
ous about many things and psychology
was the one subject that kept her interest
piqued at all times She said ldquoI like how I
can always be surprised by all the different
topics covered under psychology alonerdquo
Surely her constant interest is in part due
to her two ldquoall-time favoriterdquo classesmdash
Statistical Applications in the Psychology
Field with Linda Zyzniewski PhD and
Abnormal Psychology with adjunct profes-
sor Jessica Brown Mensah-Etsi picked
these as her favorites because she likes
the mathematical focus of statistics and
admitted to having an ldquoobsessionrdquo with
mental illnesses
Continuing her love for the subject Men-
sah-Etsi has decided to further her skills by
applying for several internships through-
out the department After narrowing
down her choices for internships this fall
from three options she is excited to have
begun her new internship at VCUrsquos Clark
Hill Institute for Positive Youth
Development She says she chose this op-
portunity because ldquonot only is it in the
field in which I am currently interested
the internship will give me the opportunity
to learn a valuable coding skill that I might
eventually need to userdquo
A former volunteer elementary school
teachers aide she has a clear interest in
working with children and teens and
would like to pursue another volunteer
opportunity with the organization Stop
Child Abuse Now here in Richmond
With time on her side Mensah-Etsi cer-
tainly has plenty of opportunities to
change her career path She hopes she
can get a job with her degree or perhaps
continue on to graduate school and even
sees a career in research as a possibility
Ultimately though she is interested in
counseling young children or teens who
have experienced trauma Her goal is to
help kids ldquounderstand that at least one
person is on their side even if it seems that
they have to deal with it on their ownrdquo
One of the many interesting aspects of
this junior is that she is only 18 years old
She was a mere 16 years of age when she
first enrolled at VCU and proves daily that
age has nothing to do with capacity for
success A very hard worker when asked
about her free time Mensah-Etsi says she
has been very preoccupied with school-
work as well as with working two jobs
However she says working out at the gym
has been very close to a hobby for her
lately
When shersquos not in Richmond Mensah-Etsi
lives in Alexandria with her family We
asked her why she chose to settle in Rich-
mond and attend VCU and she jokingly
said it is because her two favorite colors
are black and yellow ldquoOn a serious noterdquo
she stated ldquoI just really fell in love with
the city when I visited so there was no
doubt in my mind that I wanted to attend
VCU I grew up in a city so this felt close
to homerdquo
A native of Togo in West Africa Mensah-
Etsi moved to the US in 2007 shortly be-
fore she turned 13 She says it wasnrsquot a
hard transition for her as she already
spoke French and Ewe (an ethnic lan-
guage) so English was quite easy to learn
by comparison She indeed misses the
spicy foods of Togo but also says that
while other people in Richmond may be
annoyed by the street sounds lights and
crooked sidewalks it makes her feel right
at home
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral stu-
dent in the health psychology program
Undergraduate Student Spotlight
Linda A Mensah-Etsi Class of lsquo15
Congratulations to David Rockman class of 2013 for receiving the Benjamin A Gilman Scholarship Rockman will receive $5000 to study in one country from four weeks to one academic year Named after retired Congressman Benjamin A Gilman from New York the programrsquos goal is to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go
This summer Paul Perrin PhD led six
VCU psychology doctoral students on a
month-long expedition to the University of
Deusto in Bilbao Spain to participate in a
research training program on racialethnic
disparities in health The trip was due in
large part to Perrinrsquos ongoing collabora-
tion with Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla
PhD a research professor in the Universi-
ty of Deustorsquos Department of Psychology
and former faculty member in VCUrsquos De-
partment of Physical Medicine and Reha-
bilitation Perrin and Arango-Lasprilla
spent the past year planning and coordi-
nating this unique opportunity for stu-
dents who worked with them on various
research projects meeting and collabo-
rating with researchers from all over the
world Among the group of 20 interna-
tional researchers contributing to and par-
ticipating in this training program were
psychology doctoral students Gillian Lei-
bach and Stephen Trapp of the counseling
program Sarah Doyle of the developmen-
tal program Shaina Gulin of the clinical
program and Alejandra Morlett Paredes
and Megan Sutter of the health program
The students worked with a team of inter-
national researchers spanning ten differ-
ent countries The purpose of the training
program was to teach students to conduct
health disparities research in an interna-
tional context and build collaborative
teams at various universities and rehabili-
tation facilities The specific focus was the
psychosocial functioning of individuals
from understudied global regions with
neurological conditions such as traumatic
brain injury dementia spinal cord injury
and multiple sclerosis Unpaid family care-
givers often provide the majority of the
informal care to individuals with these
conditions yet have very few resources in
order to meet their family and caregiving
needs Therefore a major goal of these
projects was to study the factors related
to mental and physical health of caregiv-
ers and to create culturally sensitive
health care recommendations for these
regions The team is accumulating evi-
dence for interventions that will improve
the quality of informal care for individuals
with neurological conditions in regions
such as Latin America where much of this
research is being conducted
Each of the VCU doctoral students had the
opportunity to take the lead on projects
studying the potential protective and risk
factors associated with caregiver mental
and physical health in either older adults
with dementia or in children with spinal
cord injuries and disorders They were
also able to propose potential future pro-
jects with existing data or completely new
data collections based in various under-
studied global regions such as in Neiva
Colombia Auckland New Zealand Copen-
hagen Denmark and Mexico City Mexico
among many others Perrin and the team
of international researchers offered a
number of seminars on advanced research
methods and statistics such as factor
analysis structural equation modeling
qualitative research methods meta-
analysis neuroimaging and scientific man-
uscript preparation
The
group
was able
to take
part in
many
cultural
experi-
ences
and enjoyed exploring the city of Bilbao
and the surrounding countryside and
beaches The researchers and students
spent most of their time in the countryrsquos
Basque region where they were able to
visit the iconic Guggenheim Museum of
modern and contemporary art innumera-
ble pintxo restaurants (a specialty of this
region similar to tapas) and a celebration
of Bilbaorsquos 713th anniversary
The group also traveled to many places
around the country including Bermeo and
San Sebastiaacuten which are located on the
Northern coast of Spain near the border of
France In Bermeo they made a trek to
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe a hermitage
that is accessed by hiking down a narrow
trail crossing a stone bridge and walking
up approximately 230 steps The group
felt the hike was definitely worth the
effort though andmdashas a legend in-
structsmdashgot to the peak rang a bell three
times and made three wishes Together
many of the researchers and students also
took a day trip to San Sebastiaacuten a coastal
town that rests on the Bay of Biscay fa-
mous for its renowned Basque food and
of course its shoreline They also got the
chance to venture to southern France and
Barcelona
Spotlight on International Research and Learning
Paul Perrin PhD
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student
in the health psychology program
ldquoA major goal of these
projects was to study the
factors related to mental
and physical health of
caregivers and to create
culturally sensitive health
care recommendations for
these regionsrdquo
ldquoI had a wonderful experience in Bilbao When I started graduate
school I certainly did not expect I would get to travel abroad to do
research It was a really unique opportunity getting to meet and work with well-known researchers from around the world Bilbao
is beautiful and I did quite a bit of exploring in and around the city
learning the areas rich cultural customs and history It is a good
feeling to know that our research has the potential to help im-prove the quality of life of patients with neurological conditions
and their caregiversrdquo
Shaina Gulin clinical psychology doctoral student
Back row [L to R] Javier Pentildea
(Spain) Hinemoa Elder (New Zea-
land) Nada Andelic (Norway)
Alfonso Caracuel (Spain) Hugo
Senra (Portugal) Stephen Trapp
(USA) Ivan Panyavin (Spain)
Anne Norup (Denmark) Charles
Hallmark (USA) Alejandra Morlett
(USA) Alexander Moreno
(Canada) Rociacuteo Del Pino Saacuteez
(Spain) Clara Isabel Gonzaacutelez
Berdugo (Spain) Maria Cristina
Quijano (Colombia) Yaneth Rodri-
guez (Mexico)
Front row [L to R] Juan Carlos
Arango-Lasprilla (Spain) Carlos de
los Reyes (Colombia) Megan
Sutter (USA) Sarah Doyle (USA)
Gillian Leibach (USA) Shaina Gulin
(USA) Naroa Ibarretxe (Spain)
Paul Perrin (USA)
Kristin Heron PhD from Penn State University visited the de-
partment early in the fall semester Heron is associate director
of the Dynamic Real-time Ecological Ambulatory Methodologies
Initiative at Penn States Survey Research Center In this posi-
tion she uses ecological momentary assessment and ecological
momentary intervention in her research focused on a range of
clinical health topics including eating behaviors body image
physical activity promotion and smoking cessation Ecological
momentary assessment broadly refers to the use of assess-
ments (eg questionnaires) that capture information about
people as they go about their daily lives in their natural environ-
ment (eg home) Ecological momentary intervention refers to
interventions or treat-
ments that are delivered
to individuals as they go
about their daily lives
Heron spent time training
students in Dr Robin
Everharts research lab on
ecological momentary
assessment for a pediatric
asthma study that will
allow families to use
smart phones as they re-
port on their childs asth-
ma care in real time
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
professor of psychology
at the University of Vir-
ginia presented a talk to
the department in Sep-
tember titled ldquoThe Psy-
chological Wealth of
Nationsrdquo
Here is the abstract
What is a good society
Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good
society is a happy society―namely a society in which most citi-
zens are happy and free from fear Since the publication of
ldquoThe Wealth of Nationsrdquo by Adam Smith in 1776 most econo-
mists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a material-
ly wealthy society Thus gross national product and related
indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of
nations from the 1950rsquos to date Recently however prominent
economists as well as political scientists sociologists and psy-
chologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materi-
ally wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust
one another have a sense of freedom and have close social re-
lationships The inquiry into the psychological wealth of na-
tions or the subjective well-being of nations helps answer a
fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for mil-
lennia lsquolsquoWhat is a good societyrsquo
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
Kristin Heron PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Benita Belvet
Jessica Brown
Suzzette Chopin
Lillian Christon Arnold
Ashley Dibble
Rebecca Hubbard
David Jennings
Nichole Kelly
Laurin Mack
Priscilla Powell
Molly Neff
Laura Slosky
Denicia Titchner
Stephanie Wolf
Bachelor of Science
Vanessa Agyeman
Hasen Alghamdi
Latessa Allums
Michael Amon
Sonja Ayers
Sweska Basnet
Kirstie Breland
Erica Brown
Ashley Callis
Jakwame Carey
Megan Cavanagh
Grace Charriez
Courtney Christian
Alicia Cook
Aldijana Cordic
Jonathan Cox
Mary Dean
Anne Fishback
Sherona Gardner
Andrew Gibbs
Myra Glorioso
Logan Gravitt
Lateisha Greene
Katelyn Gruber
Jamila Harris
Tiquana Hill
James Hovermale
Savonne Howard
Marshall Hunter
Kelley Hurdle
Arturo Iglesias
Lucas Keckley
Hira Khalid
Jamison Lancaster
Dana Larson
Russ Lawrence
Michele Mascatello
Rachel Mason
Tiffany Mayo
Natasha McCoy
Alexandra McDougall
Brandie Mckenzie
Xue Ju Meyer
Scott Misturini
Lindsay Mitchiner
Lea Moisa
Brooke Myers
Krislee Nelson
Paul Norton
Sierre Norton
Kristin Oravetz
Stephen Page
Ryan Pannell
Kevin Papile
Natalie Parks
Krishna Patel
Justin Payne
James Peacock
Quy Phan
Cecilia Presseau
Nathalie Rieder
Kylessia Ross
Faryal Shahid
Katelyn Sisk
Angel Slach
Indira Smajlagic
Natalie Taylor
Adrienne Tetreault
Brandon Tolbert
Tierraney Truss
James Vosti
Brenda Wei
Patrick Wiley
Alaysia Williams
Lyndsay Wilshaw
Christopher Wilson
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to
education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual
orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of Psychology
806 W Franklin St
PO Box 842018
Richmond VA 23284-2018
Phone 804-828-1193
Fax 804-828-2237
Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu
Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu
Virginia Commonwealth
University
Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology
A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine
Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from
bottom on far right
Tom Eissenberg PhD came to our de-
partment in 1997 and has not slowed
down since A professor of biopsychology
and health psychology Eissenberg re-
searches the addictive properties and
health effects of the use of alternative to-
bacco products such as electronic ciga-
rettesmdashsee exciting new grant announce-
ment on opposite page For the last ten
years Eissenberg and his collaborators
have also been studying the effects of wa-
terpipe or ldquohookahrdquo smoking
The origins of waterpipe smoking can be
traced back to the 1600rsquos in the Middle
East and India More recently hookah
smoking has become extremely popular in
the United States and continues to grow
among adolescents and young
adult populations Often used in
social settings such as in ldquohookah
barsrdquo waterpipe smoking is a
popular method of smoking to-
bacco (usually flavored) where
one puts charcoal on top of a per-
forated piece of aluminum foil
which is then placed on the head
of the hookahmdashsee diagram As
the smoker inhales through the
mouthpiece the water in the ba-
sin of the pipe cools the smoke
making the smoke milder and
more palatable than the smoke
from cigarettes
A common misconception and a leading
contributor to the increase in the popular-
ity of waterpipe smoking is the belief by
non-cigarette smokers that waterpipe
smoke is less dangerous than cigarette
smoke One of the goals of his research is
to determine whether or not there are
data to support these beliefs
Eissenberg and his team have assessed the
composition of waterpipe smoke what
compounds in the smoke make their way
into the smoker and what physiological
and subjective effects waterpipe smoke
has on the smoker
As part of this assessment the research
team has found that hookah smokers
often take relatively large puffs when
smokingmdashup to ten times larger than that
of the average cigarette puff Though an
average cigarette smoker will inhale 50 ml
of smoke per puff for example the hook-
ah smoker averages 500 ml of smoke per
puff (about one quarter of a two liter
bottle) During a typical 45-minute smok-
ing session waterpipe smokers will take
an average of 100 puffs and end up inhal-
ing 50000 ml of smoke Typical levels of
smoke inhalation from a smoking session
can range in quantity from 50 to 100 times
the amount of inhaled smoke than the
amount inhaled from a single cigarette
According to Eissenberg there is no rea-
son to believe waterpipe smoking is less
lethal than cigarette smoking or causes
less dependence Hookah smoke as it
turns out also contains high levels of toxic
compounds including tar carbon monox-
ide heavy metals and cancer-causing
chemicals (carcinogens) Because water-
pipe smokers inhale tobacco smoke along
with charcoal smoke the full inhalation
also contains higher levels of carbon mon-
oxide than does cigarette smoke
Another shared belief among many water-
pipe users is that the water somehow fil-
ters the smoke they inhale making it less
toxic than cigarette smoke Eissenberg
though says there is no evidence to sup-
port this claim He says that the levels of
nicotine carbon monoxide and other com-
pounds remain constant in the hookah
smoke both before and after the smoke
hits the water
Eissenberg also notes that dependency
can become a major problem ac-
companying waterpipe smoking
especially in places where the wa-
terpipe has a longer history of
use such as in the Middle East
Eissenberg and his colleagues
have worked on strengthening
their research methods by devel-
oping and validating a new tech-
nology ndash the real time smoke sam-
pler ndash which randomly samples
smoke content in the lab when
research participants are smoking
a waterpipe The tool can meas-
ure how many puffs are taken
how long the draws are how
Research Spotlight
Thomas Eissenberg PhD
much time elapses between puffs and the
speed at which the air is drawn from the
waterpipe He then takes the data and
sends them to his colleague Alan
Shihadeh PhD at the American Universi-
ty of Beirut in Lebanon From the data
Shihadeh can create an exact replica of
the smoking session all the way down to
the same tobacco This allows him to
measure the content of the smoke in a
noninvasive manner Upon validation of
the instrument the real time smoke sam-
pler was taken out of the lab setting into a
popular cafeacute in Beirut to gather data in a
more natural environment The composi-
tion of the smoke in the bar was found to
be consistent with similar measures taken
in the lab The next step in this line of in-
quiry will be to conduct the same research
in waterpipe bars in Richmond
In addition to conducting his own re-
search Eissenberg actively works to pro-
mote the responsible conduct of research
particularly with regard to interactions
between local Institutional Review Boards
and behavioral scientists His work in this
realm resulted in a recent invitation from
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the US
Department of Health and Human Services
to join the Secretarys Advisory Committee
on Human Research The purpose of the
committee is to advise the secretary on a
range of issues involving experimentation
with humans such as clinical trials re-
search with children deception in re-
search and consent and confidentiality in
Internet research
Furthermore Eissenberg is a member of
the US Food and Drug Administrationrsquos
tobacco product scientific advisory com-
mittee Because the FDA has been given
the authority to regulate tobacco products
in recent years the scientific advisory
committee was formed to keep the agency
abreast of the most current scientific re-
search findings on tobacco and tobacco
products
The next step for Eissenberg is to devote
his energies to the establishment and
management of the Center for the Study
of Tobacco Products (see news article be-
low) The Center will be a hub of scholar-
ship and training and will yield opportuni-
ties at VCU to generate more multi-
investigator funding in the future Its goal
is to better inform government agencies
through evidence-based research about
the regulation of tobacco and tobacco
products as pertinent legislation is consid-
ered
Read the full article on VCU News Excerpt Virginia Commonwealth University has received an $181 million federal grant ndash
VCUs third largest to date ndash to study so-called modified risk tobacco products and other novel tobacco products such as electronic
cigarettes and to develop an evaluation tool to help inform United States tobacco regulatory policy VCU is among 14 institutions
across the country selected to participate in a regulatory science research program that will provide vital scientific evidence to the
US Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health Researchers in the VCU Department of Psychologys Cen-
ter for the Study of Tobacco Products in the College of Humanities and Sciences will study methods for evaluating modified risk
tobacco products as one of 14 Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science a new program launched by the US Food and Drug Admin-
istration and the National Institutes of Health Thomas Eissenberg PhD professor of psychology and director of VCUrsquos Clinical
Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory and Robert Balster PhD professor of pharmacology and toxicology in the VCU School of
Medicine are the co-principal investigators on the grant Listen to Eissenbergrsquos interview on Richmond public radio
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student
in the health psychology program
Christopher Kilmartin (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo88)
is a professor of psychology at Mary Wash-
ington University For the current year
though he is Distinguished Visiting Profes-
sor of Behavioral Science and Leadership
at the United States Air Force Academy in
Colorado Springs His work on the
ldquoculture of hyper-masculinityrdquo was high-
lighted in a recent New York Times op-ed
article by Frank Bruni called ldquoTackling the
Roots of Raperdquo In addition he and co-
author John Lynch Jr (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo89)
just published the second edition of the
book ldquoOvercoming Masculine Depression
The Pain Behind the Maskrdquo
Dorothy Espelage PhD (BS rsquo91) recent-
ly accepted the Lifetime Achievement
Award from the American Psychological
Associationrsquos Prevention Section Award-
ees are recognized for their outstanding
achievements and contributions to psy-
chology Her work stood out in a
crowded and impressive group and was
described as exemplifying excellence in
prevention science and practice according
to the APA section Espelage has also
been appointed Edward William Gutgsell
amp Jane Marr Gutgsell Endowed Professor
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign We were thrilled to welcome
Espelage back to campus in May when she
delivered the commencement address at
the diploma ceremony for Psychology
graduates
Adam Joseph Prus (PhD lsquo04) is an associ-
ate professor in the Department of Psy-
chology at Northern Michigan University
He recently published the book ldquoAn Intro-
duction to Drugs and the Neuroscience of
Behaviorrdquo Joe Porter PhD professor of
biospsychology at VCU
will be using this very
book for spring 2014
when he teaches the
new undergraduate course
ldquoPsychopharmacology Drugs and Behav-
iorrdquo
Jeffrey Holder (BS lsquo05) is currently work-
ing as a BPMSix Sigma Black Belt Consult-
ant for a local company based in Rich-
mond BPM means business process man-
agement and Six Sigma is improvement
and project management work Over the
past two years he has traveled to Jamaica
Prague and Belgium and has discovered a
great affinity for Eastern Europe and WWII
history He says he has ldquohellipa small coffee
disorder in that he has to have itrdquo and
misses the college environment and the
academic level of discourse
Melinda Moore (PhD rsquo07) has started her
own company Spectrum Transformation
Group The company is a Richmond-based
behavioral health organization offering
intensive one-on-one treatment services
for children with autism and related neu-
rodevelopmental disorders
Ian Wallace (MS lsquo06 PhD lsquo09) recently
started a new position as a counseling psy-
chologist in Counseling and Psychological
Services at The California Maritime Acade-
my (a California State University campus)
located in Vallejo Calif He and his wife
Claire welcomed their second son Miles
to the family in July
Raymond Tademy (BS lsquo03 MS lsquo07 PhD
lsquo10) finished his three-year postdoctoral
fellowship with our department in the
Center for Cultural Experiences in Preven-
tion and is now working as an assistant
professor in the Department of Psychology
at Norfolk State University He says he is
enjoying this wonderful new personal and
professional challenge and expresses
thanks to our department for preparing
him so well for the teaching research
community service and advising aspects of
his new position Tademy has wasted no
time jumping right into things at Norfolk
State and is already part of several depart-
ment and university committees
Lindsey Dorflinger (MS lsquo09 PhD lsquo11)
recently accepted a position at the Con-
necticut VA Health Care System in
West Haven as health behavior coordina-
tor She says she is having a blast working
alongside VCU postdoctoral fellows Leila
Islam (MS lsquo03 PhD rsquo13) and Aaron Mar-
tin (PhD rsquo13) In this new position she
will get to participate in a wide range of
activities including individual and group
interventions for health behavior change
research training physicians and other
medical providers and program develop-
ment and evaluation She is also part of
the clinical health psychology training pro-
gram which she particularly loves and
where she gets to work with Aaron Leila
and the other health psychology trainees
It is a busy and exciting time for KC Con-
ley (MS rsquo09 PhD rsquo12 ) She completed
her internship at the New Jersey VA in Au-
gust 2012 and her postdoctoral fellowship
in college mental health at Pace University
in August 2013 She is happy to report
Alumni News and Notes
Adam Prus PhD holding his
new book ldquoAn Introduction
to Drugs and the Neurosci-
ence of Behaviorrdquo
VCU Alumni travel 2014 opportunities Panama Canal 100th Anniversary cruise Jan 4-12
Tahitian Jewels Jan 15-25
Asian Explorations Feb 20-March 10
Tanzania Safari During Great Migration March 3-13
Lesser Antilles cruise March 10-17
Southern Culture amp The Civil War paddlewheel cruise March 28-April 6
Passage to India April 2-15
Historic Reflections Mediterranean cruise April 20-May 1
Italyrsquos Lake District May 13-21
Mediterranean Grandeur May 15-26
Oxford England May 17-25
Mediterranean Antiquities May 21-29
The Great Rivers of Europe June 7-22
National Parks amp Lodges of the Old West June 28-July 7
Canadian Rockies Parks amp Resorts July 17-23
Adriatic Antiquities cruise June 26-July 9
Iceland to Greenland cruise Aug 2-14
Discover Switzerland Aug 6-21
Russia Revealed Moscow to Petersburg river cruise Aug 21ndashSept 5hellip (see more)
having passed the Examination for the
Professional Practice in Psychology in May
and receiving her New York license this
September Conley recently accepted a
staff psychologist position at the Center
for Motivation and Change where she will
be treating individuals who have problems
with substance use andor compulsive
behaviors She just celebrated her one
year wedding anniversary and is happily
living in Brooklyn NY
Shannon Hourigan (MS lsquo09 PhD lsquo12)
completed her postdoctoral fellowship at
Boston Childrens Hospital at the end of
August and then accepted a position in
the Division of Psychology Department of
Psychiatry as a full time attending psy-
chologist working in the Optimal Weight
for Life Program part of the New Balance
Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at
BCH She also has an academic appoint-
ment at Harvard Medical School as an in-
structor in psychology in the Department
of Psychiatry
Half of her time is spent doing clinical re-
search and she is currently working on an
exciting interdisciplinary collaborationmdasha
combined behavior and nutrition inter-
vention pilot using a telehealth approach
to reach families and served by an excel-
lent community pediatrics practice with
whom her program is partnering As the
only psychologist on the team she de-
signed and has been implementing the
behavioral intervention Her work on this
project has been significantly informed by
the ADAPT study and Chorpitas modular
approach
The other research project in the works is
a secondary prevention study with a local
pediatrics practice for toddler children to
provide anticipatory guidance to parents
regarding behavioral issues around feed-
ing to facilitate development of healthful
eating This has been partially informed
by her dissertation as well as her work
with the New Balance Foundation Obesity
Prevention Center She and the Center
are planning to submit an R21 and hoping
to collaborate with the Brazleton Institute
In addition to her clinical work she has
been tasked with developing the behav-
ioral medicine curriculum for the clinic
In Memoriam
James E Conner PhD (BS rsquo49) of Ra-
leigh NC Jan 4 2013 at age 88
Maria Devens (MS rsquo93 PhD rsquo96) of Chi-
cago April 10 2013 at age 46
Robin B Bunster (BS rsquo99) of Lake
Oswego Ore April 20 2013 at age 45
We want to hear
from you too
Click HERE and give us your update
to feature in the next issue
Jasmine Abrams MS a
doctoral student in
the health psychology
program is the 2013 re-
cipient of the Psychology
of Black Graduate Stu-
dent Women Award for
her manuscript entitled
Demystification of the lsquoStrong Black
Womanrsquordquo Abrams was honored during
the Division 35 Section 1 awards ceremo-
ny at the 2013 American Psychological
Association convention in Hawaii
Faye Belgrave PhD
professor of social psy-
chology and director of
the Center for Cultural
Experiences in Preven-
tion will serve as the fac-
ulty fellow for advancing
diverse faculty in research
in VCUrsquos Division for Inclusive Excellence
In this role she will be responsible for
providing seminars consultation and pro-
fessional development to support diverse
faculty in sponsored research
Mary Beth Heller PhD
will serve the department
as interim director of the
Center for Psychological
Services and Develop-
ment Her appointment
follows the departure of
Leticia Flores PhD Flores
is the new associate director of University
of Tennesseersquos Psychological Clinic
Wendy Kliewer PhD
professor of developmen-
tal psychology and de-
partment chair and Jo
Lynne Robins PhD as-
sistant professor in the
VCU School of Nursing
have been awarded a VCU Presidential
Research Quest Award for Project HEART
Their study will examine the impact of
stress on the physical body for mothers of
teenagers in underserved communities in
the Richmond area and its surrounding
communities Also the study will examine
relationships between stress and resilien-
cy on heart health in adolescents and
mothers living in underserved communi-
ties Read more about this important in-
terdisciplinary effort at improved commu-
nity engagement and health
Joshua Langberg PhD
assistant professor in the
clinical psychology pro-
gram received a $24
million grant from the
Institute of Educational
Sciences for the project
ldquoEfficacy of an Organiza-
tional Skills Intervention for Middle School
Students with ADHD The four-year grant
will be used to compare two different
types of school-based interventions for
improving the academic performance of
middle school-age students with ADHD
Read more about it
Micah McCreary PhD
associate professor in the
counseling psychology
program led a group of
seven students and one
kindergarten teacher to
the ravaged island of Haiti
as part of the VCU service-
learning Haitian Empowerment Program
between science and religion Read the
news release from VCU News
VCU recently made a promotional video
highlighting four facultystudent research
partnerships and discussing some of the
benefits of participating in research and
what students need to
know to ensure a success-
ful experience Joe Por-
ter PhD professor of
biopsychology and his
undergraduate student
Brian Joseph were fea-
tured Watch the video
Bruce Rybarczyk PhD
director of clinical training
for our clinical program
and newly promoted pro-
fessor of clinical psycholo-
gy was recently featured
in an article in the maga-
zine ldquoVirginia Livingrdquo for his expertise in
the study and treatment of insomnia
Read the article
Third year doctoral stu-
dent in the health psy-
chology program Daniel
Snipes MS recently
learned that his first au-
thor publication (co-
authored by Eric Be-
notsch PhD) entitled High-
risk cocktails and high-risk sex Examining
the relation between alcohol mixed with
energy drink consumption sexual behav-
ior and drug use in college students was
the second most downloaded article in the
journal Addictive Behaviors for the month
of August Read the abstract
Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD professor
in the clinical psychology
program director of
graduate studies and co-
director of the Anxiety
Clinic at the Center for
Psychological Services
and Development was recently called up-
on to address the management of the
Department News and Updates
Kliewer
McCreary
Porter
Langberg
Southam-Gerow
Rybarczyk
Belgrave
Snipes
Abrams
Heller
Hulsey Van Tongeren Green
anxiety children sometimes feel about go-
ing back to school in the fall Read the
VCU News QampA Another bit of good
news for Southam-Gerow is his recent
promotion from associate professor to full
professor
Everett Worthington
PhD director of clinical
training in the counseling
psychology program was
nominated for the pres-
tigious Joseph B and To-
by Gittler Prize The
$25000 prize includes a medal and a lec-
ture at Brandeis University by the recipi-
ent The awardee must have produced a
body of published work that reflects schol-
arly excellence and a lasting contribution
to racial ethnic andor religious relations
anywhere in the world
Worthington has also been featured in
several media and print outlets recently
For example an article he wrote on forgiv-
ing the man who murdered his mother
appeared in Septemberrsquos issue of Christi-
anity Today the largest popular magazine
in American Christianity He was also
quoted as an expert in forgiveness in a
recent online article regarding the ordeal
of Ariel Castro and the three women he
held as captives in his Cleveland base-
ment
In addition Worthington has published a
new book ldquoMoving Forward Six Steps to
Forgiving Yourself and Breaking Free from
the Pastrdquo that was featured in a VCU
news article Read an excerpt
Linda Zyzniewski PhD associate profes-
sor of social psychology director of under-
graduate studies and deanrsquos fellow for the
College of Humanities and Sciences is
president-elect of VCUrsquos chapter of Phi
Kappa Phi Her term will
be for the 2014-15
school year ΦΚΦ faculty
have made significant
contributions to ad-
vancement of knowledge
and understanding
through research publication profession-
al innovation or artistic creativity sus-
tained excellence in teaching achieve-
ments transcending customary levels of
service in academic or professional socie-
ties of national scope recognition by other
major honor societies special honors and
awards and significant leadership in the
VCU academic community
Congratulations to the
recipients of this yearrsquos
annual department fac-
ulty awards for excel-
lence The Outstanding
Service Award was given
to Barbara Myers
PhD for sustained ex-
cellence in service to her community uni-
versity College department and field
Myers has been instrumental in establish-
ing and maintaining VCUrsquos community
partnership with Richmond City Jails
The winner of this yearrsquos Outstanding
Scholarship Award goes to Joshua Lang-
berg PhD Langberg is a strong ADHD
researcher who continues to publish high
impact findings and obtain substantial
grant funding for his work
Finally we would like to recognize Micah
McCreary PhD as this yearrsquos winner of
the Outstanding Teaching Award
McCreary continues to be one of the high-
est student-rated instructors in our de-
partment He provided an excellent ser-
vice learning opportunity for our students
this summer in Haiti
Support Staff Updates
Jennifer Elswick Direc-
tor for Strategic Initia-
tives and Assistant to
Chair was appointed to
serve as one of two in-
augural staff members
on the VCU Academic
Affairs Committee She
was also featured in a recent article in the
College of Humanities and Sciences news-
letter
Stephanie Hart MBA
CRA service center di-
rector of operations par-
ticipated in the National
Council of University Re-
search Administrators
Financial Research Ad-
ministration Workshop The
two and a half day workshop focused pri-
marily on the financial aspects of research
administration and provided an in-depth
look at financial compliance issues
through a combination of lecture case
studies review of federal audit reports
and a discussion of best practices
Yin Huang grants manag-
er just completed the
three-credit course Busi-
ness Statistics to supple-
ment the knowledge base
for her position
Diana Pauley executive
secretary received a Spot Award for Day-
to-Day Excellence for her persistence in
getting Williams House a new roof
Department News and Updates
Worthington
Elswick
Zyzniewski
Myers
Hart
Kurt Crandall PhD is a licensed clinical
psychologist who joined our faculty this
fall Crandall received his PhD in clinical
psychology from the University of Kansas
with a specialty in health psychology He
interned at the Veterans Affairs Medical
Center in Washington DC where he
worked in psychiatric triage counseled pa-
tients with chronic pain and conducted
group therapy for veterans who were en-
rolled in a partial hospitalization program
Following his internship year he spent
three years as an assistant professor in the
Department of Psychology at Wesleyan Col-
lege in Macon Georgia From there Cran-
dall left academia and returned to clinical
work to complete a postdoctoral fellowship
with an emphasis on couples and family
therapy at a community mental health cen-
ter in Chicago After his postdoctoral expe-
rience he worked as a staff psychologist in
the Primary Care Clinic at the VA Hospital in
Seattle
Upon his move back to the east coast Cran-
dall returned to academia and joined the
psychology faculty at Longwood University
For the past several years he has also been
employed as a psychologist in a private
practice here in Richmond Crandall prac-
tices as a cognitive behavioral therapist and
is trained to work with adults His clinical
areas of interest and experience include
promoting health through behavioral
change treating mood and anxiety disor-
ders helping clients cope with physical ill-
ness and disease facilitating stress manage-
ment and counseling couples His general
research interests are in the areas of health
psychology and positive psychology More
specifically he is interested in the effect
positive frames of thinking (eg hope opti-
mism forgiveness) may have on onersquos phys-
ical and emotional health
Zewelanji Serpell PhD joined our depart-
ment this fall as an associate professor in
the developmental program Before VCU
she was an associate professor in the psy-
chology department at Virginia State Uni-
versity Prior to that Serpell held a re-
search faculty position at James Madison
University and served as the associate di-
rector of the Alvin V Baird Attention and
Learning Disabilities Center She has also
held research positions at the Research Tri-
angle Institute-International the Eunice
Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development Study of
Early Childcare the American Association
for Colleges of Teacher Education and the
Center for Research on Children Placed At-
Risk
Serpellrsquos principle research interest is har-
nessing advances in cognitive science to
develop interventions that target executive
functions Translation is a particular goal of
her work which often takes the form of a
series of iterative small-N lab studies to in-
dividualize or perfect the design of inter-
ventions followed by often challenging
attempts to implement these interventions
in the real world of schools
Serpell currently has three active projects
In collaboration with former department
assistant professor Michelle Ellefson PhD
and Teresa Parr (BS lsquo93 MS lsquo95 PhD
lsquo99) the first project explores whether the
mental activities associated with playing
chess improve executive function and aca-
demic outcomes in elementary school stu-
dents The second and third projects are
funded by the National Science Foundation
and conducted in collaboration with col-
leagues from Virginia State University and
University of California San Diego These
projects involve testing the efficacy of com-
mercially available ldquobrain trainingrdquo pro-
grams with African American students and
examining the role of non-cognitive factors
specifically motivation and affect in cogni-
tive training contexts
Serpell was born and raised in Zambia and
reports having family all over the world
She received her bachelorrsquos degree in psy-
chology from Clark University in Worcester
Mass and her masterrsquos degree and PhD in
developmental psychology from Howard
University in Washington DC In her spare
time Serpell enjoys reading novels cooking
vegetarian meals and swimming with her
two sons She says she came to VCU for the
research opportunitiesmdashnew faculty collab-
orations working with VCUrsquos diverse stu-
dent body and getting involved with efforts
to improve outcomes for K-12 students
attending urban public schools
Meet our New Faculty Members
Zewelanji Serpell PhD
Kurt Crandall PhD
An affable psychology professor with a tidy office Dr Albert D Farrell warmly greets visi-tors to the West Franklin Street space that houses the Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth De-velopment The institute serves as a hub for studies led by Dr Farrell its director and one of the na-tionrsquos leading research scientists on risk and protective factors associated with problem behaviors during adolescence He began his academic career at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1980 as an assis-tant professor with the goal of ldquoworking with students who are involved in and excited about researchrdquo In 1992 he joined an effort that dramatically shaped the rest of his career It began with evaluating a Richmond youth violence prevention program Since then Dr Farrell has received nearly $16 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue re-searching youth violence including developing and evaluating a middle school program Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways which was designed to reduce violence by promoting positive problem-solving skills Grants totaling $26 million have supported his research which has been cited more than 1500 times and as often as 100 times annually in recent years Dr Farrellrsquos work has been continuously funded by the CDC for 21 straight years ldquoHis empirically supported model for youth violence prevention is considered the gold standard by psychologistsrdquo writes Dr James Coleman dean of the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences In 2005 the Clark-Hill Institute was selected by the CDC as one of eight Academic Centers of Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention and received $43 million in funding over five years Five years later VCU edged out Johns Hopkins Harvard Columbia and the University of California Berkley among others for a second round of funding securing $65 million to run the institute through September 2015 ldquoIrsquom really proud we were able accomplish thatrdquo Dr Farrell says ldquoWe competed extremely well against elite institutions with considerable resourcesrdquo For one CDC-funded project Dr Farrell collaborated on the Multisite Youth Violence Prevention Project with researchers from Duke University the University of Georgia and the University of Illinois at Chicago He developed most key aspects of the study according to Dr Thomas Simon deputy associate director for science in the CDCrsquos division of violence prevention ldquoDr Farrell has a gift for bringing together diverse opinions and identifying a path that utilizes the best science and practice principlesrdquo Dr Simon writes He uses that same quality in the classroom where he continues to teach the ldquoResearch Methods in Clinical Psychologyrdquo course he created 32 years ago Dr Farrell describes his role as more facilitator than teacher as he works to get students thinking about problems instead of looking to him for answers Dr Monique Vulin Reynolds a former student describes his class as one of the most useful and enjoyable she took at VCU ldquoHis own passion and dedication to the subject matter was what made the difference in keeping us absorbed and working hard to meet his expectationsrdquo she writes He earns near-perfect ratings on student evaluations according to Dr Wendy Kliewer chair of the psychology department Thatrsquos an unparalleled feat she writes especially since he taught a graduate statistics course she says both students and faculty shy away from Dr Scott Vrana a VCU psychology professor notes that one thing is missing from Dr Farrellrsquos resume mdash that he pours ldquothousands of hours into promoting and advancing the careers of other faculty members graduate students and postdoctoral fel-lowsrdquo His record does reflect some of that time Dr Farrell has chaired advisory committees for 30 masterrsquos theses and 22 doctoral dissertations Students and faculty describe him as a mentor who is approachable open and supportive and who always makes time for others no matter his schedule In reflecting on his career at VCU Dr Farrell says the way its pieces ended up fitting together seems sensible Its specific course however was strongly shaped by opportunities that presented themselves along the way Being at VCU provided advantages over other universities he worked with on youth violence prevention research he says mdash chiefly the lack of barriers between VCU and the community because most Richmonders are connected to VCU in some way While he has no imminent plans for retirement Dr Farrell says he hopes that he will be remembered as the first director of the Clark-Hill Institute as it continues making important strides in youth violence prevention ldquoWe are so totally aligned with VCUrsquos Quest for Distinctionrdquo he says ldquoWersquore interdisciplinary and well---positioned to really expand We have tremendous potentialrdquo
Recipient of the University Award of Excellence
Albert Farrell PhD
Picture and article courtesy of VCU University Relations
Graduate students in the clinical and
counseling psychology doctoral pro-
grams have completed a series of studies
under the mentorship of Bruce
Rybarczyk PhD (lsquo89 clinical program
graduate professor of clinical psycholo-
gy and director of clinical training) mak-
ing substantial contributions to advanc-
ing the treatment of insomnia in individ-
uals with co-morbid psychiatric condi-
tions Three of those studies were fea-
tured in a special issue of the Journal of
Clinical Psychology Two of the studies
were intervention studies with individu-
als with psychiatric diagnoses The first
was a dissertation by Nile Wagley PhD
(rsquo10 counseling program) providing cog-
nitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to pa-
tients undergoing treatment at the VCU
Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic These pa-
tients were receiving treatment for an
average of 36 years and continued to
have insomnia symptoms in spite of their
psychiatric care Two sessions of CBT for
insomnia including one conducted via
telephone were effective in improving
sleep and reducing depressive symp-
toms Among the twenty patients who
participated in treatment 38 were able
to achieve normal sleep eight weeks
after the start of treatment relative to
none in the control group A second dis-
sertation study at the same clinic em-
ploying a large group of patients all of
whom were dependent on hypnotic
medication for managing their insomnia
and a longer format of treatment was
recently completed by sixth year clinical
psychology graduate student Hannah
Lund It also obtained encouraging re-
sults that will be written up for publica-
tion in the near future
A second intervention study targeting
recent veterans with Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) conducted by
Skye Margolies PhD (rsquo11 clinical pro-
gram) was also featured in the special
issue This dissertation study tested four
sessions of CBT-I and an optional supple-
mentary treatment for nightmares
(imagery rehearsal therapy) with forty
combat veterans (mean age 377 years)
who served in Afghanistan andor Iraq a
group that has experienced high levels of
both PTSD and insomnia The treatment
sessions were provided at the McGuire
Veterans Administration Hospital in Rich-
mond The treatment led to significant
improvements in self-reported and ob-
jectively measured sleep a reduction in
PTSD symptom severity and PTSD-
related nighttime symptoms and a re-
duction in depression and distressed
mood compared to the waitlist control
group This study was replicated by Lau-
rin Mack PhD (rsquo13 clinical program)
Her study provided a classroom CBT in-
tervention to a wide array of veterans as
a follow-up supplement to a recently
completed a psycho-educational course
on coping with PTSD This study replicat-
ed the earlier findings of improved sleep
although it did not obtain the same re-
sult for reductions in PTSD symptoms
possibly related to the fact that many of
VCU Students Faculty and
Alumni Contribute to
Advancing the Treatment of
Insomnia Bruce Rybarczyk PhD
the participants had PTSD for several
decades rather than several years Both
Margolies and Mack were funded by
prestigious Rehabilitation Research Fel-
lowship awards for over $61000 com-
bined from the Department of Veteran
Affairs
CBT for insomnia was developed by a
group of pioneering researchers begin-
ning twenty-five years ago VCU Psychol-
ogy and Psychiatry has a long history
with this pioneering work One of the
most prolific researchers in this area
Jack Edinger PhD (rsquo78) is an alumnus of
the clinical psychology program and an-
other prominent researcher Charles
Morin PhD was a faculty member at
VCU While here Morin conducted one
of the first randomized clinical trials
showing that CBT was superior to hyp-
notic sleep medications CBT has several
treatment components including an ini-
tial reduction in sleep to increase sleep
drive and retrain normal sleep as well as
a method for eliminating time spent in
bed while awake to weaken the associa-
tion between being in bed and having
anxiety about not falling asleep The
treatment also includes education in the
science of
sleep in order
to provide the
patient with an
ldquoownerrsquos man-
ualrdquo for their
sleep system
These studies
contribute to
growing evi-
dence that CBT
for insomnia is
a treatment
that should be
offered to all
mental health
patients as a
supplement to
other treatments they are receiving that
are targeting the primary mental health
diagnosis Not only is sleep substantially
improved as a result of these interven-
tions but other mental health symptoms
are alleviated as a consequence of im-
proved sleep Additionally there are no
side effects treatment is brief the bene-
fits are sustained over time and the cost
is limited especially when employing self
-help materials The challenge that lies
ahead is training more clinicians to deliv-
er this brief treatment and getting the
word is out to health professionals and
the public that this should be a first line
treatment for persistent insomnia Alt-
hough a 2005 National Institutes of
Health expert panel recommended that
CBT be offered to all chronic insomnia
sufferers before prescribing a medica-
tion there has been very limited pro-
gress in dissemination thus far This is
due to the public and professional bias
towards the use of medications and the
lack of awareness of this newer treat-
ment approach To address the science-
practice gap future research by
Rybarczyk and colleagues will test a
ldquostepped carerdquo approach to delivering
CBT in primary care using varied levels
of treatment intensity and different
methods of delivery including the Inter-
net This stepped care approach will be
tested in primary care offices The con-
cept was detailed in a 2011 publication
by Mack and Rybarczyk
Although there are less than two hun-
dred clinical psychologists who are ex-
perts and researchers in CBT for insom-
nia a remarkable number of them are
VCU clinical psychology alumni In addi-
tion to Edinger and Rybarczyk Jason
Ong PhD (rsquo04 clinical program) is
board certified in behavioral sleep medi-
cine and is a prominent insomnia re-
searcher at Rush University Medical Cen-
ter in Chicago Don Townsend PhD
(rsquo99 clinical program) is a board certified
sleep clinician at the Fairview Sleep Cen-
ter in Minnesota and Kevin Smith PhD
(rsquo04 clinical program) is an assistant pro-
fessor of pediatrics at the University of
Missouri-Kansas City and is board certi-
fied in behavioral sleep medicine VCU
alumni are likely to have an even larger
impact on the growing field of behavioral
sleep medicine in the future as all four
of the recent graduates who conducted
the research
described
above are con-
tinuing to work
in this field
VCU faculty contributors to the studies de-scribed above include Drs Steve Danish David Leszczyszyn John Lynch (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo89) Tim Nay and Scott Vra-na
Bruce Rybarczyk PhD and Denise Borden MD discuss a patientrsquos care in VCUrsquos Primary Care Clinic
Over the past year the news has been filled with ongoing
legislative disputes in Washington Terms like fiscal cliff
debt ceiling and sequestration have become part of our vo-
cabulary With myriad predictions being made it can be
hard to decipher what impact recent government actions
could have here in our department
There are several recent government actions that could sub-
stantially influence research activity in Psychology The
first is known as sequestration or the ldquofiscal cliffrdquo This
was a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011 which im-
posed across-the-board cuts to defense and discretionary
programs in the event that Congress could not reach a com-
promise on the federal budget The Act was supposed to
motivate Congress to reach a solution as no one wanted or
expected to see sequestration implemented Unfortunately
Congress failed to reach a compromise and sequestration
went into effect on March 1 2013
Sequestration resulted in substantial budget cuts to our ma-
jor federal funders The National Institutes for Health Psy-
chologyrsquos largest funding source lost 5 of its total budget
amounting to $155 billion Since these were across-the-
board cuts no area of health research was spared As a
result we have received fewer new awards and our contin-
uing awards have been reduced VCU President Michael
Rao estimated in February that VCUrsquos grant portfolio could
see reductions of $12-$21 million by September 2013 as a
direct result of sequestration Luckily we have not seen
this dire outcome just yetmdashVCUrsquos grant award portfolio
showed excellent performance in fiscal year 2013mdashbut that
does not mean that effects will not be felt later
For example at the department level fewer new grant
awards could result in a lack of replacement funding for
projects slated to end soon Individuals paid from those
projects would likely be laid off if no source of new fund-
ing could be found Reduced budgets for continuing pro-
jects could result in cuts to the number of people a given
project could support Sequestration will also make it hard-
er for new faculty to get their first grants as grant programs
become increasingly competitive This in turn makes it
harder for them to support graduate students and postdoc-
toral associates There could also be an impact on federally
funded fellowships scholarships and student aid The fed-
eral work-study program for example could lose up to $50
million dollars as a result of sequestration That represents
a substantial number of students who would have to find
other sources of income
As if that were not enough sequestration is only one piece
of the puzzle Other government actions have the potential
to compound the impacts One such action is the Afforda-
ble Care Act otherwise known as ldquoObamacarerdquo Aside
from the obvious controversy the ACA has had some unin-
tended consequences In Virginia it resulted in the Man-
power Control Act or the 29-Hour Rule This law limits
part-time and hourly employees to a total of 29 hours per
week This has resulted in loss of income for students and
other part-time employees some of whom have historically
held multiple jobs at the university Multiple university
jobs are no longer allowed under the Manpower Control
Act In addition since the rule applies to adjunct faculty
too it has resulted in a reduction in the number of credit
hours they can teach This means an additional burden on
the already overloaded full-time faculty who must make up
The Impact of Recent US Government Actions on the
Departmentrsquos Research Mission
Brigette S Pfister MHRD CRA
Page 9
the shortfall in credit hours taught in addition to their ex-
isting responsibilitiesmdashlike grant writing This could fur-
ther depress our new award activity over the next few
years
The recent government shutdown adds another dimension
of complexity The government shutdown was brought
about by circumstances similar to those of sequestration
Once again legislators needed to compromise on the feder-
al budget in order to avert disaster This time the point of
contention was the Affordable Care Act Republicans
wanted to defund the ACA as a condition of passing the
Continuing Resolution that would keep the government
operational Democrats refused to approve any bill that
attempted to defund or otherwise nullify the ACA Once
again no compromise was reached and the government
shutdown took effect on October 1 2013
Immediately many federal systems were taken of-
fline We could not submit new proposals progress reports
or even establish new accounts Awards already delayed
and reduced by sequestration stopped altogether for the
duration of the shutdown Though there is widespread
conjecture on the subject no one really knows what the
long term impact will be on university research
During the shutdown work on existing projects was al-
lowed to continue provided that funding had already been
made available However we were unable to draw down
funds from the federal government In other words if we
didnrsquot already have it then we couldnrsquot spend it If the
shutdown had gone on longer even existing projects would
have probably had to lay off grant funded personnel and in
some cases completely stop work Also the government
doesnrsquot process passports and visas during the shutdown
so projects that depend on foreign travel were held up con-
siderably
The situation could worsen if Congress fails to devise a
workable long-term solution when the current debt ceiling
expires on February 7 If there is failure to compromise
the United States could default on our national debt There
is no clear picture of what the impacts of that would be but
we know they would not be positive
Since our overall grant portfolio at VCU did not appear to
suffer in fiscal year 2013 it might be tempting to disregard
some of the more dire warnings However it is important
to recognize that incoming awards are based on proposals
submitted in fiscal year 2012 or earlier so many of those
funding decisions were made prior to the most current cri-
sis We probably wont see the true impact of all of the
above until fiscal year 2014 or thereafter At minimum
the cessation of all proposal activity during the shutdown
will result in delayed resumption of award activity in addi-
tion to the delays and budget cuts already happening be-
cause of sequestration This will likely cause our total
awarded dollars to decrease over the next few years
Overall the impact on VCU research may not be disas-
trous but at the department level grant projects and the
individuals working on those projects could suffer signifi-
cant impact from the cumulative effects
Brigette S Pfister is director of sponsored programs for the
College of Humanities and Sciences at VCU
Dome United States Capitol Washington DC
Architect of the Capitol
Adriana Rodriguez graduated from the
University of California Berkeley in 2008
with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and
a minor in ethnic studies Following grad-
uation Rodriguez obtained a research as-
sistant position with Bruce Chorpita
PhD at UCLA helping to advance the
effectiveness of mental health treatment
for children and adolescents Her work
with Chorpita further solidified her aspira-
tion to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical
psychology working specifically with racial
andor ethnic minority youth
Rodriguez joined the Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD research laboratory as a
doctoral student in clinical psychology in
the fall of 2010 When asked why Rodri-
guez decided to attend VCU she stated
that she felt inspired and motivated by the
energy and innovation that Southam-
Gerow brings to the field of psychology
ldquoIt was the best decision I could have
maderdquo
In reflecting on her experience at VCU
Rodriguez is struck by how collaborative
the department in general and her lab in
particular are Her research interests lie
broadly in the dissemination and imple-
mentation of mental health treatment for
children and adolescents She is also in-
terested in cultural and linguistic adapta-
tions of assessments to minority popula-
tions in real-world clinic settings Recent-
ly Rodriguez was able to collaborate with
Rosalie Corona PhD of the clinical psy-
chology program whose work focuses on
health promotion and risk reduction
among ethnic minority populations In
working with Latina college students Ro-
driguez notes ldquoI understand the difficul-
ties that this population is facing from a
policy perspective and also through my
personal experiencehellip I was that kid who
didnrsquot have enough money for the bus
farerdquo
Born to a working-class Mexican family
Rodriguez is the first to receive a college
education let alone pursue a graduate
degree Her work is driven in part by a
desire to empower her family and culture
while forging her own identity
When asked about career aspirations she
responds ldquoI want to keep goinghellip go as far
as I canrdquo Rodriguez is molding herself for
a research position in academia where she
would ideally like to serve at the public
policy level of mental health treatment
dissemination and implementation
In her spare time she enjoys running long
distances around Richmondrsquos Byrd Park
and Brownrsquos Island She also spends time
drawing particularly individuals with pro-
nounced facial expressions Rodriguez
jokes that this interest probably stems
from all the time she has spent coding vid-
eotapes in the Southam-Gerow lab
Graduate Student Spotlight
Adriana Rodriguez MS Clinical Psychology program
The Global Bridges Project is a community engaged research pro-ject directed by Maghboeba Mosavel PhD of VCUrsquos Department of Social and Behavioral Health School of Medicine This summer Mosavel led a small team of six students to the University of Kwa-Zulu-Natalmdasha VCU international partner universitymdashin Durban South Africa to conduct community engaged research in the Ken-neth Gardens public housing community in Durban Jasmine Abrams and Morgan Maxwell were two of those students A third student Carrie Miller is a second year master of public health student who has previously worked for the Department of Psychol-ogy as project coordinator for Clarissa Holmes PhD Abrams and Maxwell chronicled their work in Durban on this blog httpbuilding-global-bridgesblogspotcom Itrsquos a great read
Submitted by Annie Rabinovitz doctoral
student in the clinical psychology program
Abrams Maxwell
Linda A Mensah-Etsi (see front cover) a
junior psychology major is a recent recipi-
ent of the Melvin V Lubman Scholarship
in Psychology The Melvin V Lubman
Scholarship was established by Mrs Golde
Lubman Feldman to honor her husbandrsquos
dedication and service as a professor in
the Department of Psychology Mensah-
Etsi reports that the scholarship will help
her greatly with her tuition and fees
When asked why she chose psychology as
a major Mensah-Etsi said that she is curi-
ous about many things and psychology
was the one subject that kept her interest
piqued at all times She said ldquoI like how I
can always be surprised by all the different
topics covered under psychology alonerdquo
Surely her constant interest is in part due
to her two ldquoall-time favoriterdquo classesmdash
Statistical Applications in the Psychology
Field with Linda Zyzniewski PhD and
Abnormal Psychology with adjunct profes-
sor Jessica Brown Mensah-Etsi picked
these as her favorites because she likes
the mathematical focus of statistics and
admitted to having an ldquoobsessionrdquo with
mental illnesses
Continuing her love for the subject Men-
sah-Etsi has decided to further her skills by
applying for several internships through-
out the department After narrowing
down her choices for internships this fall
from three options she is excited to have
begun her new internship at VCUrsquos Clark
Hill Institute for Positive Youth
Development She says she chose this op-
portunity because ldquonot only is it in the
field in which I am currently interested
the internship will give me the opportunity
to learn a valuable coding skill that I might
eventually need to userdquo
A former volunteer elementary school
teachers aide she has a clear interest in
working with children and teens and
would like to pursue another volunteer
opportunity with the organization Stop
Child Abuse Now here in Richmond
With time on her side Mensah-Etsi cer-
tainly has plenty of opportunities to
change her career path She hopes she
can get a job with her degree or perhaps
continue on to graduate school and even
sees a career in research as a possibility
Ultimately though she is interested in
counseling young children or teens who
have experienced trauma Her goal is to
help kids ldquounderstand that at least one
person is on their side even if it seems that
they have to deal with it on their ownrdquo
One of the many interesting aspects of
this junior is that she is only 18 years old
She was a mere 16 years of age when she
first enrolled at VCU and proves daily that
age has nothing to do with capacity for
success A very hard worker when asked
about her free time Mensah-Etsi says she
has been very preoccupied with school-
work as well as with working two jobs
However she says working out at the gym
has been very close to a hobby for her
lately
When shersquos not in Richmond Mensah-Etsi
lives in Alexandria with her family We
asked her why she chose to settle in Rich-
mond and attend VCU and she jokingly
said it is because her two favorite colors
are black and yellow ldquoOn a serious noterdquo
she stated ldquoI just really fell in love with
the city when I visited so there was no
doubt in my mind that I wanted to attend
VCU I grew up in a city so this felt close
to homerdquo
A native of Togo in West Africa Mensah-
Etsi moved to the US in 2007 shortly be-
fore she turned 13 She says it wasnrsquot a
hard transition for her as she already
spoke French and Ewe (an ethnic lan-
guage) so English was quite easy to learn
by comparison She indeed misses the
spicy foods of Togo but also says that
while other people in Richmond may be
annoyed by the street sounds lights and
crooked sidewalks it makes her feel right
at home
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral stu-
dent in the health psychology program
Undergraduate Student Spotlight
Linda A Mensah-Etsi Class of lsquo15
Congratulations to David Rockman class of 2013 for receiving the Benjamin A Gilman Scholarship Rockman will receive $5000 to study in one country from four weeks to one academic year Named after retired Congressman Benjamin A Gilman from New York the programrsquos goal is to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go
This summer Paul Perrin PhD led six
VCU psychology doctoral students on a
month-long expedition to the University of
Deusto in Bilbao Spain to participate in a
research training program on racialethnic
disparities in health The trip was due in
large part to Perrinrsquos ongoing collabora-
tion with Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla
PhD a research professor in the Universi-
ty of Deustorsquos Department of Psychology
and former faculty member in VCUrsquos De-
partment of Physical Medicine and Reha-
bilitation Perrin and Arango-Lasprilla
spent the past year planning and coordi-
nating this unique opportunity for stu-
dents who worked with them on various
research projects meeting and collabo-
rating with researchers from all over the
world Among the group of 20 interna-
tional researchers contributing to and par-
ticipating in this training program were
psychology doctoral students Gillian Lei-
bach and Stephen Trapp of the counseling
program Sarah Doyle of the developmen-
tal program Shaina Gulin of the clinical
program and Alejandra Morlett Paredes
and Megan Sutter of the health program
The students worked with a team of inter-
national researchers spanning ten differ-
ent countries The purpose of the training
program was to teach students to conduct
health disparities research in an interna-
tional context and build collaborative
teams at various universities and rehabili-
tation facilities The specific focus was the
psychosocial functioning of individuals
from understudied global regions with
neurological conditions such as traumatic
brain injury dementia spinal cord injury
and multiple sclerosis Unpaid family care-
givers often provide the majority of the
informal care to individuals with these
conditions yet have very few resources in
order to meet their family and caregiving
needs Therefore a major goal of these
projects was to study the factors related
to mental and physical health of caregiv-
ers and to create culturally sensitive
health care recommendations for these
regions The team is accumulating evi-
dence for interventions that will improve
the quality of informal care for individuals
with neurological conditions in regions
such as Latin America where much of this
research is being conducted
Each of the VCU doctoral students had the
opportunity to take the lead on projects
studying the potential protective and risk
factors associated with caregiver mental
and physical health in either older adults
with dementia or in children with spinal
cord injuries and disorders They were
also able to propose potential future pro-
jects with existing data or completely new
data collections based in various under-
studied global regions such as in Neiva
Colombia Auckland New Zealand Copen-
hagen Denmark and Mexico City Mexico
among many others Perrin and the team
of international researchers offered a
number of seminars on advanced research
methods and statistics such as factor
analysis structural equation modeling
qualitative research methods meta-
analysis neuroimaging and scientific man-
uscript preparation
The
group
was able
to take
part in
many
cultural
experi-
ences
and enjoyed exploring the city of Bilbao
and the surrounding countryside and
beaches The researchers and students
spent most of their time in the countryrsquos
Basque region where they were able to
visit the iconic Guggenheim Museum of
modern and contemporary art innumera-
ble pintxo restaurants (a specialty of this
region similar to tapas) and a celebration
of Bilbaorsquos 713th anniversary
The group also traveled to many places
around the country including Bermeo and
San Sebastiaacuten which are located on the
Northern coast of Spain near the border of
France In Bermeo they made a trek to
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe a hermitage
that is accessed by hiking down a narrow
trail crossing a stone bridge and walking
up approximately 230 steps The group
felt the hike was definitely worth the
effort though andmdashas a legend in-
structsmdashgot to the peak rang a bell three
times and made three wishes Together
many of the researchers and students also
took a day trip to San Sebastiaacuten a coastal
town that rests on the Bay of Biscay fa-
mous for its renowned Basque food and
of course its shoreline They also got the
chance to venture to southern France and
Barcelona
Spotlight on International Research and Learning
Paul Perrin PhD
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student
in the health psychology program
ldquoA major goal of these
projects was to study the
factors related to mental
and physical health of
caregivers and to create
culturally sensitive health
care recommendations for
these regionsrdquo
ldquoI had a wonderful experience in Bilbao When I started graduate
school I certainly did not expect I would get to travel abroad to do
research It was a really unique opportunity getting to meet and work with well-known researchers from around the world Bilbao
is beautiful and I did quite a bit of exploring in and around the city
learning the areas rich cultural customs and history It is a good
feeling to know that our research has the potential to help im-prove the quality of life of patients with neurological conditions
and their caregiversrdquo
Shaina Gulin clinical psychology doctoral student
Back row [L to R] Javier Pentildea
(Spain) Hinemoa Elder (New Zea-
land) Nada Andelic (Norway)
Alfonso Caracuel (Spain) Hugo
Senra (Portugal) Stephen Trapp
(USA) Ivan Panyavin (Spain)
Anne Norup (Denmark) Charles
Hallmark (USA) Alejandra Morlett
(USA) Alexander Moreno
(Canada) Rociacuteo Del Pino Saacuteez
(Spain) Clara Isabel Gonzaacutelez
Berdugo (Spain) Maria Cristina
Quijano (Colombia) Yaneth Rodri-
guez (Mexico)
Front row [L to R] Juan Carlos
Arango-Lasprilla (Spain) Carlos de
los Reyes (Colombia) Megan
Sutter (USA) Sarah Doyle (USA)
Gillian Leibach (USA) Shaina Gulin
(USA) Naroa Ibarretxe (Spain)
Paul Perrin (USA)
Kristin Heron PhD from Penn State University visited the de-
partment early in the fall semester Heron is associate director
of the Dynamic Real-time Ecological Ambulatory Methodologies
Initiative at Penn States Survey Research Center In this posi-
tion she uses ecological momentary assessment and ecological
momentary intervention in her research focused on a range of
clinical health topics including eating behaviors body image
physical activity promotion and smoking cessation Ecological
momentary assessment broadly refers to the use of assess-
ments (eg questionnaires) that capture information about
people as they go about their daily lives in their natural environ-
ment (eg home) Ecological momentary intervention refers to
interventions or treat-
ments that are delivered
to individuals as they go
about their daily lives
Heron spent time training
students in Dr Robin
Everharts research lab on
ecological momentary
assessment for a pediatric
asthma study that will
allow families to use
smart phones as they re-
port on their childs asth-
ma care in real time
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
professor of psychology
at the University of Vir-
ginia presented a talk to
the department in Sep-
tember titled ldquoThe Psy-
chological Wealth of
Nationsrdquo
Here is the abstract
What is a good society
Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good
society is a happy society―namely a society in which most citi-
zens are happy and free from fear Since the publication of
ldquoThe Wealth of Nationsrdquo by Adam Smith in 1776 most econo-
mists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a material-
ly wealthy society Thus gross national product and related
indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of
nations from the 1950rsquos to date Recently however prominent
economists as well as political scientists sociologists and psy-
chologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materi-
ally wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust
one another have a sense of freedom and have close social re-
lationships The inquiry into the psychological wealth of na-
tions or the subjective well-being of nations helps answer a
fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for mil-
lennia lsquolsquoWhat is a good societyrsquo
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
Kristin Heron PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Benita Belvet
Jessica Brown
Suzzette Chopin
Lillian Christon Arnold
Ashley Dibble
Rebecca Hubbard
David Jennings
Nichole Kelly
Laurin Mack
Priscilla Powell
Molly Neff
Laura Slosky
Denicia Titchner
Stephanie Wolf
Bachelor of Science
Vanessa Agyeman
Hasen Alghamdi
Latessa Allums
Michael Amon
Sonja Ayers
Sweska Basnet
Kirstie Breland
Erica Brown
Ashley Callis
Jakwame Carey
Megan Cavanagh
Grace Charriez
Courtney Christian
Alicia Cook
Aldijana Cordic
Jonathan Cox
Mary Dean
Anne Fishback
Sherona Gardner
Andrew Gibbs
Myra Glorioso
Logan Gravitt
Lateisha Greene
Katelyn Gruber
Jamila Harris
Tiquana Hill
James Hovermale
Savonne Howard
Marshall Hunter
Kelley Hurdle
Arturo Iglesias
Lucas Keckley
Hira Khalid
Jamison Lancaster
Dana Larson
Russ Lawrence
Michele Mascatello
Rachel Mason
Tiffany Mayo
Natasha McCoy
Alexandra McDougall
Brandie Mckenzie
Xue Ju Meyer
Scott Misturini
Lindsay Mitchiner
Lea Moisa
Brooke Myers
Krislee Nelson
Paul Norton
Sierre Norton
Kristin Oravetz
Stephen Page
Ryan Pannell
Kevin Papile
Natalie Parks
Krishna Patel
Justin Payne
James Peacock
Quy Phan
Cecilia Presseau
Nathalie Rieder
Kylessia Ross
Faryal Shahid
Katelyn Sisk
Angel Slach
Indira Smajlagic
Natalie Taylor
Adrienne Tetreault
Brandon Tolbert
Tierraney Truss
James Vosti
Brenda Wei
Patrick Wiley
Alaysia Williams
Lyndsay Wilshaw
Christopher Wilson
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to
education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual
orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of Psychology
806 W Franklin St
PO Box 842018
Richmond VA 23284-2018
Phone 804-828-1193
Fax 804-828-2237
Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu
Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu
Virginia Commonwealth
University
Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology
A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine
Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from
bottom on far right
much time elapses between puffs and the
speed at which the air is drawn from the
waterpipe He then takes the data and
sends them to his colleague Alan
Shihadeh PhD at the American Universi-
ty of Beirut in Lebanon From the data
Shihadeh can create an exact replica of
the smoking session all the way down to
the same tobacco This allows him to
measure the content of the smoke in a
noninvasive manner Upon validation of
the instrument the real time smoke sam-
pler was taken out of the lab setting into a
popular cafeacute in Beirut to gather data in a
more natural environment The composi-
tion of the smoke in the bar was found to
be consistent with similar measures taken
in the lab The next step in this line of in-
quiry will be to conduct the same research
in waterpipe bars in Richmond
In addition to conducting his own re-
search Eissenberg actively works to pro-
mote the responsible conduct of research
particularly with regard to interactions
between local Institutional Review Boards
and behavioral scientists His work in this
realm resulted in a recent invitation from
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the US
Department of Health and Human Services
to join the Secretarys Advisory Committee
on Human Research The purpose of the
committee is to advise the secretary on a
range of issues involving experimentation
with humans such as clinical trials re-
search with children deception in re-
search and consent and confidentiality in
Internet research
Furthermore Eissenberg is a member of
the US Food and Drug Administrationrsquos
tobacco product scientific advisory com-
mittee Because the FDA has been given
the authority to regulate tobacco products
in recent years the scientific advisory
committee was formed to keep the agency
abreast of the most current scientific re-
search findings on tobacco and tobacco
products
The next step for Eissenberg is to devote
his energies to the establishment and
management of the Center for the Study
of Tobacco Products (see news article be-
low) The Center will be a hub of scholar-
ship and training and will yield opportuni-
ties at VCU to generate more multi-
investigator funding in the future Its goal
is to better inform government agencies
through evidence-based research about
the regulation of tobacco and tobacco
products as pertinent legislation is consid-
ered
Read the full article on VCU News Excerpt Virginia Commonwealth University has received an $181 million federal grant ndash
VCUs third largest to date ndash to study so-called modified risk tobacco products and other novel tobacco products such as electronic
cigarettes and to develop an evaluation tool to help inform United States tobacco regulatory policy VCU is among 14 institutions
across the country selected to participate in a regulatory science research program that will provide vital scientific evidence to the
US Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health Researchers in the VCU Department of Psychologys Cen-
ter for the Study of Tobacco Products in the College of Humanities and Sciences will study methods for evaluating modified risk
tobacco products as one of 14 Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science a new program launched by the US Food and Drug Admin-
istration and the National Institutes of Health Thomas Eissenberg PhD professor of psychology and director of VCUrsquos Clinical
Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory and Robert Balster PhD professor of pharmacology and toxicology in the VCU School of
Medicine are the co-principal investigators on the grant Listen to Eissenbergrsquos interview on Richmond public radio
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student
in the health psychology program
Christopher Kilmartin (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo88)
is a professor of psychology at Mary Wash-
ington University For the current year
though he is Distinguished Visiting Profes-
sor of Behavioral Science and Leadership
at the United States Air Force Academy in
Colorado Springs His work on the
ldquoculture of hyper-masculinityrdquo was high-
lighted in a recent New York Times op-ed
article by Frank Bruni called ldquoTackling the
Roots of Raperdquo In addition he and co-
author John Lynch Jr (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo89)
just published the second edition of the
book ldquoOvercoming Masculine Depression
The Pain Behind the Maskrdquo
Dorothy Espelage PhD (BS rsquo91) recent-
ly accepted the Lifetime Achievement
Award from the American Psychological
Associationrsquos Prevention Section Award-
ees are recognized for their outstanding
achievements and contributions to psy-
chology Her work stood out in a
crowded and impressive group and was
described as exemplifying excellence in
prevention science and practice according
to the APA section Espelage has also
been appointed Edward William Gutgsell
amp Jane Marr Gutgsell Endowed Professor
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign We were thrilled to welcome
Espelage back to campus in May when she
delivered the commencement address at
the diploma ceremony for Psychology
graduates
Adam Joseph Prus (PhD lsquo04) is an associ-
ate professor in the Department of Psy-
chology at Northern Michigan University
He recently published the book ldquoAn Intro-
duction to Drugs and the Neuroscience of
Behaviorrdquo Joe Porter PhD professor of
biospsychology at VCU
will be using this very
book for spring 2014
when he teaches the
new undergraduate course
ldquoPsychopharmacology Drugs and Behav-
iorrdquo
Jeffrey Holder (BS lsquo05) is currently work-
ing as a BPMSix Sigma Black Belt Consult-
ant for a local company based in Rich-
mond BPM means business process man-
agement and Six Sigma is improvement
and project management work Over the
past two years he has traveled to Jamaica
Prague and Belgium and has discovered a
great affinity for Eastern Europe and WWII
history He says he has ldquohellipa small coffee
disorder in that he has to have itrdquo and
misses the college environment and the
academic level of discourse
Melinda Moore (PhD rsquo07) has started her
own company Spectrum Transformation
Group The company is a Richmond-based
behavioral health organization offering
intensive one-on-one treatment services
for children with autism and related neu-
rodevelopmental disorders
Ian Wallace (MS lsquo06 PhD lsquo09) recently
started a new position as a counseling psy-
chologist in Counseling and Psychological
Services at The California Maritime Acade-
my (a California State University campus)
located in Vallejo Calif He and his wife
Claire welcomed their second son Miles
to the family in July
Raymond Tademy (BS lsquo03 MS lsquo07 PhD
lsquo10) finished his three-year postdoctoral
fellowship with our department in the
Center for Cultural Experiences in Preven-
tion and is now working as an assistant
professor in the Department of Psychology
at Norfolk State University He says he is
enjoying this wonderful new personal and
professional challenge and expresses
thanks to our department for preparing
him so well for the teaching research
community service and advising aspects of
his new position Tademy has wasted no
time jumping right into things at Norfolk
State and is already part of several depart-
ment and university committees
Lindsey Dorflinger (MS lsquo09 PhD lsquo11)
recently accepted a position at the Con-
necticut VA Health Care System in
West Haven as health behavior coordina-
tor She says she is having a blast working
alongside VCU postdoctoral fellows Leila
Islam (MS lsquo03 PhD rsquo13) and Aaron Mar-
tin (PhD rsquo13) In this new position she
will get to participate in a wide range of
activities including individual and group
interventions for health behavior change
research training physicians and other
medical providers and program develop-
ment and evaluation She is also part of
the clinical health psychology training pro-
gram which she particularly loves and
where she gets to work with Aaron Leila
and the other health psychology trainees
It is a busy and exciting time for KC Con-
ley (MS rsquo09 PhD rsquo12 ) She completed
her internship at the New Jersey VA in Au-
gust 2012 and her postdoctoral fellowship
in college mental health at Pace University
in August 2013 She is happy to report
Alumni News and Notes
Adam Prus PhD holding his
new book ldquoAn Introduction
to Drugs and the Neurosci-
ence of Behaviorrdquo
VCU Alumni travel 2014 opportunities Panama Canal 100th Anniversary cruise Jan 4-12
Tahitian Jewels Jan 15-25
Asian Explorations Feb 20-March 10
Tanzania Safari During Great Migration March 3-13
Lesser Antilles cruise March 10-17
Southern Culture amp The Civil War paddlewheel cruise March 28-April 6
Passage to India April 2-15
Historic Reflections Mediterranean cruise April 20-May 1
Italyrsquos Lake District May 13-21
Mediterranean Grandeur May 15-26
Oxford England May 17-25
Mediterranean Antiquities May 21-29
The Great Rivers of Europe June 7-22
National Parks amp Lodges of the Old West June 28-July 7
Canadian Rockies Parks amp Resorts July 17-23
Adriatic Antiquities cruise June 26-July 9
Iceland to Greenland cruise Aug 2-14
Discover Switzerland Aug 6-21
Russia Revealed Moscow to Petersburg river cruise Aug 21ndashSept 5hellip (see more)
having passed the Examination for the
Professional Practice in Psychology in May
and receiving her New York license this
September Conley recently accepted a
staff psychologist position at the Center
for Motivation and Change where she will
be treating individuals who have problems
with substance use andor compulsive
behaviors She just celebrated her one
year wedding anniversary and is happily
living in Brooklyn NY
Shannon Hourigan (MS lsquo09 PhD lsquo12)
completed her postdoctoral fellowship at
Boston Childrens Hospital at the end of
August and then accepted a position in
the Division of Psychology Department of
Psychiatry as a full time attending psy-
chologist working in the Optimal Weight
for Life Program part of the New Balance
Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at
BCH She also has an academic appoint-
ment at Harvard Medical School as an in-
structor in psychology in the Department
of Psychiatry
Half of her time is spent doing clinical re-
search and she is currently working on an
exciting interdisciplinary collaborationmdasha
combined behavior and nutrition inter-
vention pilot using a telehealth approach
to reach families and served by an excel-
lent community pediatrics practice with
whom her program is partnering As the
only psychologist on the team she de-
signed and has been implementing the
behavioral intervention Her work on this
project has been significantly informed by
the ADAPT study and Chorpitas modular
approach
The other research project in the works is
a secondary prevention study with a local
pediatrics practice for toddler children to
provide anticipatory guidance to parents
regarding behavioral issues around feed-
ing to facilitate development of healthful
eating This has been partially informed
by her dissertation as well as her work
with the New Balance Foundation Obesity
Prevention Center She and the Center
are planning to submit an R21 and hoping
to collaborate with the Brazleton Institute
In addition to her clinical work she has
been tasked with developing the behav-
ioral medicine curriculum for the clinic
In Memoriam
James E Conner PhD (BS rsquo49) of Ra-
leigh NC Jan 4 2013 at age 88
Maria Devens (MS rsquo93 PhD rsquo96) of Chi-
cago April 10 2013 at age 46
Robin B Bunster (BS rsquo99) of Lake
Oswego Ore April 20 2013 at age 45
We want to hear
from you too
Click HERE and give us your update
to feature in the next issue
Jasmine Abrams MS a
doctoral student in
the health psychology
program is the 2013 re-
cipient of the Psychology
of Black Graduate Stu-
dent Women Award for
her manuscript entitled
Demystification of the lsquoStrong Black
Womanrsquordquo Abrams was honored during
the Division 35 Section 1 awards ceremo-
ny at the 2013 American Psychological
Association convention in Hawaii
Faye Belgrave PhD
professor of social psy-
chology and director of
the Center for Cultural
Experiences in Preven-
tion will serve as the fac-
ulty fellow for advancing
diverse faculty in research
in VCUrsquos Division for Inclusive Excellence
In this role she will be responsible for
providing seminars consultation and pro-
fessional development to support diverse
faculty in sponsored research
Mary Beth Heller PhD
will serve the department
as interim director of the
Center for Psychological
Services and Develop-
ment Her appointment
follows the departure of
Leticia Flores PhD Flores
is the new associate director of University
of Tennesseersquos Psychological Clinic
Wendy Kliewer PhD
professor of developmen-
tal psychology and de-
partment chair and Jo
Lynne Robins PhD as-
sistant professor in the
VCU School of Nursing
have been awarded a VCU Presidential
Research Quest Award for Project HEART
Their study will examine the impact of
stress on the physical body for mothers of
teenagers in underserved communities in
the Richmond area and its surrounding
communities Also the study will examine
relationships between stress and resilien-
cy on heart health in adolescents and
mothers living in underserved communi-
ties Read more about this important in-
terdisciplinary effort at improved commu-
nity engagement and health
Joshua Langberg PhD
assistant professor in the
clinical psychology pro-
gram received a $24
million grant from the
Institute of Educational
Sciences for the project
ldquoEfficacy of an Organiza-
tional Skills Intervention for Middle School
Students with ADHD The four-year grant
will be used to compare two different
types of school-based interventions for
improving the academic performance of
middle school-age students with ADHD
Read more about it
Micah McCreary PhD
associate professor in the
counseling psychology
program led a group of
seven students and one
kindergarten teacher to
the ravaged island of Haiti
as part of the VCU service-
learning Haitian Empowerment Program
between science and religion Read the
news release from VCU News
VCU recently made a promotional video
highlighting four facultystudent research
partnerships and discussing some of the
benefits of participating in research and
what students need to
know to ensure a success-
ful experience Joe Por-
ter PhD professor of
biopsychology and his
undergraduate student
Brian Joseph were fea-
tured Watch the video
Bruce Rybarczyk PhD
director of clinical training
for our clinical program
and newly promoted pro-
fessor of clinical psycholo-
gy was recently featured
in an article in the maga-
zine ldquoVirginia Livingrdquo for his expertise in
the study and treatment of insomnia
Read the article
Third year doctoral stu-
dent in the health psy-
chology program Daniel
Snipes MS recently
learned that his first au-
thor publication (co-
authored by Eric Be-
notsch PhD) entitled High-
risk cocktails and high-risk sex Examining
the relation between alcohol mixed with
energy drink consumption sexual behav-
ior and drug use in college students was
the second most downloaded article in the
journal Addictive Behaviors for the month
of August Read the abstract
Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD professor
in the clinical psychology
program director of
graduate studies and co-
director of the Anxiety
Clinic at the Center for
Psychological Services
and Development was recently called up-
on to address the management of the
Department News and Updates
Kliewer
McCreary
Porter
Langberg
Southam-Gerow
Rybarczyk
Belgrave
Snipes
Abrams
Heller
Hulsey Van Tongeren Green
anxiety children sometimes feel about go-
ing back to school in the fall Read the
VCU News QampA Another bit of good
news for Southam-Gerow is his recent
promotion from associate professor to full
professor
Everett Worthington
PhD director of clinical
training in the counseling
psychology program was
nominated for the pres-
tigious Joseph B and To-
by Gittler Prize The
$25000 prize includes a medal and a lec-
ture at Brandeis University by the recipi-
ent The awardee must have produced a
body of published work that reflects schol-
arly excellence and a lasting contribution
to racial ethnic andor religious relations
anywhere in the world
Worthington has also been featured in
several media and print outlets recently
For example an article he wrote on forgiv-
ing the man who murdered his mother
appeared in Septemberrsquos issue of Christi-
anity Today the largest popular magazine
in American Christianity He was also
quoted as an expert in forgiveness in a
recent online article regarding the ordeal
of Ariel Castro and the three women he
held as captives in his Cleveland base-
ment
In addition Worthington has published a
new book ldquoMoving Forward Six Steps to
Forgiving Yourself and Breaking Free from
the Pastrdquo that was featured in a VCU
news article Read an excerpt
Linda Zyzniewski PhD associate profes-
sor of social psychology director of under-
graduate studies and deanrsquos fellow for the
College of Humanities and Sciences is
president-elect of VCUrsquos chapter of Phi
Kappa Phi Her term will
be for the 2014-15
school year ΦΚΦ faculty
have made significant
contributions to ad-
vancement of knowledge
and understanding
through research publication profession-
al innovation or artistic creativity sus-
tained excellence in teaching achieve-
ments transcending customary levels of
service in academic or professional socie-
ties of national scope recognition by other
major honor societies special honors and
awards and significant leadership in the
VCU academic community
Congratulations to the
recipients of this yearrsquos
annual department fac-
ulty awards for excel-
lence The Outstanding
Service Award was given
to Barbara Myers
PhD for sustained ex-
cellence in service to her community uni-
versity College department and field
Myers has been instrumental in establish-
ing and maintaining VCUrsquos community
partnership with Richmond City Jails
The winner of this yearrsquos Outstanding
Scholarship Award goes to Joshua Lang-
berg PhD Langberg is a strong ADHD
researcher who continues to publish high
impact findings and obtain substantial
grant funding for his work
Finally we would like to recognize Micah
McCreary PhD as this yearrsquos winner of
the Outstanding Teaching Award
McCreary continues to be one of the high-
est student-rated instructors in our de-
partment He provided an excellent ser-
vice learning opportunity for our students
this summer in Haiti
Support Staff Updates
Jennifer Elswick Direc-
tor for Strategic Initia-
tives and Assistant to
Chair was appointed to
serve as one of two in-
augural staff members
on the VCU Academic
Affairs Committee She
was also featured in a recent article in the
College of Humanities and Sciences news-
letter
Stephanie Hart MBA
CRA service center di-
rector of operations par-
ticipated in the National
Council of University Re-
search Administrators
Financial Research Ad-
ministration Workshop The
two and a half day workshop focused pri-
marily on the financial aspects of research
administration and provided an in-depth
look at financial compliance issues
through a combination of lecture case
studies review of federal audit reports
and a discussion of best practices
Yin Huang grants manag-
er just completed the
three-credit course Busi-
ness Statistics to supple-
ment the knowledge base
for her position
Diana Pauley executive
secretary received a Spot Award for Day-
to-Day Excellence for her persistence in
getting Williams House a new roof
Department News and Updates
Worthington
Elswick
Zyzniewski
Myers
Hart
Kurt Crandall PhD is a licensed clinical
psychologist who joined our faculty this
fall Crandall received his PhD in clinical
psychology from the University of Kansas
with a specialty in health psychology He
interned at the Veterans Affairs Medical
Center in Washington DC where he
worked in psychiatric triage counseled pa-
tients with chronic pain and conducted
group therapy for veterans who were en-
rolled in a partial hospitalization program
Following his internship year he spent
three years as an assistant professor in the
Department of Psychology at Wesleyan Col-
lege in Macon Georgia From there Cran-
dall left academia and returned to clinical
work to complete a postdoctoral fellowship
with an emphasis on couples and family
therapy at a community mental health cen-
ter in Chicago After his postdoctoral expe-
rience he worked as a staff psychologist in
the Primary Care Clinic at the VA Hospital in
Seattle
Upon his move back to the east coast Cran-
dall returned to academia and joined the
psychology faculty at Longwood University
For the past several years he has also been
employed as a psychologist in a private
practice here in Richmond Crandall prac-
tices as a cognitive behavioral therapist and
is trained to work with adults His clinical
areas of interest and experience include
promoting health through behavioral
change treating mood and anxiety disor-
ders helping clients cope with physical ill-
ness and disease facilitating stress manage-
ment and counseling couples His general
research interests are in the areas of health
psychology and positive psychology More
specifically he is interested in the effect
positive frames of thinking (eg hope opti-
mism forgiveness) may have on onersquos phys-
ical and emotional health
Zewelanji Serpell PhD joined our depart-
ment this fall as an associate professor in
the developmental program Before VCU
she was an associate professor in the psy-
chology department at Virginia State Uni-
versity Prior to that Serpell held a re-
search faculty position at James Madison
University and served as the associate di-
rector of the Alvin V Baird Attention and
Learning Disabilities Center She has also
held research positions at the Research Tri-
angle Institute-International the Eunice
Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development Study of
Early Childcare the American Association
for Colleges of Teacher Education and the
Center for Research on Children Placed At-
Risk
Serpellrsquos principle research interest is har-
nessing advances in cognitive science to
develop interventions that target executive
functions Translation is a particular goal of
her work which often takes the form of a
series of iterative small-N lab studies to in-
dividualize or perfect the design of inter-
ventions followed by often challenging
attempts to implement these interventions
in the real world of schools
Serpell currently has three active projects
In collaboration with former department
assistant professor Michelle Ellefson PhD
and Teresa Parr (BS lsquo93 MS lsquo95 PhD
lsquo99) the first project explores whether the
mental activities associated with playing
chess improve executive function and aca-
demic outcomes in elementary school stu-
dents The second and third projects are
funded by the National Science Foundation
and conducted in collaboration with col-
leagues from Virginia State University and
University of California San Diego These
projects involve testing the efficacy of com-
mercially available ldquobrain trainingrdquo pro-
grams with African American students and
examining the role of non-cognitive factors
specifically motivation and affect in cogni-
tive training contexts
Serpell was born and raised in Zambia and
reports having family all over the world
She received her bachelorrsquos degree in psy-
chology from Clark University in Worcester
Mass and her masterrsquos degree and PhD in
developmental psychology from Howard
University in Washington DC In her spare
time Serpell enjoys reading novels cooking
vegetarian meals and swimming with her
two sons She says she came to VCU for the
research opportunitiesmdashnew faculty collab-
orations working with VCUrsquos diverse stu-
dent body and getting involved with efforts
to improve outcomes for K-12 students
attending urban public schools
Meet our New Faculty Members
Zewelanji Serpell PhD
Kurt Crandall PhD
An affable psychology professor with a tidy office Dr Albert D Farrell warmly greets visi-tors to the West Franklin Street space that houses the Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth De-velopment The institute serves as a hub for studies led by Dr Farrell its director and one of the na-tionrsquos leading research scientists on risk and protective factors associated with problem behaviors during adolescence He began his academic career at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1980 as an assis-tant professor with the goal of ldquoworking with students who are involved in and excited about researchrdquo In 1992 he joined an effort that dramatically shaped the rest of his career It began with evaluating a Richmond youth violence prevention program Since then Dr Farrell has received nearly $16 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue re-searching youth violence including developing and evaluating a middle school program Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways which was designed to reduce violence by promoting positive problem-solving skills Grants totaling $26 million have supported his research which has been cited more than 1500 times and as often as 100 times annually in recent years Dr Farrellrsquos work has been continuously funded by the CDC for 21 straight years ldquoHis empirically supported model for youth violence prevention is considered the gold standard by psychologistsrdquo writes Dr James Coleman dean of the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences In 2005 the Clark-Hill Institute was selected by the CDC as one of eight Academic Centers of Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention and received $43 million in funding over five years Five years later VCU edged out Johns Hopkins Harvard Columbia and the University of California Berkley among others for a second round of funding securing $65 million to run the institute through September 2015 ldquoIrsquom really proud we were able accomplish thatrdquo Dr Farrell says ldquoWe competed extremely well against elite institutions with considerable resourcesrdquo For one CDC-funded project Dr Farrell collaborated on the Multisite Youth Violence Prevention Project with researchers from Duke University the University of Georgia and the University of Illinois at Chicago He developed most key aspects of the study according to Dr Thomas Simon deputy associate director for science in the CDCrsquos division of violence prevention ldquoDr Farrell has a gift for bringing together diverse opinions and identifying a path that utilizes the best science and practice principlesrdquo Dr Simon writes He uses that same quality in the classroom where he continues to teach the ldquoResearch Methods in Clinical Psychologyrdquo course he created 32 years ago Dr Farrell describes his role as more facilitator than teacher as he works to get students thinking about problems instead of looking to him for answers Dr Monique Vulin Reynolds a former student describes his class as one of the most useful and enjoyable she took at VCU ldquoHis own passion and dedication to the subject matter was what made the difference in keeping us absorbed and working hard to meet his expectationsrdquo she writes He earns near-perfect ratings on student evaluations according to Dr Wendy Kliewer chair of the psychology department Thatrsquos an unparalleled feat she writes especially since he taught a graduate statistics course she says both students and faculty shy away from Dr Scott Vrana a VCU psychology professor notes that one thing is missing from Dr Farrellrsquos resume mdash that he pours ldquothousands of hours into promoting and advancing the careers of other faculty members graduate students and postdoctoral fel-lowsrdquo His record does reflect some of that time Dr Farrell has chaired advisory committees for 30 masterrsquos theses and 22 doctoral dissertations Students and faculty describe him as a mentor who is approachable open and supportive and who always makes time for others no matter his schedule In reflecting on his career at VCU Dr Farrell says the way its pieces ended up fitting together seems sensible Its specific course however was strongly shaped by opportunities that presented themselves along the way Being at VCU provided advantages over other universities he worked with on youth violence prevention research he says mdash chiefly the lack of barriers between VCU and the community because most Richmonders are connected to VCU in some way While he has no imminent plans for retirement Dr Farrell says he hopes that he will be remembered as the first director of the Clark-Hill Institute as it continues making important strides in youth violence prevention ldquoWe are so totally aligned with VCUrsquos Quest for Distinctionrdquo he says ldquoWersquore interdisciplinary and well---positioned to really expand We have tremendous potentialrdquo
Recipient of the University Award of Excellence
Albert Farrell PhD
Picture and article courtesy of VCU University Relations
Graduate students in the clinical and
counseling psychology doctoral pro-
grams have completed a series of studies
under the mentorship of Bruce
Rybarczyk PhD (lsquo89 clinical program
graduate professor of clinical psycholo-
gy and director of clinical training) mak-
ing substantial contributions to advanc-
ing the treatment of insomnia in individ-
uals with co-morbid psychiatric condi-
tions Three of those studies were fea-
tured in a special issue of the Journal of
Clinical Psychology Two of the studies
were intervention studies with individu-
als with psychiatric diagnoses The first
was a dissertation by Nile Wagley PhD
(rsquo10 counseling program) providing cog-
nitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to pa-
tients undergoing treatment at the VCU
Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic These pa-
tients were receiving treatment for an
average of 36 years and continued to
have insomnia symptoms in spite of their
psychiatric care Two sessions of CBT for
insomnia including one conducted via
telephone were effective in improving
sleep and reducing depressive symp-
toms Among the twenty patients who
participated in treatment 38 were able
to achieve normal sleep eight weeks
after the start of treatment relative to
none in the control group A second dis-
sertation study at the same clinic em-
ploying a large group of patients all of
whom were dependent on hypnotic
medication for managing their insomnia
and a longer format of treatment was
recently completed by sixth year clinical
psychology graduate student Hannah
Lund It also obtained encouraging re-
sults that will be written up for publica-
tion in the near future
A second intervention study targeting
recent veterans with Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) conducted by
Skye Margolies PhD (rsquo11 clinical pro-
gram) was also featured in the special
issue This dissertation study tested four
sessions of CBT-I and an optional supple-
mentary treatment for nightmares
(imagery rehearsal therapy) with forty
combat veterans (mean age 377 years)
who served in Afghanistan andor Iraq a
group that has experienced high levels of
both PTSD and insomnia The treatment
sessions were provided at the McGuire
Veterans Administration Hospital in Rich-
mond The treatment led to significant
improvements in self-reported and ob-
jectively measured sleep a reduction in
PTSD symptom severity and PTSD-
related nighttime symptoms and a re-
duction in depression and distressed
mood compared to the waitlist control
group This study was replicated by Lau-
rin Mack PhD (rsquo13 clinical program)
Her study provided a classroom CBT in-
tervention to a wide array of veterans as
a follow-up supplement to a recently
completed a psycho-educational course
on coping with PTSD This study replicat-
ed the earlier findings of improved sleep
although it did not obtain the same re-
sult for reductions in PTSD symptoms
possibly related to the fact that many of
VCU Students Faculty and
Alumni Contribute to
Advancing the Treatment of
Insomnia Bruce Rybarczyk PhD
the participants had PTSD for several
decades rather than several years Both
Margolies and Mack were funded by
prestigious Rehabilitation Research Fel-
lowship awards for over $61000 com-
bined from the Department of Veteran
Affairs
CBT for insomnia was developed by a
group of pioneering researchers begin-
ning twenty-five years ago VCU Psychol-
ogy and Psychiatry has a long history
with this pioneering work One of the
most prolific researchers in this area
Jack Edinger PhD (rsquo78) is an alumnus of
the clinical psychology program and an-
other prominent researcher Charles
Morin PhD was a faculty member at
VCU While here Morin conducted one
of the first randomized clinical trials
showing that CBT was superior to hyp-
notic sleep medications CBT has several
treatment components including an ini-
tial reduction in sleep to increase sleep
drive and retrain normal sleep as well as
a method for eliminating time spent in
bed while awake to weaken the associa-
tion between being in bed and having
anxiety about not falling asleep The
treatment also includes education in the
science of
sleep in order
to provide the
patient with an
ldquoownerrsquos man-
ualrdquo for their
sleep system
These studies
contribute to
growing evi-
dence that CBT
for insomnia is
a treatment
that should be
offered to all
mental health
patients as a
supplement to
other treatments they are receiving that
are targeting the primary mental health
diagnosis Not only is sleep substantially
improved as a result of these interven-
tions but other mental health symptoms
are alleviated as a consequence of im-
proved sleep Additionally there are no
side effects treatment is brief the bene-
fits are sustained over time and the cost
is limited especially when employing self
-help materials The challenge that lies
ahead is training more clinicians to deliv-
er this brief treatment and getting the
word is out to health professionals and
the public that this should be a first line
treatment for persistent insomnia Alt-
hough a 2005 National Institutes of
Health expert panel recommended that
CBT be offered to all chronic insomnia
sufferers before prescribing a medica-
tion there has been very limited pro-
gress in dissemination thus far This is
due to the public and professional bias
towards the use of medications and the
lack of awareness of this newer treat-
ment approach To address the science-
practice gap future research by
Rybarczyk and colleagues will test a
ldquostepped carerdquo approach to delivering
CBT in primary care using varied levels
of treatment intensity and different
methods of delivery including the Inter-
net This stepped care approach will be
tested in primary care offices The con-
cept was detailed in a 2011 publication
by Mack and Rybarczyk
Although there are less than two hun-
dred clinical psychologists who are ex-
perts and researchers in CBT for insom-
nia a remarkable number of them are
VCU clinical psychology alumni In addi-
tion to Edinger and Rybarczyk Jason
Ong PhD (rsquo04 clinical program) is
board certified in behavioral sleep medi-
cine and is a prominent insomnia re-
searcher at Rush University Medical Cen-
ter in Chicago Don Townsend PhD
(rsquo99 clinical program) is a board certified
sleep clinician at the Fairview Sleep Cen-
ter in Minnesota and Kevin Smith PhD
(rsquo04 clinical program) is an assistant pro-
fessor of pediatrics at the University of
Missouri-Kansas City and is board certi-
fied in behavioral sleep medicine VCU
alumni are likely to have an even larger
impact on the growing field of behavioral
sleep medicine in the future as all four
of the recent graduates who conducted
the research
described
above are con-
tinuing to work
in this field
VCU faculty contributors to the studies de-scribed above include Drs Steve Danish David Leszczyszyn John Lynch (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo89) Tim Nay and Scott Vra-na
Bruce Rybarczyk PhD and Denise Borden MD discuss a patientrsquos care in VCUrsquos Primary Care Clinic
Over the past year the news has been filled with ongoing
legislative disputes in Washington Terms like fiscal cliff
debt ceiling and sequestration have become part of our vo-
cabulary With myriad predictions being made it can be
hard to decipher what impact recent government actions
could have here in our department
There are several recent government actions that could sub-
stantially influence research activity in Psychology The
first is known as sequestration or the ldquofiscal cliffrdquo This
was a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011 which im-
posed across-the-board cuts to defense and discretionary
programs in the event that Congress could not reach a com-
promise on the federal budget The Act was supposed to
motivate Congress to reach a solution as no one wanted or
expected to see sequestration implemented Unfortunately
Congress failed to reach a compromise and sequestration
went into effect on March 1 2013
Sequestration resulted in substantial budget cuts to our ma-
jor federal funders The National Institutes for Health Psy-
chologyrsquos largest funding source lost 5 of its total budget
amounting to $155 billion Since these were across-the-
board cuts no area of health research was spared As a
result we have received fewer new awards and our contin-
uing awards have been reduced VCU President Michael
Rao estimated in February that VCUrsquos grant portfolio could
see reductions of $12-$21 million by September 2013 as a
direct result of sequestration Luckily we have not seen
this dire outcome just yetmdashVCUrsquos grant award portfolio
showed excellent performance in fiscal year 2013mdashbut that
does not mean that effects will not be felt later
For example at the department level fewer new grant
awards could result in a lack of replacement funding for
projects slated to end soon Individuals paid from those
projects would likely be laid off if no source of new fund-
ing could be found Reduced budgets for continuing pro-
jects could result in cuts to the number of people a given
project could support Sequestration will also make it hard-
er for new faculty to get their first grants as grant programs
become increasingly competitive This in turn makes it
harder for them to support graduate students and postdoc-
toral associates There could also be an impact on federally
funded fellowships scholarships and student aid The fed-
eral work-study program for example could lose up to $50
million dollars as a result of sequestration That represents
a substantial number of students who would have to find
other sources of income
As if that were not enough sequestration is only one piece
of the puzzle Other government actions have the potential
to compound the impacts One such action is the Afforda-
ble Care Act otherwise known as ldquoObamacarerdquo Aside
from the obvious controversy the ACA has had some unin-
tended consequences In Virginia it resulted in the Man-
power Control Act or the 29-Hour Rule This law limits
part-time and hourly employees to a total of 29 hours per
week This has resulted in loss of income for students and
other part-time employees some of whom have historically
held multiple jobs at the university Multiple university
jobs are no longer allowed under the Manpower Control
Act In addition since the rule applies to adjunct faculty
too it has resulted in a reduction in the number of credit
hours they can teach This means an additional burden on
the already overloaded full-time faculty who must make up
The Impact of Recent US Government Actions on the
Departmentrsquos Research Mission
Brigette S Pfister MHRD CRA
Page 9
the shortfall in credit hours taught in addition to their ex-
isting responsibilitiesmdashlike grant writing This could fur-
ther depress our new award activity over the next few
years
The recent government shutdown adds another dimension
of complexity The government shutdown was brought
about by circumstances similar to those of sequestration
Once again legislators needed to compromise on the feder-
al budget in order to avert disaster This time the point of
contention was the Affordable Care Act Republicans
wanted to defund the ACA as a condition of passing the
Continuing Resolution that would keep the government
operational Democrats refused to approve any bill that
attempted to defund or otherwise nullify the ACA Once
again no compromise was reached and the government
shutdown took effect on October 1 2013
Immediately many federal systems were taken of-
fline We could not submit new proposals progress reports
or even establish new accounts Awards already delayed
and reduced by sequestration stopped altogether for the
duration of the shutdown Though there is widespread
conjecture on the subject no one really knows what the
long term impact will be on university research
During the shutdown work on existing projects was al-
lowed to continue provided that funding had already been
made available However we were unable to draw down
funds from the federal government In other words if we
didnrsquot already have it then we couldnrsquot spend it If the
shutdown had gone on longer even existing projects would
have probably had to lay off grant funded personnel and in
some cases completely stop work Also the government
doesnrsquot process passports and visas during the shutdown
so projects that depend on foreign travel were held up con-
siderably
The situation could worsen if Congress fails to devise a
workable long-term solution when the current debt ceiling
expires on February 7 If there is failure to compromise
the United States could default on our national debt There
is no clear picture of what the impacts of that would be but
we know they would not be positive
Since our overall grant portfolio at VCU did not appear to
suffer in fiscal year 2013 it might be tempting to disregard
some of the more dire warnings However it is important
to recognize that incoming awards are based on proposals
submitted in fiscal year 2012 or earlier so many of those
funding decisions were made prior to the most current cri-
sis We probably wont see the true impact of all of the
above until fiscal year 2014 or thereafter At minimum
the cessation of all proposal activity during the shutdown
will result in delayed resumption of award activity in addi-
tion to the delays and budget cuts already happening be-
cause of sequestration This will likely cause our total
awarded dollars to decrease over the next few years
Overall the impact on VCU research may not be disas-
trous but at the department level grant projects and the
individuals working on those projects could suffer signifi-
cant impact from the cumulative effects
Brigette S Pfister is director of sponsored programs for the
College of Humanities and Sciences at VCU
Dome United States Capitol Washington DC
Architect of the Capitol
Adriana Rodriguez graduated from the
University of California Berkeley in 2008
with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and
a minor in ethnic studies Following grad-
uation Rodriguez obtained a research as-
sistant position with Bruce Chorpita
PhD at UCLA helping to advance the
effectiveness of mental health treatment
for children and adolescents Her work
with Chorpita further solidified her aspira-
tion to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical
psychology working specifically with racial
andor ethnic minority youth
Rodriguez joined the Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD research laboratory as a
doctoral student in clinical psychology in
the fall of 2010 When asked why Rodri-
guez decided to attend VCU she stated
that she felt inspired and motivated by the
energy and innovation that Southam-
Gerow brings to the field of psychology
ldquoIt was the best decision I could have
maderdquo
In reflecting on her experience at VCU
Rodriguez is struck by how collaborative
the department in general and her lab in
particular are Her research interests lie
broadly in the dissemination and imple-
mentation of mental health treatment for
children and adolescents She is also in-
terested in cultural and linguistic adapta-
tions of assessments to minority popula-
tions in real-world clinic settings Recent-
ly Rodriguez was able to collaborate with
Rosalie Corona PhD of the clinical psy-
chology program whose work focuses on
health promotion and risk reduction
among ethnic minority populations In
working with Latina college students Ro-
driguez notes ldquoI understand the difficul-
ties that this population is facing from a
policy perspective and also through my
personal experiencehellip I was that kid who
didnrsquot have enough money for the bus
farerdquo
Born to a working-class Mexican family
Rodriguez is the first to receive a college
education let alone pursue a graduate
degree Her work is driven in part by a
desire to empower her family and culture
while forging her own identity
When asked about career aspirations she
responds ldquoI want to keep goinghellip go as far
as I canrdquo Rodriguez is molding herself for
a research position in academia where she
would ideally like to serve at the public
policy level of mental health treatment
dissemination and implementation
In her spare time she enjoys running long
distances around Richmondrsquos Byrd Park
and Brownrsquos Island She also spends time
drawing particularly individuals with pro-
nounced facial expressions Rodriguez
jokes that this interest probably stems
from all the time she has spent coding vid-
eotapes in the Southam-Gerow lab
Graduate Student Spotlight
Adriana Rodriguez MS Clinical Psychology program
The Global Bridges Project is a community engaged research pro-ject directed by Maghboeba Mosavel PhD of VCUrsquos Department of Social and Behavioral Health School of Medicine This summer Mosavel led a small team of six students to the University of Kwa-Zulu-Natalmdasha VCU international partner universitymdashin Durban South Africa to conduct community engaged research in the Ken-neth Gardens public housing community in Durban Jasmine Abrams and Morgan Maxwell were two of those students A third student Carrie Miller is a second year master of public health student who has previously worked for the Department of Psychol-ogy as project coordinator for Clarissa Holmes PhD Abrams and Maxwell chronicled their work in Durban on this blog httpbuilding-global-bridgesblogspotcom Itrsquos a great read
Submitted by Annie Rabinovitz doctoral
student in the clinical psychology program
Abrams Maxwell
Linda A Mensah-Etsi (see front cover) a
junior psychology major is a recent recipi-
ent of the Melvin V Lubman Scholarship
in Psychology The Melvin V Lubman
Scholarship was established by Mrs Golde
Lubman Feldman to honor her husbandrsquos
dedication and service as a professor in
the Department of Psychology Mensah-
Etsi reports that the scholarship will help
her greatly with her tuition and fees
When asked why she chose psychology as
a major Mensah-Etsi said that she is curi-
ous about many things and psychology
was the one subject that kept her interest
piqued at all times She said ldquoI like how I
can always be surprised by all the different
topics covered under psychology alonerdquo
Surely her constant interest is in part due
to her two ldquoall-time favoriterdquo classesmdash
Statistical Applications in the Psychology
Field with Linda Zyzniewski PhD and
Abnormal Psychology with adjunct profes-
sor Jessica Brown Mensah-Etsi picked
these as her favorites because she likes
the mathematical focus of statistics and
admitted to having an ldquoobsessionrdquo with
mental illnesses
Continuing her love for the subject Men-
sah-Etsi has decided to further her skills by
applying for several internships through-
out the department After narrowing
down her choices for internships this fall
from three options she is excited to have
begun her new internship at VCUrsquos Clark
Hill Institute for Positive Youth
Development She says she chose this op-
portunity because ldquonot only is it in the
field in which I am currently interested
the internship will give me the opportunity
to learn a valuable coding skill that I might
eventually need to userdquo
A former volunteer elementary school
teachers aide she has a clear interest in
working with children and teens and
would like to pursue another volunteer
opportunity with the organization Stop
Child Abuse Now here in Richmond
With time on her side Mensah-Etsi cer-
tainly has plenty of opportunities to
change her career path She hopes she
can get a job with her degree or perhaps
continue on to graduate school and even
sees a career in research as a possibility
Ultimately though she is interested in
counseling young children or teens who
have experienced trauma Her goal is to
help kids ldquounderstand that at least one
person is on their side even if it seems that
they have to deal with it on their ownrdquo
One of the many interesting aspects of
this junior is that she is only 18 years old
She was a mere 16 years of age when she
first enrolled at VCU and proves daily that
age has nothing to do with capacity for
success A very hard worker when asked
about her free time Mensah-Etsi says she
has been very preoccupied with school-
work as well as with working two jobs
However she says working out at the gym
has been very close to a hobby for her
lately
When shersquos not in Richmond Mensah-Etsi
lives in Alexandria with her family We
asked her why she chose to settle in Rich-
mond and attend VCU and she jokingly
said it is because her two favorite colors
are black and yellow ldquoOn a serious noterdquo
she stated ldquoI just really fell in love with
the city when I visited so there was no
doubt in my mind that I wanted to attend
VCU I grew up in a city so this felt close
to homerdquo
A native of Togo in West Africa Mensah-
Etsi moved to the US in 2007 shortly be-
fore she turned 13 She says it wasnrsquot a
hard transition for her as she already
spoke French and Ewe (an ethnic lan-
guage) so English was quite easy to learn
by comparison She indeed misses the
spicy foods of Togo but also says that
while other people in Richmond may be
annoyed by the street sounds lights and
crooked sidewalks it makes her feel right
at home
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral stu-
dent in the health psychology program
Undergraduate Student Spotlight
Linda A Mensah-Etsi Class of lsquo15
Congratulations to David Rockman class of 2013 for receiving the Benjamin A Gilman Scholarship Rockman will receive $5000 to study in one country from four weeks to one academic year Named after retired Congressman Benjamin A Gilman from New York the programrsquos goal is to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go
This summer Paul Perrin PhD led six
VCU psychology doctoral students on a
month-long expedition to the University of
Deusto in Bilbao Spain to participate in a
research training program on racialethnic
disparities in health The trip was due in
large part to Perrinrsquos ongoing collabora-
tion with Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla
PhD a research professor in the Universi-
ty of Deustorsquos Department of Psychology
and former faculty member in VCUrsquos De-
partment of Physical Medicine and Reha-
bilitation Perrin and Arango-Lasprilla
spent the past year planning and coordi-
nating this unique opportunity for stu-
dents who worked with them on various
research projects meeting and collabo-
rating with researchers from all over the
world Among the group of 20 interna-
tional researchers contributing to and par-
ticipating in this training program were
psychology doctoral students Gillian Lei-
bach and Stephen Trapp of the counseling
program Sarah Doyle of the developmen-
tal program Shaina Gulin of the clinical
program and Alejandra Morlett Paredes
and Megan Sutter of the health program
The students worked with a team of inter-
national researchers spanning ten differ-
ent countries The purpose of the training
program was to teach students to conduct
health disparities research in an interna-
tional context and build collaborative
teams at various universities and rehabili-
tation facilities The specific focus was the
psychosocial functioning of individuals
from understudied global regions with
neurological conditions such as traumatic
brain injury dementia spinal cord injury
and multiple sclerosis Unpaid family care-
givers often provide the majority of the
informal care to individuals with these
conditions yet have very few resources in
order to meet their family and caregiving
needs Therefore a major goal of these
projects was to study the factors related
to mental and physical health of caregiv-
ers and to create culturally sensitive
health care recommendations for these
regions The team is accumulating evi-
dence for interventions that will improve
the quality of informal care for individuals
with neurological conditions in regions
such as Latin America where much of this
research is being conducted
Each of the VCU doctoral students had the
opportunity to take the lead on projects
studying the potential protective and risk
factors associated with caregiver mental
and physical health in either older adults
with dementia or in children with spinal
cord injuries and disorders They were
also able to propose potential future pro-
jects with existing data or completely new
data collections based in various under-
studied global regions such as in Neiva
Colombia Auckland New Zealand Copen-
hagen Denmark and Mexico City Mexico
among many others Perrin and the team
of international researchers offered a
number of seminars on advanced research
methods and statistics such as factor
analysis structural equation modeling
qualitative research methods meta-
analysis neuroimaging and scientific man-
uscript preparation
The
group
was able
to take
part in
many
cultural
experi-
ences
and enjoyed exploring the city of Bilbao
and the surrounding countryside and
beaches The researchers and students
spent most of their time in the countryrsquos
Basque region where they were able to
visit the iconic Guggenheim Museum of
modern and contemporary art innumera-
ble pintxo restaurants (a specialty of this
region similar to tapas) and a celebration
of Bilbaorsquos 713th anniversary
The group also traveled to many places
around the country including Bermeo and
San Sebastiaacuten which are located on the
Northern coast of Spain near the border of
France In Bermeo they made a trek to
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe a hermitage
that is accessed by hiking down a narrow
trail crossing a stone bridge and walking
up approximately 230 steps The group
felt the hike was definitely worth the
effort though andmdashas a legend in-
structsmdashgot to the peak rang a bell three
times and made three wishes Together
many of the researchers and students also
took a day trip to San Sebastiaacuten a coastal
town that rests on the Bay of Biscay fa-
mous for its renowned Basque food and
of course its shoreline They also got the
chance to venture to southern France and
Barcelona
Spotlight on International Research and Learning
Paul Perrin PhD
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student
in the health psychology program
ldquoA major goal of these
projects was to study the
factors related to mental
and physical health of
caregivers and to create
culturally sensitive health
care recommendations for
these regionsrdquo
ldquoI had a wonderful experience in Bilbao When I started graduate
school I certainly did not expect I would get to travel abroad to do
research It was a really unique opportunity getting to meet and work with well-known researchers from around the world Bilbao
is beautiful and I did quite a bit of exploring in and around the city
learning the areas rich cultural customs and history It is a good
feeling to know that our research has the potential to help im-prove the quality of life of patients with neurological conditions
and their caregiversrdquo
Shaina Gulin clinical psychology doctoral student
Back row [L to R] Javier Pentildea
(Spain) Hinemoa Elder (New Zea-
land) Nada Andelic (Norway)
Alfonso Caracuel (Spain) Hugo
Senra (Portugal) Stephen Trapp
(USA) Ivan Panyavin (Spain)
Anne Norup (Denmark) Charles
Hallmark (USA) Alejandra Morlett
(USA) Alexander Moreno
(Canada) Rociacuteo Del Pino Saacuteez
(Spain) Clara Isabel Gonzaacutelez
Berdugo (Spain) Maria Cristina
Quijano (Colombia) Yaneth Rodri-
guez (Mexico)
Front row [L to R] Juan Carlos
Arango-Lasprilla (Spain) Carlos de
los Reyes (Colombia) Megan
Sutter (USA) Sarah Doyle (USA)
Gillian Leibach (USA) Shaina Gulin
(USA) Naroa Ibarretxe (Spain)
Paul Perrin (USA)
Kristin Heron PhD from Penn State University visited the de-
partment early in the fall semester Heron is associate director
of the Dynamic Real-time Ecological Ambulatory Methodologies
Initiative at Penn States Survey Research Center In this posi-
tion she uses ecological momentary assessment and ecological
momentary intervention in her research focused on a range of
clinical health topics including eating behaviors body image
physical activity promotion and smoking cessation Ecological
momentary assessment broadly refers to the use of assess-
ments (eg questionnaires) that capture information about
people as they go about their daily lives in their natural environ-
ment (eg home) Ecological momentary intervention refers to
interventions or treat-
ments that are delivered
to individuals as they go
about their daily lives
Heron spent time training
students in Dr Robin
Everharts research lab on
ecological momentary
assessment for a pediatric
asthma study that will
allow families to use
smart phones as they re-
port on their childs asth-
ma care in real time
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
professor of psychology
at the University of Vir-
ginia presented a talk to
the department in Sep-
tember titled ldquoThe Psy-
chological Wealth of
Nationsrdquo
Here is the abstract
What is a good society
Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good
society is a happy society―namely a society in which most citi-
zens are happy and free from fear Since the publication of
ldquoThe Wealth of Nationsrdquo by Adam Smith in 1776 most econo-
mists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a material-
ly wealthy society Thus gross national product and related
indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of
nations from the 1950rsquos to date Recently however prominent
economists as well as political scientists sociologists and psy-
chologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materi-
ally wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust
one another have a sense of freedom and have close social re-
lationships The inquiry into the psychological wealth of na-
tions or the subjective well-being of nations helps answer a
fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for mil-
lennia lsquolsquoWhat is a good societyrsquo
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
Kristin Heron PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Benita Belvet
Jessica Brown
Suzzette Chopin
Lillian Christon Arnold
Ashley Dibble
Rebecca Hubbard
David Jennings
Nichole Kelly
Laurin Mack
Priscilla Powell
Molly Neff
Laura Slosky
Denicia Titchner
Stephanie Wolf
Bachelor of Science
Vanessa Agyeman
Hasen Alghamdi
Latessa Allums
Michael Amon
Sonja Ayers
Sweska Basnet
Kirstie Breland
Erica Brown
Ashley Callis
Jakwame Carey
Megan Cavanagh
Grace Charriez
Courtney Christian
Alicia Cook
Aldijana Cordic
Jonathan Cox
Mary Dean
Anne Fishback
Sherona Gardner
Andrew Gibbs
Myra Glorioso
Logan Gravitt
Lateisha Greene
Katelyn Gruber
Jamila Harris
Tiquana Hill
James Hovermale
Savonne Howard
Marshall Hunter
Kelley Hurdle
Arturo Iglesias
Lucas Keckley
Hira Khalid
Jamison Lancaster
Dana Larson
Russ Lawrence
Michele Mascatello
Rachel Mason
Tiffany Mayo
Natasha McCoy
Alexandra McDougall
Brandie Mckenzie
Xue Ju Meyer
Scott Misturini
Lindsay Mitchiner
Lea Moisa
Brooke Myers
Krislee Nelson
Paul Norton
Sierre Norton
Kristin Oravetz
Stephen Page
Ryan Pannell
Kevin Papile
Natalie Parks
Krishna Patel
Justin Payne
James Peacock
Quy Phan
Cecilia Presseau
Nathalie Rieder
Kylessia Ross
Faryal Shahid
Katelyn Sisk
Angel Slach
Indira Smajlagic
Natalie Taylor
Adrienne Tetreault
Brandon Tolbert
Tierraney Truss
James Vosti
Brenda Wei
Patrick Wiley
Alaysia Williams
Lyndsay Wilshaw
Christopher Wilson
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to
education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual
orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of Psychology
806 W Franklin St
PO Box 842018
Richmond VA 23284-2018
Phone 804-828-1193
Fax 804-828-2237
Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu
Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu
Virginia Commonwealth
University
Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology
A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine
Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from
bottom on far right
Christopher Kilmartin (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo88)
is a professor of psychology at Mary Wash-
ington University For the current year
though he is Distinguished Visiting Profes-
sor of Behavioral Science and Leadership
at the United States Air Force Academy in
Colorado Springs His work on the
ldquoculture of hyper-masculinityrdquo was high-
lighted in a recent New York Times op-ed
article by Frank Bruni called ldquoTackling the
Roots of Raperdquo In addition he and co-
author John Lynch Jr (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo89)
just published the second edition of the
book ldquoOvercoming Masculine Depression
The Pain Behind the Maskrdquo
Dorothy Espelage PhD (BS rsquo91) recent-
ly accepted the Lifetime Achievement
Award from the American Psychological
Associationrsquos Prevention Section Award-
ees are recognized for their outstanding
achievements and contributions to psy-
chology Her work stood out in a
crowded and impressive group and was
described as exemplifying excellence in
prevention science and practice according
to the APA section Espelage has also
been appointed Edward William Gutgsell
amp Jane Marr Gutgsell Endowed Professor
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign We were thrilled to welcome
Espelage back to campus in May when she
delivered the commencement address at
the diploma ceremony for Psychology
graduates
Adam Joseph Prus (PhD lsquo04) is an associ-
ate professor in the Department of Psy-
chology at Northern Michigan University
He recently published the book ldquoAn Intro-
duction to Drugs and the Neuroscience of
Behaviorrdquo Joe Porter PhD professor of
biospsychology at VCU
will be using this very
book for spring 2014
when he teaches the
new undergraduate course
ldquoPsychopharmacology Drugs and Behav-
iorrdquo
Jeffrey Holder (BS lsquo05) is currently work-
ing as a BPMSix Sigma Black Belt Consult-
ant for a local company based in Rich-
mond BPM means business process man-
agement and Six Sigma is improvement
and project management work Over the
past two years he has traveled to Jamaica
Prague and Belgium and has discovered a
great affinity for Eastern Europe and WWII
history He says he has ldquohellipa small coffee
disorder in that he has to have itrdquo and
misses the college environment and the
academic level of discourse
Melinda Moore (PhD rsquo07) has started her
own company Spectrum Transformation
Group The company is a Richmond-based
behavioral health organization offering
intensive one-on-one treatment services
for children with autism and related neu-
rodevelopmental disorders
Ian Wallace (MS lsquo06 PhD lsquo09) recently
started a new position as a counseling psy-
chologist in Counseling and Psychological
Services at The California Maritime Acade-
my (a California State University campus)
located in Vallejo Calif He and his wife
Claire welcomed their second son Miles
to the family in July
Raymond Tademy (BS lsquo03 MS lsquo07 PhD
lsquo10) finished his three-year postdoctoral
fellowship with our department in the
Center for Cultural Experiences in Preven-
tion and is now working as an assistant
professor in the Department of Psychology
at Norfolk State University He says he is
enjoying this wonderful new personal and
professional challenge and expresses
thanks to our department for preparing
him so well for the teaching research
community service and advising aspects of
his new position Tademy has wasted no
time jumping right into things at Norfolk
State and is already part of several depart-
ment and university committees
Lindsey Dorflinger (MS lsquo09 PhD lsquo11)
recently accepted a position at the Con-
necticut VA Health Care System in
West Haven as health behavior coordina-
tor She says she is having a blast working
alongside VCU postdoctoral fellows Leila
Islam (MS lsquo03 PhD rsquo13) and Aaron Mar-
tin (PhD rsquo13) In this new position she
will get to participate in a wide range of
activities including individual and group
interventions for health behavior change
research training physicians and other
medical providers and program develop-
ment and evaluation She is also part of
the clinical health psychology training pro-
gram which she particularly loves and
where she gets to work with Aaron Leila
and the other health psychology trainees
It is a busy and exciting time for KC Con-
ley (MS rsquo09 PhD rsquo12 ) She completed
her internship at the New Jersey VA in Au-
gust 2012 and her postdoctoral fellowship
in college mental health at Pace University
in August 2013 She is happy to report
Alumni News and Notes
Adam Prus PhD holding his
new book ldquoAn Introduction
to Drugs and the Neurosci-
ence of Behaviorrdquo
VCU Alumni travel 2014 opportunities Panama Canal 100th Anniversary cruise Jan 4-12
Tahitian Jewels Jan 15-25
Asian Explorations Feb 20-March 10
Tanzania Safari During Great Migration March 3-13
Lesser Antilles cruise March 10-17
Southern Culture amp The Civil War paddlewheel cruise March 28-April 6
Passage to India April 2-15
Historic Reflections Mediterranean cruise April 20-May 1
Italyrsquos Lake District May 13-21
Mediterranean Grandeur May 15-26
Oxford England May 17-25
Mediterranean Antiquities May 21-29
The Great Rivers of Europe June 7-22
National Parks amp Lodges of the Old West June 28-July 7
Canadian Rockies Parks amp Resorts July 17-23
Adriatic Antiquities cruise June 26-July 9
Iceland to Greenland cruise Aug 2-14
Discover Switzerland Aug 6-21
Russia Revealed Moscow to Petersburg river cruise Aug 21ndashSept 5hellip (see more)
having passed the Examination for the
Professional Practice in Psychology in May
and receiving her New York license this
September Conley recently accepted a
staff psychologist position at the Center
for Motivation and Change where she will
be treating individuals who have problems
with substance use andor compulsive
behaviors She just celebrated her one
year wedding anniversary and is happily
living in Brooklyn NY
Shannon Hourigan (MS lsquo09 PhD lsquo12)
completed her postdoctoral fellowship at
Boston Childrens Hospital at the end of
August and then accepted a position in
the Division of Psychology Department of
Psychiatry as a full time attending psy-
chologist working in the Optimal Weight
for Life Program part of the New Balance
Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at
BCH She also has an academic appoint-
ment at Harvard Medical School as an in-
structor in psychology in the Department
of Psychiatry
Half of her time is spent doing clinical re-
search and she is currently working on an
exciting interdisciplinary collaborationmdasha
combined behavior and nutrition inter-
vention pilot using a telehealth approach
to reach families and served by an excel-
lent community pediatrics practice with
whom her program is partnering As the
only psychologist on the team she de-
signed and has been implementing the
behavioral intervention Her work on this
project has been significantly informed by
the ADAPT study and Chorpitas modular
approach
The other research project in the works is
a secondary prevention study with a local
pediatrics practice for toddler children to
provide anticipatory guidance to parents
regarding behavioral issues around feed-
ing to facilitate development of healthful
eating This has been partially informed
by her dissertation as well as her work
with the New Balance Foundation Obesity
Prevention Center She and the Center
are planning to submit an R21 and hoping
to collaborate with the Brazleton Institute
In addition to her clinical work she has
been tasked with developing the behav-
ioral medicine curriculum for the clinic
In Memoriam
James E Conner PhD (BS rsquo49) of Ra-
leigh NC Jan 4 2013 at age 88
Maria Devens (MS rsquo93 PhD rsquo96) of Chi-
cago April 10 2013 at age 46
Robin B Bunster (BS rsquo99) of Lake
Oswego Ore April 20 2013 at age 45
We want to hear
from you too
Click HERE and give us your update
to feature in the next issue
Jasmine Abrams MS a
doctoral student in
the health psychology
program is the 2013 re-
cipient of the Psychology
of Black Graduate Stu-
dent Women Award for
her manuscript entitled
Demystification of the lsquoStrong Black
Womanrsquordquo Abrams was honored during
the Division 35 Section 1 awards ceremo-
ny at the 2013 American Psychological
Association convention in Hawaii
Faye Belgrave PhD
professor of social psy-
chology and director of
the Center for Cultural
Experiences in Preven-
tion will serve as the fac-
ulty fellow for advancing
diverse faculty in research
in VCUrsquos Division for Inclusive Excellence
In this role she will be responsible for
providing seminars consultation and pro-
fessional development to support diverse
faculty in sponsored research
Mary Beth Heller PhD
will serve the department
as interim director of the
Center for Psychological
Services and Develop-
ment Her appointment
follows the departure of
Leticia Flores PhD Flores
is the new associate director of University
of Tennesseersquos Psychological Clinic
Wendy Kliewer PhD
professor of developmen-
tal psychology and de-
partment chair and Jo
Lynne Robins PhD as-
sistant professor in the
VCU School of Nursing
have been awarded a VCU Presidential
Research Quest Award for Project HEART
Their study will examine the impact of
stress on the physical body for mothers of
teenagers in underserved communities in
the Richmond area and its surrounding
communities Also the study will examine
relationships between stress and resilien-
cy on heart health in adolescents and
mothers living in underserved communi-
ties Read more about this important in-
terdisciplinary effort at improved commu-
nity engagement and health
Joshua Langberg PhD
assistant professor in the
clinical psychology pro-
gram received a $24
million grant from the
Institute of Educational
Sciences for the project
ldquoEfficacy of an Organiza-
tional Skills Intervention for Middle School
Students with ADHD The four-year grant
will be used to compare two different
types of school-based interventions for
improving the academic performance of
middle school-age students with ADHD
Read more about it
Micah McCreary PhD
associate professor in the
counseling psychology
program led a group of
seven students and one
kindergarten teacher to
the ravaged island of Haiti
as part of the VCU service-
learning Haitian Empowerment Program
between science and religion Read the
news release from VCU News
VCU recently made a promotional video
highlighting four facultystudent research
partnerships and discussing some of the
benefits of participating in research and
what students need to
know to ensure a success-
ful experience Joe Por-
ter PhD professor of
biopsychology and his
undergraduate student
Brian Joseph were fea-
tured Watch the video
Bruce Rybarczyk PhD
director of clinical training
for our clinical program
and newly promoted pro-
fessor of clinical psycholo-
gy was recently featured
in an article in the maga-
zine ldquoVirginia Livingrdquo for his expertise in
the study and treatment of insomnia
Read the article
Third year doctoral stu-
dent in the health psy-
chology program Daniel
Snipes MS recently
learned that his first au-
thor publication (co-
authored by Eric Be-
notsch PhD) entitled High-
risk cocktails and high-risk sex Examining
the relation between alcohol mixed with
energy drink consumption sexual behav-
ior and drug use in college students was
the second most downloaded article in the
journal Addictive Behaviors for the month
of August Read the abstract
Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD professor
in the clinical psychology
program director of
graduate studies and co-
director of the Anxiety
Clinic at the Center for
Psychological Services
and Development was recently called up-
on to address the management of the
Department News and Updates
Kliewer
McCreary
Porter
Langberg
Southam-Gerow
Rybarczyk
Belgrave
Snipes
Abrams
Heller
Hulsey Van Tongeren Green
anxiety children sometimes feel about go-
ing back to school in the fall Read the
VCU News QampA Another bit of good
news for Southam-Gerow is his recent
promotion from associate professor to full
professor
Everett Worthington
PhD director of clinical
training in the counseling
psychology program was
nominated for the pres-
tigious Joseph B and To-
by Gittler Prize The
$25000 prize includes a medal and a lec-
ture at Brandeis University by the recipi-
ent The awardee must have produced a
body of published work that reflects schol-
arly excellence and a lasting contribution
to racial ethnic andor religious relations
anywhere in the world
Worthington has also been featured in
several media and print outlets recently
For example an article he wrote on forgiv-
ing the man who murdered his mother
appeared in Septemberrsquos issue of Christi-
anity Today the largest popular magazine
in American Christianity He was also
quoted as an expert in forgiveness in a
recent online article regarding the ordeal
of Ariel Castro and the three women he
held as captives in his Cleveland base-
ment
In addition Worthington has published a
new book ldquoMoving Forward Six Steps to
Forgiving Yourself and Breaking Free from
the Pastrdquo that was featured in a VCU
news article Read an excerpt
Linda Zyzniewski PhD associate profes-
sor of social psychology director of under-
graduate studies and deanrsquos fellow for the
College of Humanities and Sciences is
president-elect of VCUrsquos chapter of Phi
Kappa Phi Her term will
be for the 2014-15
school year ΦΚΦ faculty
have made significant
contributions to ad-
vancement of knowledge
and understanding
through research publication profession-
al innovation or artistic creativity sus-
tained excellence in teaching achieve-
ments transcending customary levels of
service in academic or professional socie-
ties of national scope recognition by other
major honor societies special honors and
awards and significant leadership in the
VCU academic community
Congratulations to the
recipients of this yearrsquos
annual department fac-
ulty awards for excel-
lence The Outstanding
Service Award was given
to Barbara Myers
PhD for sustained ex-
cellence in service to her community uni-
versity College department and field
Myers has been instrumental in establish-
ing and maintaining VCUrsquos community
partnership with Richmond City Jails
The winner of this yearrsquos Outstanding
Scholarship Award goes to Joshua Lang-
berg PhD Langberg is a strong ADHD
researcher who continues to publish high
impact findings and obtain substantial
grant funding for his work
Finally we would like to recognize Micah
McCreary PhD as this yearrsquos winner of
the Outstanding Teaching Award
McCreary continues to be one of the high-
est student-rated instructors in our de-
partment He provided an excellent ser-
vice learning opportunity for our students
this summer in Haiti
Support Staff Updates
Jennifer Elswick Direc-
tor for Strategic Initia-
tives and Assistant to
Chair was appointed to
serve as one of two in-
augural staff members
on the VCU Academic
Affairs Committee She
was also featured in a recent article in the
College of Humanities and Sciences news-
letter
Stephanie Hart MBA
CRA service center di-
rector of operations par-
ticipated in the National
Council of University Re-
search Administrators
Financial Research Ad-
ministration Workshop The
two and a half day workshop focused pri-
marily on the financial aspects of research
administration and provided an in-depth
look at financial compliance issues
through a combination of lecture case
studies review of federal audit reports
and a discussion of best practices
Yin Huang grants manag-
er just completed the
three-credit course Busi-
ness Statistics to supple-
ment the knowledge base
for her position
Diana Pauley executive
secretary received a Spot Award for Day-
to-Day Excellence for her persistence in
getting Williams House a new roof
Department News and Updates
Worthington
Elswick
Zyzniewski
Myers
Hart
Kurt Crandall PhD is a licensed clinical
psychologist who joined our faculty this
fall Crandall received his PhD in clinical
psychology from the University of Kansas
with a specialty in health psychology He
interned at the Veterans Affairs Medical
Center in Washington DC where he
worked in psychiatric triage counseled pa-
tients with chronic pain and conducted
group therapy for veterans who were en-
rolled in a partial hospitalization program
Following his internship year he spent
three years as an assistant professor in the
Department of Psychology at Wesleyan Col-
lege in Macon Georgia From there Cran-
dall left academia and returned to clinical
work to complete a postdoctoral fellowship
with an emphasis on couples and family
therapy at a community mental health cen-
ter in Chicago After his postdoctoral expe-
rience he worked as a staff psychologist in
the Primary Care Clinic at the VA Hospital in
Seattle
Upon his move back to the east coast Cran-
dall returned to academia and joined the
psychology faculty at Longwood University
For the past several years he has also been
employed as a psychologist in a private
practice here in Richmond Crandall prac-
tices as a cognitive behavioral therapist and
is trained to work with adults His clinical
areas of interest and experience include
promoting health through behavioral
change treating mood and anxiety disor-
ders helping clients cope with physical ill-
ness and disease facilitating stress manage-
ment and counseling couples His general
research interests are in the areas of health
psychology and positive psychology More
specifically he is interested in the effect
positive frames of thinking (eg hope opti-
mism forgiveness) may have on onersquos phys-
ical and emotional health
Zewelanji Serpell PhD joined our depart-
ment this fall as an associate professor in
the developmental program Before VCU
she was an associate professor in the psy-
chology department at Virginia State Uni-
versity Prior to that Serpell held a re-
search faculty position at James Madison
University and served as the associate di-
rector of the Alvin V Baird Attention and
Learning Disabilities Center She has also
held research positions at the Research Tri-
angle Institute-International the Eunice
Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development Study of
Early Childcare the American Association
for Colleges of Teacher Education and the
Center for Research on Children Placed At-
Risk
Serpellrsquos principle research interest is har-
nessing advances in cognitive science to
develop interventions that target executive
functions Translation is a particular goal of
her work which often takes the form of a
series of iterative small-N lab studies to in-
dividualize or perfect the design of inter-
ventions followed by often challenging
attempts to implement these interventions
in the real world of schools
Serpell currently has three active projects
In collaboration with former department
assistant professor Michelle Ellefson PhD
and Teresa Parr (BS lsquo93 MS lsquo95 PhD
lsquo99) the first project explores whether the
mental activities associated with playing
chess improve executive function and aca-
demic outcomes in elementary school stu-
dents The second and third projects are
funded by the National Science Foundation
and conducted in collaboration with col-
leagues from Virginia State University and
University of California San Diego These
projects involve testing the efficacy of com-
mercially available ldquobrain trainingrdquo pro-
grams with African American students and
examining the role of non-cognitive factors
specifically motivation and affect in cogni-
tive training contexts
Serpell was born and raised in Zambia and
reports having family all over the world
She received her bachelorrsquos degree in psy-
chology from Clark University in Worcester
Mass and her masterrsquos degree and PhD in
developmental psychology from Howard
University in Washington DC In her spare
time Serpell enjoys reading novels cooking
vegetarian meals and swimming with her
two sons She says she came to VCU for the
research opportunitiesmdashnew faculty collab-
orations working with VCUrsquos diverse stu-
dent body and getting involved with efforts
to improve outcomes for K-12 students
attending urban public schools
Meet our New Faculty Members
Zewelanji Serpell PhD
Kurt Crandall PhD
An affable psychology professor with a tidy office Dr Albert D Farrell warmly greets visi-tors to the West Franklin Street space that houses the Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth De-velopment The institute serves as a hub for studies led by Dr Farrell its director and one of the na-tionrsquos leading research scientists on risk and protective factors associated with problem behaviors during adolescence He began his academic career at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1980 as an assis-tant professor with the goal of ldquoworking with students who are involved in and excited about researchrdquo In 1992 he joined an effort that dramatically shaped the rest of his career It began with evaluating a Richmond youth violence prevention program Since then Dr Farrell has received nearly $16 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue re-searching youth violence including developing and evaluating a middle school program Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways which was designed to reduce violence by promoting positive problem-solving skills Grants totaling $26 million have supported his research which has been cited more than 1500 times and as often as 100 times annually in recent years Dr Farrellrsquos work has been continuously funded by the CDC for 21 straight years ldquoHis empirically supported model for youth violence prevention is considered the gold standard by psychologistsrdquo writes Dr James Coleman dean of the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences In 2005 the Clark-Hill Institute was selected by the CDC as one of eight Academic Centers of Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention and received $43 million in funding over five years Five years later VCU edged out Johns Hopkins Harvard Columbia and the University of California Berkley among others for a second round of funding securing $65 million to run the institute through September 2015 ldquoIrsquom really proud we were able accomplish thatrdquo Dr Farrell says ldquoWe competed extremely well against elite institutions with considerable resourcesrdquo For one CDC-funded project Dr Farrell collaborated on the Multisite Youth Violence Prevention Project with researchers from Duke University the University of Georgia and the University of Illinois at Chicago He developed most key aspects of the study according to Dr Thomas Simon deputy associate director for science in the CDCrsquos division of violence prevention ldquoDr Farrell has a gift for bringing together diverse opinions and identifying a path that utilizes the best science and practice principlesrdquo Dr Simon writes He uses that same quality in the classroom where he continues to teach the ldquoResearch Methods in Clinical Psychologyrdquo course he created 32 years ago Dr Farrell describes his role as more facilitator than teacher as he works to get students thinking about problems instead of looking to him for answers Dr Monique Vulin Reynolds a former student describes his class as one of the most useful and enjoyable she took at VCU ldquoHis own passion and dedication to the subject matter was what made the difference in keeping us absorbed and working hard to meet his expectationsrdquo she writes He earns near-perfect ratings on student evaluations according to Dr Wendy Kliewer chair of the psychology department Thatrsquos an unparalleled feat she writes especially since he taught a graduate statistics course she says both students and faculty shy away from Dr Scott Vrana a VCU psychology professor notes that one thing is missing from Dr Farrellrsquos resume mdash that he pours ldquothousands of hours into promoting and advancing the careers of other faculty members graduate students and postdoctoral fel-lowsrdquo His record does reflect some of that time Dr Farrell has chaired advisory committees for 30 masterrsquos theses and 22 doctoral dissertations Students and faculty describe him as a mentor who is approachable open and supportive and who always makes time for others no matter his schedule In reflecting on his career at VCU Dr Farrell says the way its pieces ended up fitting together seems sensible Its specific course however was strongly shaped by opportunities that presented themselves along the way Being at VCU provided advantages over other universities he worked with on youth violence prevention research he says mdash chiefly the lack of barriers between VCU and the community because most Richmonders are connected to VCU in some way While he has no imminent plans for retirement Dr Farrell says he hopes that he will be remembered as the first director of the Clark-Hill Institute as it continues making important strides in youth violence prevention ldquoWe are so totally aligned with VCUrsquos Quest for Distinctionrdquo he says ldquoWersquore interdisciplinary and well---positioned to really expand We have tremendous potentialrdquo
Recipient of the University Award of Excellence
Albert Farrell PhD
Picture and article courtesy of VCU University Relations
Graduate students in the clinical and
counseling psychology doctoral pro-
grams have completed a series of studies
under the mentorship of Bruce
Rybarczyk PhD (lsquo89 clinical program
graduate professor of clinical psycholo-
gy and director of clinical training) mak-
ing substantial contributions to advanc-
ing the treatment of insomnia in individ-
uals with co-morbid psychiatric condi-
tions Three of those studies were fea-
tured in a special issue of the Journal of
Clinical Psychology Two of the studies
were intervention studies with individu-
als with psychiatric diagnoses The first
was a dissertation by Nile Wagley PhD
(rsquo10 counseling program) providing cog-
nitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to pa-
tients undergoing treatment at the VCU
Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic These pa-
tients were receiving treatment for an
average of 36 years and continued to
have insomnia symptoms in spite of their
psychiatric care Two sessions of CBT for
insomnia including one conducted via
telephone were effective in improving
sleep and reducing depressive symp-
toms Among the twenty patients who
participated in treatment 38 were able
to achieve normal sleep eight weeks
after the start of treatment relative to
none in the control group A second dis-
sertation study at the same clinic em-
ploying a large group of patients all of
whom were dependent on hypnotic
medication for managing their insomnia
and a longer format of treatment was
recently completed by sixth year clinical
psychology graduate student Hannah
Lund It also obtained encouraging re-
sults that will be written up for publica-
tion in the near future
A second intervention study targeting
recent veterans with Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) conducted by
Skye Margolies PhD (rsquo11 clinical pro-
gram) was also featured in the special
issue This dissertation study tested four
sessions of CBT-I and an optional supple-
mentary treatment for nightmares
(imagery rehearsal therapy) with forty
combat veterans (mean age 377 years)
who served in Afghanistan andor Iraq a
group that has experienced high levels of
both PTSD and insomnia The treatment
sessions were provided at the McGuire
Veterans Administration Hospital in Rich-
mond The treatment led to significant
improvements in self-reported and ob-
jectively measured sleep a reduction in
PTSD symptom severity and PTSD-
related nighttime symptoms and a re-
duction in depression and distressed
mood compared to the waitlist control
group This study was replicated by Lau-
rin Mack PhD (rsquo13 clinical program)
Her study provided a classroom CBT in-
tervention to a wide array of veterans as
a follow-up supplement to a recently
completed a psycho-educational course
on coping with PTSD This study replicat-
ed the earlier findings of improved sleep
although it did not obtain the same re-
sult for reductions in PTSD symptoms
possibly related to the fact that many of
VCU Students Faculty and
Alumni Contribute to
Advancing the Treatment of
Insomnia Bruce Rybarczyk PhD
the participants had PTSD for several
decades rather than several years Both
Margolies and Mack were funded by
prestigious Rehabilitation Research Fel-
lowship awards for over $61000 com-
bined from the Department of Veteran
Affairs
CBT for insomnia was developed by a
group of pioneering researchers begin-
ning twenty-five years ago VCU Psychol-
ogy and Psychiatry has a long history
with this pioneering work One of the
most prolific researchers in this area
Jack Edinger PhD (rsquo78) is an alumnus of
the clinical psychology program and an-
other prominent researcher Charles
Morin PhD was a faculty member at
VCU While here Morin conducted one
of the first randomized clinical trials
showing that CBT was superior to hyp-
notic sleep medications CBT has several
treatment components including an ini-
tial reduction in sleep to increase sleep
drive and retrain normal sleep as well as
a method for eliminating time spent in
bed while awake to weaken the associa-
tion between being in bed and having
anxiety about not falling asleep The
treatment also includes education in the
science of
sleep in order
to provide the
patient with an
ldquoownerrsquos man-
ualrdquo for their
sleep system
These studies
contribute to
growing evi-
dence that CBT
for insomnia is
a treatment
that should be
offered to all
mental health
patients as a
supplement to
other treatments they are receiving that
are targeting the primary mental health
diagnosis Not only is sleep substantially
improved as a result of these interven-
tions but other mental health symptoms
are alleviated as a consequence of im-
proved sleep Additionally there are no
side effects treatment is brief the bene-
fits are sustained over time and the cost
is limited especially when employing self
-help materials The challenge that lies
ahead is training more clinicians to deliv-
er this brief treatment and getting the
word is out to health professionals and
the public that this should be a first line
treatment for persistent insomnia Alt-
hough a 2005 National Institutes of
Health expert panel recommended that
CBT be offered to all chronic insomnia
sufferers before prescribing a medica-
tion there has been very limited pro-
gress in dissemination thus far This is
due to the public and professional bias
towards the use of medications and the
lack of awareness of this newer treat-
ment approach To address the science-
practice gap future research by
Rybarczyk and colleagues will test a
ldquostepped carerdquo approach to delivering
CBT in primary care using varied levels
of treatment intensity and different
methods of delivery including the Inter-
net This stepped care approach will be
tested in primary care offices The con-
cept was detailed in a 2011 publication
by Mack and Rybarczyk
Although there are less than two hun-
dred clinical psychologists who are ex-
perts and researchers in CBT for insom-
nia a remarkable number of them are
VCU clinical psychology alumni In addi-
tion to Edinger and Rybarczyk Jason
Ong PhD (rsquo04 clinical program) is
board certified in behavioral sleep medi-
cine and is a prominent insomnia re-
searcher at Rush University Medical Cen-
ter in Chicago Don Townsend PhD
(rsquo99 clinical program) is a board certified
sleep clinician at the Fairview Sleep Cen-
ter in Minnesota and Kevin Smith PhD
(rsquo04 clinical program) is an assistant pro-
fessor of pediatrics at the University of
Missouri-Kansas City and is board certi-
fied in behavioral sleep medicine VCU
alumni are likely to have an even larger
impact on the growing field of behavioral
sleep medicine in the future as all four
of the recent graduates who conducted
the research
described
above are con-
tinuing to work
in this field
VCU faculty contributors to the studies de-scribed above include Drs Steve Danish David Leszczyszyn John Lynch (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo89) Tim Nay and Scott Vra-na
Bruce Rybarczyk PhD and Denise Borden MD discuss a patientrsquos care in VCUrsquos Primary Care Clinic
Over the past year the news has been filled with ongoing
legislative disputes in Washington Terms like fiscal cliff
debt ceiling and sequestration have become part of our vo-
cabulary With myriad predictions being made it can be
hard to decipher what impact recent government actions
could have here in our department
There are several recent government actions that could sub-
stantially influence research activity in Psychology The
first is known as sequestration or the ldquofiscal cliffrdquo This
was a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011 which im-
posed across-the-board cuts to defense and discretionary
programs in the event that Congress could not reach a com-
promise on the federal budget The Act was supposed to
motivate Congress to reach a solution as no one wanted or
expected to see sequestration implemented Unfortunately
Congress failed to reach a compromise and sequestration
went into effect on March 1 2013
Sequestration resulted in substantial budget cuts to our ma-
jor federal funders The National Institutes for Health Psy-
chologyrsquos largest funding source lost 5 of its total budget
amounting to $155 billion Since these were across-the-
board cuts no area of health research was spared As a
result we have received fewer new awards and our contin-
uing awards have been reduced VCU President Michael
Rao estimated in February that VCUrsquos grant portfolio could
see reductions of $12-$21 million by September 2013 as a
direct result of sequestration Luckily we have not seen
this dire outcome just yetmdashVCUrsquos grant award portfolio
showed excellent performance in fiscal year 2013mdashbut that
does not mean that effects will not be felt later
For example at the department level fewer new grant
awards could result in a lack of replacement funding for
projects slated to end soon Individuals paid from those
projects would likely be laid off if no source of new fund-
ing could be found Reduced budgets for continuing pro-
jects could result in cuts to the number of people a given
project could support Sequestration will also make it hard-
er for new faculty to get their first grants as grant programs
become increasingly competitive This in turn makes it
harder for them to support graduate students and postdoc-
toral associates There could also be an impact on federally
funded fellowships scholarships and student aid The fed-
eral work-study program for example could lose up to $50
million dollars as a result of sequestration That represents
a substantial number of students who would have to find
other sources of income
As if that were not enough sequestration is only one piece
of the puzzle Other government actions have the potential
to compound the impacts One such action is the Afforda-
ble Care Act otherwise known as ldquoObamacarerdquo Aside
from the obvious controversy the ACA has had some unin-
tended consequences In Virginia it resulted in the Man-
power Control Act or the 29-Hour Rule This law limits
part-time and hourly employees to a total of 29 hours per
week This has resulted in loss of income for students and
other part-time employees some of whom have historically
held multiple jobs at the university Multiple university
jobs are no longer allowed under the Manpower Control
Act In addition since the rule applies to adjunct faculty
too it has resulted in a reduction in the number of credit
hours they can teach This means an additional burden on
the already overloaded full-time faculty who must make up
The Impact of Recent US Government Actions on the
Departmentrsquos Research Mission
Brigette S Pfister MHRD CRA
Page 9
the shortfall in credit hours taught in addition to their ex-
isting responsibilitiesmdashlike grant writing This could fur-
ther depress our new award activity over the next few
years
The recent government shutdown adds another dimension
of complexity The government shutdown was brought
about by circumstances similar to those of sequestration
Once again legislators needed to compromise on the feder-
al budget in order to avert disaster This time the point of
contention was the Affordable Care Act Republicans
wanted to defund the ACA as a condition of passing the
Continuing Resolution that would keep the government
operational Democrats refused to approve any bill that
attempted to defund or otherwise nullify the ACA Once
again no compromise was reached and the government
shutdown took effect on October 1 2013
Immediately many federal systems were taken of-
fline We could not submit new proposals progress reports
or even establish new accounts Awards already delayed
and reduced by sequestration stopped altogether for the
duration of the shutdown Though there is widespread
conjecture on the subject no one really knows what the
long term impact will be on university research
During the shutdown work on existing projects was al-
lowed to continue provided that funding had already been
made available However we were unable to draw down
funds from the federal government In other words if we
didnrsquot already have it then we couldnrsquot spend it If the
shutdown had gone on longer even existing projects would
have probably had to lay off grant funded personnel and in
some cases completely stop work Also the government
doesnrsquot process passports and visas during the shutdown
so projects that depend on foreign travel were held up con-
siderably
The situation could worsen if Congress fails to devise a
workable long-term solution when the current debt ceiling
expires on February 7 If there is failure to compromise
the United States could default on our national debt There
is no clear picture of what the impacts of that would be but
we know they would not be positive
Since our overall grant portfolio at VCU did not appear to
suffer in fiscal year 2013 it might be tempting to disregard
some of the more dire warnings However it is important
to recognize that incoming awards are based on proposals
submitted in fiscal year 2012 or earlier so many of those
funding decisions were made prior to the most current cri-
sis We probably wont see the true impact of all of the
above until fiscal year 2014 or thereafter At minimum
the cessation of all proposal activity during the shutdown
will result in delayed resumption of award activity in addi-
tion to the delays and budget cuts already happening be-
cause of sequestration This will likely cause our total
awarded dollars to decrease over the next few years
Overall the impact on VCU research may not be disas-
trous but at the department level grant projects and the
individuals working on those projects could suffer signifi-
cant impact from the cumulative effects
Brigette S Pfister is director of sponsored programs for the
College of Humanities and Sciences at VCU
Dome United States Capitol Washington DC
Architect of the Capitol
Adriana Rodriguez graduated from the
University of California Berkeley in 2008
with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and
a minor in ethnic studies Following grad-
uation Rodriguez obtained a research as-
sistant position with Bruce Chorpita
PhD at UCLA helping to advance the
effectiveness of mental health treatment
for children and adolescents Her work
with Chorpita further solidified her aspira-
tion to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical
psychology working specifically with racial
andor ethnic minority youth
Rodriguez joined the Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD research laboratory as a
doctoral student in clinical psychology in
the fall of 2010 When asked why Rodri-
guez decided to attend VCU she stated
that she felt inspired and motivated by the
energy and innovation that Southam-
Gerow brings to the field of psychology
ldquoIt was the best decision I could have
maderdquo
In reflecting on her experience at VCU
Rodriguez is struck by how collaborative
the department in general and her lab in
particular are Her research interests lie
broadly in the dissemination and imple-
mentation of mental health treatment for
children and adolescents She is also in-
terested in cultural and linguistic adapta-
tions of assessments to minority popula-
tions in real-world clinic settings Recent-
ly Rodriguez was able to collaborate with
Rosalie Corona PhD of the clinical psy-
chology program whose work focuses on
health promotion and risk reduction
among ethnic minority populations In
working with Latina college students Ro-
driguez notes ldquoI understand the difficul-
ties that this population is facing from a
policy perspective and also through my
personal experiencehellip I was that kid who
didnrsquot have enough money for the bus
farerdquo
Born to a working-class Mexican family
Rodriguez is the first to receive a college
education let alone pursue a graduate
degree Her work is driven in part by a
desire to empower her family and culture
while forging her own identity
When asked about career aspirations she
responds ldquoI want to keep goinghellip go as far
as I canrdquo Rodriguez is molding herself for
a research position in academia where she
would ideally like to serve at the public
policy level of mental health treatment
dissemination and implementation
In her spare time she enjoys running long
distances around Richmondrsquos Byrd Park
and Brownrsquos Island She also spends time
drawing particularly individuals with pro-
nounced facial expressions Rodriguez
jokes that this interest probably stems
from all the time she has spent coding vid-
eotapes in the Southam-Gerow lab
Graduate Student Spotlight
Adriana Rodriguez MS Clinical Psychology program
The Global Bridges Project is a community engaged research pro-ject directed by Maghboeba Mosavel PhD of VCUrsquos Department of Social and Behavioral Health School of Medicine This summer Mosavel led a small team of six students to the University of Kwa-Zulu-Natalmdasha VCU international partner universitymdashin Durban South Africa to conduct community engaged research in the Ken-neth Gardens public housing community in Durban Jasmine Abrams and Morgan Maxwell were two of those students A third student Carrie Miller is a second year master of public health student who has previously worked for the Department of Psychol-ogy as project coordinator for Clarissa Holmes PhD Abrams and Maxwell chronicled their work in Durban on this blog httpbuilding-global-bridgesblogspotcom Itrsquos a great read
Submitted by Annie Rabinovitz doctoral
student in the clinical psychology program
Abrams Maxwell
Linda A Mensah-Etsi (see front cover) a
junior psychology major is a recent recipi-
ent of the Melvin V Lubman Scholarship
in Psychology The Melvin V Lubman
Scholarship was established by Mrs Golde
Lubman Feldman to honor her husbandrsquos
dedication and service as a professor in
the Department of Psychology Mensah-
Etsi reports that the scholarship will help
her greatly with her tuition and fees
When asked why she chose psychology as
a major Mensah-Etsi said that she is curi-
ous about many things and psychology
was the one subject that kept her interest
piqued at all times She said ldquoI like how I
can always be surprised by all the different
topics covered under psychology alonerdquo
Surely her constant interest is in part due
to her two ldquoall-time favoriterdquo classesmdash
Statistical Applications in the Psychology
Field with Linda Zyzniewski PhD and
Abnormal Psychology with adjunct profes-
sor Jessica Brown Mensah-Etsi picked
these as her favorites because she likes
the mathematical focus of statistics and
admitted to having an ldquoobsessionrdquo with
mental illnesses
Continuing her love for the subject Men-
sah-Etsi has decided to further her skills by
applying for several internships through-
out the department After narrowing
down her choices for internships this fall
from three options she is excited to have
begun her new internship at VCUrsquos Clark
Hill Institute for Positive Youth
Development She says she chose this op-
portunity because ldquonot only is it in the
field in which I am currently interested
the internship will give me the opportunity
to learn a valuable coding skill that I might
eventually need to userdquo
A former volunteer elementary school
teachers aide she has a clear interest in
working with children and teens and
would like to pursue another volunteer
opportunity with the organization Stop
Child Abuse Now here in Richmond
With time on her side Mensah-Etsi cer-
tainly has plenty of opportunities to
change her career path She hopes she
can get a job with her degree or perhaps
continue on to graduate school and even
sees a career in research as a possibility
Ultimately though she is interested in
counseling young children or teens who
have experienced trauma Her goal is to
help kids ldquounderstand that at least one
person is on their side even if it seems that
they have to deal with it on their ownrdquo
One of the many interesting aspects of
this junior is that she is only 18 years old
She was a mere 16 years of age when she
first enrolled at VCU and proves daily that
age has nothing to do with capacity for
success A very hard worker when asked
about her free time Mensah-Etsi says she
has been very preoccupied with school-
work as well as with working two jobs
However she says working out at the gym
has been very close to a hobby for her
lately
When shersquos not in Richmond Mensah-Etsi
lives in Alexandria with her family We
asked her why she chose to settle in Rich-
mond and attend VCU and she jokingly
said it is because her two favorite colors
are black and yellow ldquoOn a serious noterdquo
she stated ldquoI just really fell in love with
the city when I visited so there was no
doubt in my mind that I wanted to attend
VCU I grew up in a city so this felt close
to homerdquo
A native of Togo in West Africa Mensah-
Etsi moved to the US in 2007 shortly be-
fore she turned 13 She says it wasnrsquot a
hard transition for her as she already
spoke French and Ewe (an ethnic lan-
guage) so English was quite easy to learn
by comparison She indeed misses the
spicy foods of Togo but also says that
while other people in Richmond may be
annoyed by the street sounds lights and
crooked sidewalks it makes her feel right
at home
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral stu-
dent in the health psychology program
Undergraduate Student Spotlight
Linda A Mensah-Etsi Class of lsquo15
Congratulations to David Rockman class of 2013 for receiving the Benjamin A Gilman Scholarship Rockman will receive $5000 to study in one country from four weeks to one academic year Named after retired Congressman Benjamin A Gilman from New York the programrsquos goal is to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go
This summer Paul Perrin PhD led six
VCU psychology doctoral students on a
month-long expedition to the University of
Deusto in Bilbao Spain to participate in a
research training program on racialethnic
disparities in health The trip was due in
large part to Perrinrsquos ongoing collabora-
tion with Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla
PhD a research professor in the Universi-
ty of Deustorsquos Department of Psychology
and former faculty member in VCUrsquos De-
partment of Physical Medicine and Reha-
bilitation Perrin and Arango-Lasprilla
spent the past year planning and coordi-
nating this unique opportunity for stu-
dents who worked with them on various
research projects meeting and collabo-
rating with researchers from all over the
world Among the group of 20 interna-
tional researchers contributing to and par-
ticipating in this training program were
psychology doctoral students Gillian Lei-
bach and Stephen Trapp of the counseling
program Sarah Doyle of the developmen-
tal program Shaina Gulin of the clinical
program and Alejandra Morlett Paredes
and Megan Sutter of the health program
The students worked with a team of inter-
national researchers spanning ten differ-
ent countries The purpose of the training
program was to teach students to conduct
health disparities research in an interna-
tional context and build collaborative
teams at various universities and rehabili-
tation facilities The specific focus was the
psychosocial functioning of individuals
from understudied global regions with
neurological conditions such as traumatic
brain injury dementia spinal cord injury
and multiple sclerosis Unpaid family care-
givers often provide the majority of the
informal care to individuals with these
conditions yet have very few resources in
order to meet their family and caregiving
needs Therefore a major goal of these
projects was to study the factors related
to mental and physical health of caregiv-
ers and to create culturally sensitive
health care recommendations for these
regions The team is accumulating evi-
dence for interventions that will improve
the quality of informal care for individuals
with neurological conditions in regions
such as Latin America where much of this
research is being conducted
Each of the VCU doctoral students had the
opportunity to take the lead on projects
studying the potential protective and risk
factors associated with caregiver mental
and physical health in either older adults
with dementia or in children with spinal
cord injuries and disorders They were
also able to propose potential future pro-
jects with existing data or completely new
data collections based in various under-
studied global regions such as in Neiva
Colombia Auckland New Zealand Copen-
hagen Denmark and Mexico City Mexico
among many others Perrin and the team
of international researchers offered a
number of seminars on advanced research
methods and statistics such as factor
analysis structural equation modeling
qualitative research methods meta-
analysis neuroimaging and scientific man-
uscript preparation
The
group
was able
to take
part in
many
cultural
experi-
ences
and enjoyed exploring the city of Bilbao
and the surrounding countryside and
beaches The researchers and students
spent most of their time in the countryrsquos
Basque region where they were able to
visit the iconic Guggenheim Museum of
modern and contemporary art innumera-
ble pintxo restaurants (a specialty of this
region similar to tapas) and a celebration
of Bilbaorsquos 713th anniversary
The group also traveled to many places
around the country including Bermeo and
San Sebastiaacuten which are located on the
Northern coast of Spain near the border of
France In Bermeo they made a trek to
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe a hermitage
that is accessed by hiking down a narrow
trail crossing a stone bridge and walking
up approximately 230 steps The group
felt the hike was definitely worth the
effort though andmdashas a legend in-
structsmdashgot to the peak rang a bell three
times and made three wishes Together
many of the researchers and students also
took a day trip to San Sebastiaacuten a coastal
town that rests on the Bay of Biscay fa-
mous for its renowned Basque food and
of course its shoreline They also got the
chance to venture to southern France and
Barcelona
Spotlight on International Research and Learning
Paul Perrin PhD
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student
in the health psychology program
ldquoA major goal of these
projects was to study the
factors related to mental
and physical health of
caregivers and to create
culturally sensitive health
care recommendations for
these regionsrdquo
ldquoI had a wonderful experience in Bilbao When I started graduate
school I certainly did not expect I would get to travel abroad to do
research It was a really unique opportunity getting to meet and work with well-known researchers from around the world Bilbao
is beautiful and I did quite a bit of exploring in and around the city
learning the areas rich cultural customs and history It is a good
feeling to know that our research has the potential to help im-prove the quality of life of patients with neurological conditions
and their caregiversrdquo
Shaina Gulin clinical psychology doctoral student
Back row [L to R] Javier Pentildea
(Spain) Hinemoa Elder (New Zea-
land) Nada Andelic (Norway)
Alfonso Caracuel (Spain) Hugo
Senra (Portugal) Stephen Trapp
(USA) Ivan Panyavin (Spain)
Anne Norup (Denmark) Charles
Hallmark (USA) Alejandra Morlett
(USA) Alexander Moreno
(Canada) Rociacuteo Del Pino Saacuteez
(Spain) Clara Isabel Gonzaacutelez
Berdugo (Spain) Maria Cristina
Quijano (Colombia) Yaneth Rodri-
guez (Mexico)
Front row [L to R] Juan Carlos
Arango-Lasprilla (Spain) Carlos de
los Reyes (Colombia) Megan
Sutter (USA) Sarah Doyle (USA)
Gillian Leibach (USA) Shaina Gulin
(USA) Naroa Ibarretxe (Spain)
Paul Perrin (USA)
Kristin Heron PhD from Penn State University visited the de-
partment early in the fall semester Heron is associate director
of the Dynamic Real-time Ecological Ambulatory Methodologies
Initiative at Penn States Survey Research Center In this posi-
tion she uses ecological momentary assessment and ecological
momentary intervention in her research focused on a range of
clinical health topics including eating behaviors body image
physical activity promotion and smoking cessation Ecological
momentary assessment broadly refers to the use of assess-
ments (eg questionnaires) that capture information about
people as they go about their daily lives in their natural environ-
ment (eg home) Ecological momentary intervention refers to
interventions or treat-
ments that are delivered
to individuals as they go
about their daily lives
Heron spent time training
students in Dr Robin
Everharts research lab on
ecological momentary
assessment for a pediatric
asthma study that will
allow families to use
smart phones as they re-
port on their childs asth-
ma care in real time
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
professor of psychology
at the University of Vir-
ginia presented a talk to
the department in Sep-
tember titled ldquoThe Psy-
chological Wealth of
Nationsrdquo
Here is the abstract
What is a good society
Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good
society is a happy society―namely a society in which most citi-
zens are happy and free from fear Since the publication of
ldquoThe Wealth of Nationsrdquo by Adam Smith in 1776 most econo-
mists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a material-
ly wealthy society Thus gross national product and related
indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of
nations from the 1950rsquos to date Recently however prominent
economists as well as political scientists sociologists and psy-
chologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materi-
ally wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust
one another have a sense of freedom and have close social re-
lationships The inquiry into the psychological wealth of na-
tions or the subjective well-being of nations helps answer a
fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for mil-
lennia lsquolsquoWhat is a good societyrsquo
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
Kristin Heron PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Benita Belvet
Jessica Brown
Suzzette Chopin
Lillian Christon Arnold
Ashley Dibble
Rebecca Hubbard
David Jennings
Nichole Kelly
Laurin Mack
Priscilla Powell
Molly Neff
Laura Slosky
Denicia Titchner
Stephanie Wolf
Bachelor of Science
Vanessa Agyeman
Hasen Alghamdi
Latessa Allums
Michael Amon
Sonja Ayers
Sweska Basnet
Kirstie Breland
Erica Brown
Ashley Callis
Jakwame Carey
Megan Cavanagh
Grace Charriez
Courtney Christian
Alicia Cook
Aldijana Cordic
Jonathan Cox
Mary Dean
Anne Fishback
Sherona Gardner
Andrew Gibbs
Myra Glorioso
Logan Gravitt
Lateisha Greene
Katelyn Gruber
Jamila Harris
Tiquana Hill
James Hovermale
Savonne Howard
Marshall Hunter
Kelley Hurdle
Arturo Iglesias
Lucas Keckley
Hira Khalid
Jamison Lancaster
Dana Larson
Russ Lawrence
Michele Mascatello
Rachel Mason
Tiffany Mayo
Natasha McCoy
Alexandra McDougall
Brandie Mckenzie
Xue Ju Meyer
Scott Misturini
Lindsay Mitchiner
Lea Moisa
Brooke Myers
Krislee Nelson
Paul Norton
Sierre Norton
Kristin Oravetz
Stephen Page
Ryan Pannell
Kevin Papile
Natalie Parks
Krishna Patel
Justin Payne
James Peacock
Quy Phan
Cecilia Presseau
Nathalie Rieder
Kylessia Ross
Faryal Shahid
Katelyn Sisk
Angel Slach
Indira Smajlagic
Natalie Taylor
Adrienne Tetreault
Brandon Tolbert
Tierraney Truss
James Vosti
Brenda Wei
Patrick Wiley
Alaysia Williams
Lyndsay Wilshaw
Christopher Wilson
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to
education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual
orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of Psychology
806 W Franklin St
PO Box 842018
Richmond VA 23284-2018
Phone 804-828-1193
Fax 804-828-2237
Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu
Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu
Virginia Commonwealth
University
Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology
A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine
Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from
bottom on far right
VCU Alumni travel 2014 opportunities Panama Canal 100th Anniversary cruise Jan 4-12
Tahitian Jewels Jan 15-25
Asian Explorations Feb 20-March 10
Tanzania Safari During Great Migration March 3-13
Lesser Antilles cruise March 10-17
Southern Culture amp The Civil War paddlewheel cruise March 28-April 6
Passage to India April 2-15
Historic Reflections Mediterranean cruise April 20-May 1
Italyrsquos Lake District May 13-21
Mediterranean Grandeur May 15-26
Oxford England May 17-25
Mediterranean Antiquities May 21-29
The Great Rivers of Europe June 7-22
National Parks amp Lodges of the Old West June 28-July 7
Canadian Rockies Parks amp Resorts July 17-23
Adriatic Antiquities cruise June 26-July 9
Iceland to Greenland cruise Aug 2-14
Discover Switzerland Aug 6-21
Russia Revealed Moscow to Petersburg river cruise Aug 21ndashSept 5hellip (see more)
having passed the Examination for the
Professional Practice in Psychology in May
and receiving her New York license this
September Conley recently accepted a
staff psychologist position at the Center
for Motivation and Change where she will
be treating individuals who have problems
with substance use andor compulsive
behaviors She just celebrated her one
year wedding anniversary and is happily
living in Brooklyn NY
Shannon Hourigan (MS lsquo09 PhD lsquo12)
completed her postdoctoral fellowship at
Boston Childrens Hospital at the end of
August and then accepted a position in
the Division of Psychology Department of
Psychiatry as a full time attending psy-
chologist working in the Optimal Weight
for Life Program part of the New Balance
Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at
BCH She also has an academic appoint-
ment at Harvard Medical School as an in-
structor in psychology in the Department
of Psychiatry
Half of her time is spent doing clinical re-
search and she is currently working on an
exciting interdisciplinary collaborationmdasha
combined behavior and nutrition inter-
vention pilot using a telehealth approach
to reach families and served by an excel-
lent community pediatrics practice with
whom her program is partnering As the
only psychologist on the team she de-
signed and has been implementing the
behavioral intervention Her work on this
project has been significantly informed by
the ADAPT study and Chorpitas modular
approach
The other research project in the works is
a secondary prevention study with a local
pediatrics practice for toddler children to
provide anticipatory guidance to parents
regarding behavioral issues around feed-
ing to facilitate development of healthful
eating This has been partially informed
by her dissertation as well as her work
with the New Balance Foundation Obesity
Prevention Center She and the Center
are planning to submit an R21 and hoping
to collaborate with the Brazleton Institute
In addition to her clinical work she has
been tasked with developing the behav-
ioral medicine curriculum for the clinic
In Memoriam
James E Conner PhD (BS rsquo49) of Ra-
leigh NC Jan 4 2013 at age 88
Maria Devens (MS rsquo93 PhD rsquo96) of Chi-
cago April 10 2013 at age 46
Robin B Bunster (BS rsquo99) of Lake
Oswego Ore April 20 2013 at age 45
We want to hear
from you too
Click HERE and give us your update
to feature in the next issue
Jasmine Abrams MS a
doctoral student in
the health psychology
program is the 2013 re-
cipient of the Psychology
of Black Graduate Stu-
dent Women Award for
her manuscript entitled
Demystification of the lsquoStrong Black
Womanrsquordquo Abrams was honored during
the Division 35 Section 1 awards ceremo-
ny at the 2013 American Psychological
Association convention in Hawaii
Faye Belgrave PhD
professor of social psy-
chology and director of
the Center for Cultural
Experiences in Preven-
tion will serve as the fac-
ulty fellow for advancing
diverse faculty in research
in VCUrsquos Division for Inclusive Excellence
In this role she will be responsible for
providing seminars consultation and pro-
fessional development to support diverse
faculty in sponsored research
Mary Beth Heller PhD
will serve the department
as interim director of the
Center for Psychological
Services and Develop-
ment Her appointment
follows the departure of
Leticia Flores PhD Flores
is the new associate director of University
of Tennesseersquos Psychological Clinic
Wendy Kliewer PhD
professor of developmen-
tal psychology and de-
partment chair and Jo
Lynne Robins PhD as-
sistant professor in the
VCU School of Nursing
have been awarded a VCU Presidential
Research Quest Award for Project HEART
Their study will examine the impact of
stress on the physical body for mothers of
teenagers in underserved communities in
the Richmond area and its surrounding
communities Also the study will examine
relationships between stress and resilien-
cy on heart health in adolescents and
mothers living in underserved communi-
ties Read more about this important in-
terdisciplinary effort at improved commu-
nity engagement and health
Joshua Langberg PhD
assistant professor in the
clinical psychology pro-
gram received a $24
million grant from the
Institute of Educational
Sciences for the project
ldquoEfficacy of an Organiza-
tional Skills Intervention for Middle School
Students with ADHD The four-year grant
will be used to compare two different
types of school-based interventions for
improving the academic performance of
middle school-age students with ADHD
Read more about it
Micah McCreary PhD
associate professor in the
counseling psychology
program led a group of
seven students and one
kindergarten teacher to
the ravaged island of Haiti
as part of the VCU service-
learning Haitian Empowerment Program
between science and religion Read the
news release from VCU News
VCU recently made a promotional video
highlighting four facultystudent research
partnerships and discussing some of the
benefits of participating in research and
what students need to
know to ensure a success-
ful experience Joe Por-
ter PhD professor of
biopsychology and his
undergraduate student
Brian Joseph were fea-
tured Watch the video
Bruce Rybarczyk PhD
director of clinical training
for our clinical program
and newly promoted pro-
fessor of clinical psycholo-
gy was recently featured
in an article in the maga-
zine ldquoVirginia Livingrdquo for his expertise in
the study and treatment of insomnia
Read the article
Third year doctoral stu-
dent in the health psy-
chology program Daniel
Snipes MS recently
learned that his first au-
thor publication (co-
authored by Eric Be-
notsch PhD) entitled High-
risk cocktails and high-risk sex Examining
the relation between alcohol mixed with
energy drink consumption sexual behav-
ior and drug use in college students was
the second most downloaded article in the
journal Addictive Behaviors for the month
of August Read the abstract
Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD professor
in the clinical psychology
program director of
graduate studies and co-
director of the Anxiety
Clinic at the Center for
Psychological Services
and Development was recently called up-
on to address the management of the
Department News and Updates
Kliewer
McCreary
Porter
Langberg
Southam-Gerow
Rybarczyk
Belgrave
Snipes
Abrams
Heller
Hulsey Van Tongeren Green
anxiety children sometimes feel about go-
ing back to school in the fall Read the
VCU News QampA Another bit of good
news for Southam-Gerow is his recent
promotion from associate professor to full
professor
Everett Worthington
PhD director of clinical
training in the counseling
psychology program was
nominated for the pres-
tigious Joseph B and To-
by Gittler Prize The
$25000 prize includes a medal and a lec-
ture at Brandeis University by the recipi-
ent The awardee must have produced a
body of published work that reflects schol-
arly excellence and a lasting contribution
to racial ethnic andor religious relations
anywhere in the world
Worthington has also been featured in
several media and print outlets recently
For example an article he wrote on forgiv-
ing the man who murdered his mother
appeared in Septemberrsquos issue of Christi-
anity Today the largest popular magazine
in American Christianity He was also
quoted as an expert in forgiveness in a
recent online article regarding the ordeal
of Ariel Castro and the three women he
held as captives in his Cleveland base-
ment
In addition Worthington has published a
new book ldquoMoving Forward Six Steps to
Forgiving Yourself and Breaking Free from
the Pastrdquo that was featured in a VCU
news article Read an excerpt
Linda Zyzniewski PhD associate profes-
sor of social psychology director of under-
graduate studies and deanrsquos fellow for the
College of Humanities and Sciences is
president-elect of VCUrsquos chapter of Phi
Kappa Phi Her term will
be for the 2014-15
school year ΦΚΦ faculty
have made significant
contributions to ad-
vancement of knowledge
and understanding
through research publication profession-
al innovation or artistic creativity sus-
tained excellence in teaching achieve-
ments transcending customary levels of
service in academic or professional socie-
ties of national scope recognition by other
major honor societies special honors and
awards and significant leadership in the
VCU academic community
Congratulations to the
recipients of this yearrsquos
annual department fac-
ulty awards for excel-
lence The Outstanding
Service Award was given
to Barbara Myers
PhD for sustained ex-
cellence in service to her community uni-
versity College department and field
Myers has been instrumental in establish-
ing and maintaining VCUrsquos community
partnership with Richmond City Jails
The winner of this yearrsquos Outstanding
Scholarship Award goes to Joshua Lang-
berg PhD Langberg is a strong ADHD
researcher who continues to publish high
impact findings and obtain substantial
grant funding for his work
Finally we would like to recognize Micah
McCreary PhD as this yearrsquos winner of
the Outstanding Teaching Award
McCreary continues to be one of the high-
est student-rated instructors in our de-
partment He provided an excellent ser-
vice learning opportunity for our students
this summer in Haiti
Support Staff Updates
Jennifer Elswick Direc-
tor for Strategic Initia-
tives and Assistant to
Chair was appointed to
serve as one of two in-
augural staff members
on the VCU Academic
Affairs Committee She
was also featured in a recent article in the
College of Humanities and Sciences news-
letter
Stephanie Hart MBA
CRA service center di-
rector of operations par-
ticipated in the National
Council of University Re-
search Administrators
Financial Research Ad-
ministration Workshop The
two and a half day workshop focused pri-
marily on the financial aspects of research
administration and provided an in-depth
look at financial compliance issues
through a combination of lecture case
studies review of federal audit reports
and a discussion of best practices
Yin Huang grants manag-
er just completed the
three-credit course Busi-
ness Statistics to supple-
ment the knowledge base
for her position
Diana Pauley executive
secretary received a Spot Award for Day-
to-Day Excellence for her persistence in
getting Williams House a new roof
Department News and Updates
Worthington
Elswick
Zyzniewski
Myers
Hart
Kurt Crandall PhD is a licensed clinical
psychologist who joined our faculty this
fall Crandall received his PhD in clinical
psychology from the University of Kansas
with a specialty in health psychology He
interned at the Veterans Affairs Medical
Center in Washington DC where he
worked in psychiatric triage counseled pa-
tients with chronic pain and conducted
group therapy for veterans who were en-
rolled in a partial hospitalization program
Following his internship year he spent
three years as an assistant professor in the
Department of Psychology at Wesleyan Col-
lege in Macon Georgia From there Cran-
dall left academia and returned to clinical
work to complete a postdoctoral fellowship
with an emphasis on couples and family
therapy at a community mental health cen-
ter in Chicago After his postdoctoral expe-
rience he worked as a staff psychologist in
the Primary Care Clinic at the VA Hospital in
Seattle
Upon his move back to the east coast Cran-
dall returned to academia and joined the
psychology faculty at Longwood University
For the past several years he has also been
employed as a psychologist in a private
practice here in Richmond Crandall prac-
tices as a cognitive behavioral therapist and
is trained to work with adults His clinical
areas of interest and experience include
promoting health through behavioral
change treating mood and anxiety disor-
ders helping clients cope with physical ill-
ness and disease facilitating stress manage-
ment and counseling couples His general
research interests are in the areas of health
psychology and positive psychology More
specifically he is interested in the effect
positive frames of thinking (eg hope opti-
mism forgiveness) may have on onersquos phys-
ical and emotional health
Zewelanji Serpell PhD joined our depart-
ment this fall as an associate professor in
the developmental program Before VCU
she was an associate professor in the psy-
chology department at Virginia State Uni-
versity Prior to that Serpell held a re-
search faculty position at James Madison
University and served as the associate di-
rector of the Alvin V Baird Attention and
Learning Disabilities Center She has also
held research positions at the Research Tri-
angle Institute-International the Eunice
Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development Study of
Early Childcare the American Association
for Colleges of Teacher Education and the
Center for Research on Children Placed At-
Risk
Serpellrsquos principle research interest is har-
nessing advances in cognitive science to
develop interventions that target executive
functions Translation is a particular goal of
her work which often takes the form of a
series of iterative small-N lab studies to in-
dividualize or perfect the design of inter-
ventions followed by often challenging
attempts to implement these interventions
in the real world of schools
Serpell currently has three active projects
In collaboration with former department
assistant professor Michelle Ellefson PhD
and Teresa Parr (BS lsquo93 MS lsquo95 PhD
lsquo99) the first project explores whether the
mental activities associated with playing
chess improve executive function and aca-
demic outcomes in elementary school stu-
dents The second and third projects are
funded by the National Science Foundation
and conducted in collaboration with col-
leagues from Virginia State University and
University of California San Diego These
projects involve testing the efficacy of com-
mercially available ldquobrain trainingrdquo pro-
grams with African American students and
examining the role of non-cognitive factors
specifically motivation and affect in cogni-
tive training contexts
Serpell was born and raised in Zambia and
reports having family all over the world
She received her bachelorrsquos degree in psy-
chology from Clark University in Worcester
Mass and her masterrsquos degree and PhD in
developmental psychology from Howard
University in Washington DC In her spare
time Serpell enjoys reading novels cooking
vegetarian meals and swimming with her
two sons She says she came to VCU for the
research opportunitiesmdashnew faculty collab-
orations working with VCUrsquos diverse stu-
dent body and getting involved with efforts
to improve outcomes for K-12 students
attending urban public schools
Meet our New Faculty Members
Zewelanji Serpell PhD
Kurt Crandall PhD
An affable psychology professor with a tidy office Dr Albert D Farrell warmly greets visi-tors to the West Franklin Street space that houses the Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth De-velopment The institute serves as a hub for studies led by Dr Farrell its director and one of the na-tionrsquos leading research scientists on risk and protective factors associated with problem behaviors during adolescence He began his academic career at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1980 as an assis-tant professor with the goal of ldquoworking with students who are involved in and excited about researchrdquo In 1992 he joined an effort that dramatically shaped the rest of his career It began with evaluating a Richmond youth violence prevention program Since then Dr Farrell has received nearly $16 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue re-searching youth violence including developing and evaluating a middle school program Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways which was designed to reduce violence by promoting positive problem-solving skills Grants totaling $26 million have supported his research which has been cited more than 1500 times and as often as 100 times annually in recent years Dr Farrellrsquos work has been continuously funded by the CDC for 21 straight years ldquoHis empirically supported model for youth violence prevention is considered the gold standard by psychologistsrdquo writes Dr James Coleman dean of the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences In 2005 the Clark-Hill Institute was selected by the CDC as one of eight Academic Centers of Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention and received $43 million in funding over five years Five years later VCU edged out Johns Hopkins Harvard Columbia and the University of California Berkley among others for a second round of funding securing $65 million to run the institute through September 2015 ldquoIrsquom really proud we were able accomplish thatrdquo Dr Farrell says ldquoWe competed extremely well against elite institutions with considerable resourcesrdquo For one CDC-funded project Dr Farrell collaborated on the Multisite Youth Violence Prevention Project with researchers from Duke University the University of Georgia and the University of Illinois at Chicago He developed most key aspects of the study according to Dr Thomas Simon deputy associate director for science in the CDCrsquos division of violence prevention ldquoDr Farrell has a gift for bringing together diverse opinions and identifying a path that utilizes the best science and practice principlesrdquo Dr Simon writes He uses that same quality in the classroom where he continues to teach the ldquoResearch Methods in Clinical Psychologyrdquo course he created 32 years ago Dr Farrell describes his role as more facilitator than teacher as he works to get students thinking about problems instead of looking to him for answers Dr Monique Vulin Reynolds a former student describes his class as one of the most useful and enjoyable she took at VCU ldquoHis own passion and dedication to the subject matter was what made the difference in keeping us absorbed and working hard to meet his expectationsrdquo she writes He earns near-perfect ratings on student evaluations according to Dr Wendy Kliewer chair of the psychology department Thatrsquos an unparalleled feat she writes especially since he taught a graduate statistics course she says both students and faculty shy away from Dr Scott Vrana a VCU psychology professor notes that one thing is missing from Dr Farrellrsquos resume mdash that he pours ldquothousands of hours into promoting and advancing the careers of other faculty members graduate students and postdoctoral fel-lowsrdquo His record does reflect some of that time Dr Farrell has chaired advisory committees for 30 masterrsquos theses and 22 doctoral dissertations Students and faculty describe him as a mentor who is approachable open and supportive and who always makes time for others no matter his schedule In reflecting on his career at VCU Dr Farrell says the way its pieces ended up fitting together seems sensible Its specific course however was strongly shaped by opportunities that presented themselves along the way Being at VCU provided advantages over other universities he worked with on youth violence prevention research he says mdash chiefly the lack of barriers between VCU and the community because most Richmonders are connected to VCU in some way While he has no imminent plans for retirement Dr Farrell says he hopes that he will be remembered as the first director of the Clark-Hill Institute as it continues making important strides in youth violence prevention ldquoWe are so totally aligned with VCUrsquos Quest for Distinctionrdquo he says ldquoWersquore interdisciplinary and well---positioned to really expand We have tremendous potentialrdquo
Recipient of the University Award of Excellence
Albert Farrell PhD
Picture and article courtesy of VCU University Relations
Graduate students in the clinical and
counseling psychology doctoral pro-
grams have completed a series of studies
under the mentorship of Bruce
Rybarczyk PhD (lsquo89 clinical program
graduate professor of clinical psycholo-
gy and director of clinical training) mak-
ing substantial contributions to advanc-
ing the treatment of insomnia in individ-
uals with co-morbid psychiatric condi-
tions Three of those studies were fea-
tured in a special issue of the Journal of
Clinical Psychology Two of the studies
were intervention studies with individu-
als with psychiatric diagnoses The first
was a dissertation by Nile Wagley PhD
(rsquo10 counseling program) providing cog-
nitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to pa-
tients undergoing treatment at the VCU
Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic These pa-
tients were receiving treatment for an
average of 36 years and continued to
have insomnia symptoms in spite of their
psychiatric care Two sessions of CBT for
insomnia including one conducted via
telephone were effective in improving
sleep and reducing depressive symp-
toms Among the twenty patients who
participated in treatment 38 were able
to achieve normal sleep eight weeks
after the start of treatment relative to
none in the control group A second dis-
sertation study at the same clinic em-
ploying a large group of patients all of
whom were dependent on hypnotic
medication for managing their insomnia
and a longer format of treatment was
recently completed by sixth year clinical
psychology graduate student Hannah
Lund It also obtained encouraging re-
sults that will be written up for publica-
tion in the near future
A second intervention study targeting
recent veterans with Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) conducted by
Skye Margolies PhD (rsquo11 clinical pro-
gram) was also featured in the special
issue This dissertation study tested four
sessions of CBT-I and an optional supple-
mentary treatment for nightmares
(imagery rehearsal therapy) with forty
combat veterans (mean age 377 years)
who served in Afghanistan andor Iraq a
group that has experienced high levels of
both PTSD and insomnia The treatment
sessions were provided at the McGuire
Veterans Administration Hospital in Rich-
mond The treatment led to significant
improvements in self-reported and ob-
jectively measured sleep a reduction in
PTSD symptom severity and PTSD-
related nighttime symptoms and a re-
duction in depression and distressed
mood compared to the waitlist control
group This study was replicated by Lau-
rin Mack PhD (rsquo13 clinical program)
Her study provided a classroom CBT in-
tervention to a wide array of veterans as
a follow-up supplement to a recently
completed a psycho-educational course
on coping with PTSD This study replicat-
ed the earlier findings of improved sleep
although it did not obtain the same re-
sult for reductions in PTSD symptoms
possibly related to the fact that many of
VCU Students Faculty and
Alumni Contribute to
Advancing the Treatment of
Insomnia Bruce Rybarczyk PhD
the participants had PTSD for several
decades rather than several years Both
Margolies and Mack were funded by
prestigious Rehabilitation Research Fel-
lowship awards for over $61000 com-
bined from the Department of Veteran
Affairs
CBT for insomnia was developed by a
group of pioneering researchers begin-
ning twenty-five years ago VCU Psychol-
ogy and Psychiatry has a long history
with this pioneering work One of the
most prolific researchers in this area
Jack Edinger PhD (rsquo78) is an alumnus of
the clinical psychology program and an-
other prominent researcher Charles
Morin PhD was a faculty member at
VCU While here Morin conducted one
of the first randomized clinical trials
showing that CBT was superior to hyp-
notic sleep medications CBT has several
treatment components including an ini-
tial reduction in sleep to increase sleep
drive and retrain normal sleep as well as
a method for eliminating time spent in
bed while awake to weaken the associa-
tion between being in bed and having
anxiety about not falling asleep The
treatment also includes education in the
science of
sleep in order
to provide the
patient with an
ldquoownerrsquos man-
ualrdquo for their
sleep system
These studies
contribute to
growing evi-
dence that CBT
for insomnia is
a treatment
that should be
offered to all
mental health
patients as a
supplement to
other treatments they are receiving that
are targeting the primary mental health
diagnosis Not only is sleep substantially
improved as a result of these interven-
tions but other mental health symptoms
are alleviated as a consequence of im-
proved sleep Additionally there are no
side effects treatment is brief the bene-
fits are sustained over time and the cost
is limited especially when employing self
-help materials The challenge that lies
ahead is training more clinicians to deliv-
er this brief treatment and getting the
word is out to health professionals and
the public that this should be a first line
treatment for persistent insomnia Alt-
hough a 2005 National Institutes of
Health expert panel recommended that
CBT be offered to all chronic insomnia
sufferers before prescribing a medica-
tion there has been very limited pro-
gress in dissemination thus far This is
due to the public and professional bias
towards the use of medications and the
lack of awareness of this newer treat-
ment approach To address the science-
practice gap future research by
Rybarczyk and colleagues will test a
ldquostepped carerdquo approach to delivering
CBT in primary care using varied levels
of treatment intensity and different
methods of delivery including the Inter-
net This stepped care approach will be
tested in primary care offices The con-
cept was detailed in a 2011 publication
by Mack and Rybarczyk
Although there are less than two hun-
dred clinical psychologists who are ex-
perts and researchers in CBT for insom-
nia a remarkable number of them are
VCU clinical psychology alumni In addi-
tion to Edinger and Rybarczyk Jason
Ong PhD (rsquo04 clinical program) is
board certified in behavioral sleep medi-
cine and is a prominent insomnia re-
searcher at Rush University Medical Cen-
ter in Chicago Don Townsend PhD
(rsquo99 clinical program) is a board certified
sleep clinician at the Fairview Sleep Cen-
ter in Minnesota and Kevin Smith PhD
(rsquo04 clinical program) is an assistant pro-
fessor of pediatrics at the University of
Missouri-Kansas City and is board certi-
fied in behavioral sleep medicine VCU
alumni are likely to have an even larger
impact on the growing field of behavioral
sleep medicine in the future as all four
of the recent graduates who conducted
the research
described
above are con-
tinuing to work
in this field
VCU faculty contributors to the studies de-scribed above include Drs Steve Danish David Leszczyszyn John Lynch (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo89) Tim Nay and Scott Vra-na
Bruce Rybarczyk PhD and Denise Borden MD discuss a patientrsquos care in VCUrsquos Primary Care Clinic
Over the past year the news has been filled with ongoing
legislative disputes in Washington Terms like fiscal cliff
debt ceiling and sequestration have become part of our vo-
cabulary With myriad predictions being made it can be
hard to decipher what impact recent government actions
could have here in our department
There are several recent government actions that could sub-
stantially influence research activity in Psychology The
first is known as sequestration or the ldquofiscal cliffrdquo This
was a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011 which im-
posed across-the-board cuts to defense and discretionary
programs in the event that Congress could not reach a com-
promise on the federal budget The Act was supposed to
motivate Congress to reach a solution as no one wanted or
expected to see sequestration implemented Unfortunately
Congress failed to reach a compromise and sequestration
went into effect on March 1 2013
Sequestration resulted in substantial budget cuts to our ma-
jor federal funders The National Institutes for Health Psy-
chologyrsquos largest funding source lost 5 of its total budget
amounting to $155 billion Since these were across-the-
board cuts no area of health research was spared As a
result we have received fewer new awards and our contin-
uing awards have been reduced VCU President Michael
Rao estimated in February that VCUrsquos grant portfolio could
see reductions of $12-$21 million by September 2013 as a
direct result of sequestration Luckily we have not seen
this dire outcome just yetmdashVCUrsquos grant award portfolio
showed excellent performance in fiscal year 2013mdashbut that
does not mean that effects will not be felt later
For example at the department level fewer new grant
awards could result in a lack of replacement funding for
projects slated to end soon Individuals paid from those
projects would likely be laid off if no source of new fund-
ing could be found Reduced budgets for continuing pro-
jects could result in cuts to the number of people a given
project could support Sequestration will also make it hard-
er for new faculty to get their first grants as grant programs
become increasingly competitive This in turn makes it
harder for them to support graduate students and postdoc-
toral associates There could also be an impact on federally
funded fellowships scholarships and student aid The fed-
eral work-study program for example could lose up to $50
million dollars as a result of sequestration That represents
a substantial number of students who would have to find
other sources of income
As if that were not enough sequestration is only one piece
of the puzzle Other government actions have the potential
to compound the impacts One such action is the Afforda-
ble Care Act otherwise known as ldquoObamacarerdquo Aside
from the obvious controversy the ACA has had some unin-
tended consequences In Virginia it resulted in the Man-
power Control Act or the 29-Hour Rule This law limits
part-time and hourly employees to a total of 29 hours per
week This has resulted in loss of income for students and
other part-time employees some of whom have historically
held multiple jobs at the university Multiple university
jobs are no longer allowed under the Manpower Control
Act In addition since the rule applies to adjunct faculty
too it has resulted in a reduction in the number of credit
hours they can teach This means an additional burden on
the already overloaded full-time faculty who must make up
The Impact of Recent US Government Actions on the
Departmentrsquos Research Mission
Brigette S Pfister MHRD CRA
Page 9
the shortfall in credit hours taught in addition to their ex-
isting responsibilitiesmdashlike grant writing This could fur-
ther depress our new award activity over the next few
years
The recent government shutdown adds another dimension
of complexity The government shutdown was brought
about by circumstances similar to those of sequestration
Once again legislators needed to compromise on the feder-
al budget in order to avert disaster This time the point of
contention was the Affordable Care Act Republicans
wanted to defund the ACA as a condition of passing the
Continuing Resolution that would keep the government
operational Democrats refused to approve any bill that
attempted to defund or otherwise nullify the ACA Once
again no compromise was reached and the government
shutdown took effect on October 1 2013
Immediately many federal systems were taken of-
fline We could not submit new proposals progress reports
or even establish new accounts Awards already delayed
and reduced by sequestration stopped altogether for the
duration of the shutdown Though there is widespread
conjecture on the subject no one really knows what the
long term impact will be on university research
During the shutdown work on existing projects was al-
lowed to continue provided that funding had already been
made available However we were unable to draw down
funds from the federal government In other words if we
didnrsquot already have it then we couldnrsquot spend it If the
shutdown had gone on longer even existing projects would
have probably had to lay off grant funded personnel and in
some cases completely stop work Also the government
doesnrsquot process passports and visas during the shutdown
so projects that depend on foreign travel were held up con-
siderably
The situation could worsen if Congress fails to devise a
workable long-term solution when the current debt ceiling
expires on February 7 If there is failure to compromise
the United States could default on our national debt There
is no clear picture of what the impacts of that would be but
we know they would not be positive
Since our overall grant portfolio at VCU did not appear to
suffer in fiscal year 2013 it might be tempting to disregard
some of the more dire warnings However it is important
to recognize that incoming awards are based on proposals
submitted in fiscal year 2012 or earlier so many of those
funding decisions were made prior to the most current cri-
sis We probably wont see the true impact of all of the
above until fiscal year 2014 or thereafter At minimum
the cessation of all proposal activity during the shutdown
will result in delayed resumption of award activity in addi-
tion to the delays and budget cuts already happening be-
cause of sequestration This will likely cause our total
awarded dollars to decrease over the next few years
Overall the impact on VCU research may not be disas-
trous but at the department level grant projects and the
individuals working on those projects could suffer signifi-
cant impact from the cumulative effects
Brigette S Pfister is director of sponsored programs for the
College of Humanities and Sciences at VCU
Dome United States Capitol Washington DC
Architect of the Capitol
Adriana Rodriguez graduated from the
University of California Berkeley in 2008
with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and
a minor in ethnic studies Following grad-
uation Rodriguez obtained a research as-
sistant position with Bruce Chorpita
PhD at UCLA helping to advance the
effectiveness of mental health treatment
for children and adolescents Her work
with Chorpita further solidified her aspira-
tion to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical
psychology working specifically with racial
andor ethnic minority youth
Rodriguez joined the Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD research laboratory as a
doctoral student in clinical psychology in
the fall of 2010 When asked why Rodri-
guez decided to attend VCU she stated
that she felt inspired and motivated by the
energy and innovation that Southam-
Gerow brings to the field of psychology
ldquoIt was the best decision I could have
maderdquo
In reflecting on her experience at VCU
Rodriguez is struck by how collaborative
the department in general and her lab in
particular are Her research interests lie
broadly in the dissemination and imple-
mentation of mental health treatment for
children and adolescents She is also in-
terested in cultural and linguistic adapta-
tions of assessments to minority popula-
tions in real-world clinic settings Recent-
ly Rodriguez was able to collaborate with
Rosalie Corona PhD of the clinical psy-
chology program whose work focuses on
health promotion and risk reduction
among ethnic minority populations In
working with Latina college students Ro-
driguez notes ldquoI understand the difficul-
ties that this population is facing from a
policy perspective and also through my
personal experiencehellip I was that kid who
didnrsquot have enough money for the bus
farerdquo
Born to a working-class Mexican family
Rodriguez is the first to receive a college
education let alone pursue a graduate
degree Her work is driven in part by a
desire to empower her family and culture
while forging her own identity
When asked about career aspirations she
responds ldquoI want to keep goinghellip go as far
as I canrdquo Rodriguez is molding herself for
a research position in academia where she
would ideally like to serve at the public
policy level of mental health treatment
dissemination and implementation
In her spare time she enjoys running long
distances around Richmondrsquos Byrd Park
and Brownrsquos Island She also spends time
drawing particularly individuals with pro-
nounced facial expressions Rodriguez
jokes that this interest probably stems
from all the time she has spent coding vid-
eotapes in the Southam-Gerow lab
Graduate Student Spotlight
Adriana Rodriguez MS Clinical Psychology program
The Global Bridges Project is a community engaged research pro-ject directed by Maghboeba Mosavel PhD of VCUrsquos Department of Social and Behavioral Health School of Medicine This summer Mosavel led a small team of six students to the University of Kwa-Zulu-Natalmdasha VCU international partner universitymdashin Durban South Africa to conduct community engaged research in the Ken-neth Gardens public housing community in Durban Jasmine Abrams and Morgan Maxwell were two of those students A third student Carrie Miller is a second year master of public health student who has previously worked for the Department of Psychol-ogy as project coordinator for Clarissa Holmes PhD Abrams and Maxwell chronicled their work in Durban on this blog httpbuilding-global-bridgesblogspotcom Itrsquos a great read
Submitted by Annie Rabinovitz doctoral
student in the clinical psychology program
Abrams Maxwell
Linda A Mensah-Etsi (see front cover) a
junior psychology major is a recent recipi-
ent of the Melvin V Lubman Scholarship
in Psychology The Melvin V Lubman
Scholarship was established by Mrs Golde
Lubman Feldman to honor her husbandrsquos
dedication and service as a professor in
the Department of Psychology Mensah-
Etsi reports that the scholarship will help
her greatly with her tuition and fees
When asked why she chose psychology as
a major Mensah-Etsi said that she is curi-
ous about many things and psychology
was the one subject that kept her interest
piqued at all times She said ldquoI like how I
can always be surprised by all the different
topics covered under psychology alonerdquo
Surely her constant interest is in part due
to her two ldquoall-time favoriterdquo classesmdash
Statistical Applications in the Psychology
Field with Linda Zyzniewski PhD and
Abnormal Psychology with adjunct profes-
sor Jessica Brown Mensah-Etsi picked
these as her favorites because she likes
the mathematical focus of statistics and
admitted to having an ldquoobsessionrdquo with
mental illnesses
Continuing her love for the subject Men-
sah-Etsi has decided to further her skills by
applying for several internships through-
out the department After narrowing
down her choices for internships this fall
from three options she is excited to have
begun her new internship at VCUrsquos Clark
Hill Institute for Positive Youth
Development She says she chose this op-
portunity because ldquonot only is it in the
field in which I am currently interested
the internship will give me the opportunity
to learn a valuable coding skill that I might
eventually need to userdquo
A former volunteer elementary school
teachers aide she has a clear interest in
working with children and teens and
would like to pursue another volunteer
opportunity with the organization Stop
Child Abuse Now here in Richmond
With time on her side Mensah-Etsi cer-
tainly has plenty of opportunities to
change her career path She hopes she
can get a job with her degree or perhaps
continue on to graduate school and even
sees a career in research as a possibility
Ultimately though she is interested in
counseling young children or teens who
have experienced trauma Her goal is to
help kids ldquounderstand that at least one
person is on their side even if it seems that
they have to deal with it on their ownrdquo
One of the many interesting aspects of
this junior is that she is only 18 years old
She was a mere 16 years of age when she
first enrolled at VCU and proves daily that
age has nothing to do with capacity for
success A very hard worker when asked
about her free time Mensah-Etsi says she
has been very preoccupied with school-
work as well as with working two jobs
However she says working out at the gym
has been very close to a hobby for her
lately
When shersquos not in Richmond Mensah-Etsi
lives in Alexandria with her family We
asked her why she chose to settle in Rich-
mond and attend VCU and she jokingly
said it is because her two favorite colors
are black and yellow ldquoOn a serious noterdquo
she stated ldquoI just really fell in love with
the city when I visited so there was no
doubt in my mind that I wanted to attend
VCU I grew up in a city so this felt close
to homerdquo
A native of Togo in West Africa Mensah-
Etsi moved to the US in 2007 shortly be-
fore she turned 13 She says it wasnrsquot a
hard transition for her as she already
spoke French and Ewe (an ethnic lan-
guage) so English was quite easy to learn
by comparison She indeed misses the
spicy foods of Togo but also says that
while other people in Richmond may be
annoyed by the street sounds lights and
crooked sidewalks it makes her feel right
at home
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral stu-
dent in the health psychology program
Undergraduate Student Spotlight
Linda A Mensah-Etsi Class of lsquo15
Congratulations to David Rockman class of 2013 for receiving the Benjamin A Gilman Scholarship Rockman will receive $5000 to study in one country from four weeks to one academic year Named after retired Congressman Benjamin A Gilman from New York the programrsquos goal is to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go
This summer Paul Perrin PhD led six
VCU psychology doctoral students on a
month-long expedition to the University of
Deusto in Bilbao Spain to participate in a
research training program on racialethnic
disparities in health The trip was due in
large part to Perrinrsquos ongoing collabora-
tion with Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla
PhD a research professor in the Universi-
ty of Deustorsquos Department of Psychology
and former faculty member in VCUrsquos De-
partment of Physical Medicine and Reha-
bilitation Perrin and Arango-Lasprilla
spent the past year planning and coordi-
nating this unique opportunity for stu-
dents who worked with them on various
research projects meeting and collabo-
rating with researchers from all over the
world Among the group of 20 interna-
tional researchers contributing to and par-
ticipating in this training program were
psychology doctoral students Gillian Lei-
bach and Stephen Trapp of the counseling
program Sarah Doyle of the developmen-
tal program Shaina Gulin of the clinical
program and Alejandra Morlett Paredes
and Megan Sutter of the health program
The students worked with a team of inter-
national researchers spanning ten differ-
ent countries The purpose of the training
program was to teach students to conduct
health disparities research in an interna-
tional context and build collaborative
teams at various universities and rehabili-
tation facilities The specific focus was the
psychosocial functioning of individuals
from understudied global regions with
neurological conditions such as traumatic
brain injury dementia spinal cord injury
and multiple sclerosis Unpaid family care-
givers often provide the majority of the
informal care to individuals with these
conditions yet have very few resources in
order to meet their family and caregiving
needs Therefore a major goal of these
projects was to study the factors related
to mental and physical health of caregiv-
ers and to create culturally sensitive
health care recommendations for these
regions The team is accumulating evi-
dence for interventions that will improve
the quality of informal care for individuals
with neurological conditions in regions
such as Latin America where much of this
research is being conducted
Each of the VCU doctoral students had the
opportunity to take the lead on projects
studying the potential protective and risk
factors associated with caregiver mental
and physical health in either older adults
with dementia or in children with spinal
cord injuries and disorders They were
also able to propose potential future pro-
jects with existing data or completely new
data collections based in various under-
studied global regions such as in Neiva
Colombia Auckland New Zealand Copen-
hagen Denmark and Mexico City Mexico
among many others Perrin and the team
of international researchers offered a
number of seminars on advanced research
methods and statistics such as factor
analysis structural equation modeling
qualitative research methods meta-
analysis neuroimaging and scientific man-
uscript preparation
The
group
was able
to take
part in
many
cultural
experi-
ences
and enjoyed exploring the city of Bilbao
and the surrounding countryside and
beaches The researchers and students
spent most of their time in the countryrsquos
Basque region where they were able to
visit the iconic Guggenheim Museum of
modern and contemporary art innumera-
ble pintxo restaurants (a specialty of this
region similar to tapas) and a celebration
of Bilbaorsquos 713th anniversary
The group also traveled to many places
around the country including Bermeo and
San Sebastiaacuten which are located on the
Northern coast of Spain near the border of
France In Bermeo they made a trek to
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe a hermitage
that is accessed by hiking down a narrow
trail crossing a stone bridge and walking
up approximately 230 steps The group
felt the hike was definitely worth the
effort though andmdashas a legend in-
structsmdashgot to the peak rang a bell three
times and made three wishes Together
many of the researchers and students also
took a day trip to San Sebastiaacuten a coastal
town that rests on the Bay of Biscay fa-
mous for its renowned Basque food and
of course its shoreline They also got the
chance to venture to southern France and
Barcelona
Spotlight on International Research and Learning
Paul Perrin PhD
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student
in the health psychology program
ldquoA major goal of these
projects was to study the
factors related to mental
and physical health of
caregivers and to create
culturally sensitive health
care recommendations for
these regionsrdquo
ldquoI had a wonderful experience in Bilbao When I started graduate
school I certainly did not expect I would get to travel abroad to do
research It was a really unique opportunity getting to meet and work with well-known researchers from around the world Bilbao
is beautiful and I did quite a bit of exploring in and around the city
learning the areas rich cultural customs and history It is a good
feeling to know that our research has the potential to help im-prove the quality of life of patients with neurological conditions
and their caregiversrdquo
Shaina Gulin clinical psychology doctoral student
Back row [L to R] Javier Pentildea
(Spain) Hinemoa Elder (New Zea-
land) Nada Andelic (Norway)
Alfonso Caracuel (Spain) Hugo
Senra (Portugal) Stephen Trapp
(USA) Ivan Panyavin (Spain)
Anne Norup (Denmark) Charles
Hallmark (USA) Alejandra Morlett
(USA) Alexander Moreno
(Canada) Rociacuteo Del Pino Saacuteez
(Spain) Clara Isabel Gonzaacutelez
Berdugo (Spain) Maria Cristina
Quijano (Colombia) Yaneth Rodri-
guez (Mexico)
Front row [L to R] Juan Carlos
Arango-Lasprilla (Spain) Carlos de
los Reyes (Colombia) Megan
Sutter (USA) Sarah Doyle (USA)
Gillian Leibach (USA) Shaina Gulin
(USA) Naroa Ibarretxe (Spain)
Paul Perrin (USA)
Kristin Heron PhD from Penn State University visited the de-
partment early in the fall semester Heron is associate director
of the Dynamic Real-time Ecological Ambulatory Methodologies
Initiative at Penn States Survey Research Center In this posi-
tion she uses ecological momentary assessment and ecological
momentary intervention in her research focused on a range of
clinical health topics including eating behaviors body image
physical activity promotion and smoking cessation Ecological
momentary assessment broadly refers to the use of assess-
ments (eg questionnaires) that capture information about
people as they go about their daily lives in their natural environ-
ment (eg home) Ecological momentary intervention refers to
interventions or treat-
ments that are delivered
to individuals as they go
about their daily lives
Heron spent time training
students in Dr Robin
Everharts research lab on
ecological momentary
assessment for a pediatric
asthma study that will
allow families to use
smart phones as they re-
port on their childs asth-
ma care in real time
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
professor of psychology
at the University of Vir-
ginia presented a talk to
the department in Sep-
tember titled ldquoThe Psy-
chological Wealth of
Nationsrdquo
Here is the abstract
What is a good society
Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good
society is a happy society―namely a society in which most citi-
zens are happy and free from fear Since the publication of
ldquoThe Wealth of Nationsrdquo by Adam Smith in 1776 most econo-
mists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a material-
ly wealthy society Thus gross national product and related
indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of
nations from the 1950rsquos to date Recently however prominent
economists as well as political scientists sociologists and psy-
chologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materi-
ally wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust
one another have a sense of freedom and have close social re-
lationships The inquiry into the psychological wealth of na-
tions or the subjective well-being of nations helps answer a
fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for mil-
lennia lsquolsquoWhat is a good societyrsquo
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
Kristin Heron PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Benita Belvet
Jessica Brown
Suzzette Chopin
Lillian Christon Arnold
Ashley Dibble
Rebecca Hubbard
David Jennings
Nichole Kelly
Laurin Mack
Priscilla Powell
Molly Neff
Laura Slosky
Denicia Titchner
Stephanie Wolf
Bachelor of Science
Vanessa Agyeman
Hasen Alghamdi
Latessa Allums
Michael Amon
Sonja Ayers
Sweska Basnet
Kirstie Breland
Erica Brown
Ashley Callis
Jakwame Carey
Megan Cavanagh
Grace Charriez
Courtney Christian
Alicia Cook
Aldijana Cordic
Jonathan Cox
Mary Dean
Anne Fishback
Sherona Gardner
Andrew Gibbs
Myra Glorioso
Logan Gravitt
Lateisha Greene
Katelyn Gruber
Jamila Harris
Tiquana Hill
James Hovermale
Savonne Howard
Marshall Hunter
Kelley Hurdle
Arturo Iglesias
Lucas Keckley
Hira Khalid
Jamison Lancaster
Dana Larson
Russ Lawrence
Michele Mascatello
Rachel Mason
Tiffany Mayo
Natasha McCoy
Alexandra McDougall
Brandie Mckenzie
Xue Ju Meyer
Scott Misturini
Lindsay Mitchiner
Lea Moisa
Brooke Myers
Krislee Nelson
Paul Norton
Sierre Norton
Kristin Oravetz
Stephen Page
Ryan Pannell
Kevin Papile
Natalie Parks
Krishna Patel
Justin Payne
James Peacock
Quy Phan
Cecilia Presseau
Nathalie Rieder
Kylessia Ross
Faryal Shahid
Katelyn Sisk
Angel Slach
Indira Smajlagic
Natalie Taylor
Adrienne Tetreault
Brandon Tolbert
Tierraney Truss
James Vosti
Brenda Wei
Patrick Wiley
Alaysia Williams
Lyndsay Wilshaw
Christopher Wilson
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to
education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual
orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of Psychology
806 W Franklin St
PO Box 842018
Richmond VA 23284-2018
Phone 804-828-1193
Fax 804-828-2237
Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu
Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu
Virginia Commonwealth
University
Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology
A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine
Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from
bottom on far right
Jasmine Abrams MS a
doctoral student in
the health psychology
program is the 2013 re-
cipient of the Psychology
of Black Graduate Stu-
dent Women Award for
her manuscript entitled
Demystification of the lsquoStrong Black
Womanrsquordquo Abrams was honored during
the Division 35 Section 1 awards ceremo-
ny at the 2013 American Psychological
Association convention in Hawaii
Faye Belgrave PhD
professor of social psy-
chology and director of
the Center for Cultural
Experiences in Preven-
tion will serve as the fac-
ulty fellow for advancing
diverse faculty in research
in VCUrsquos Division for Inclusive Excellence
In this role she will be responsible for
providing seminars consultation and pro-
fessional development to support diverse
faculty in sponsored research
Mary Beth Heller PhD
will serve the department
as interim director of the
Center for Psychological
Services and Develop-
ment Her appointment
follows the departure of
Leticia Flores PhD Flores
is the new associate director of University
of Tennesseersquos Psychological Clinic
Wendy Kliewer PhD
professor of developmen-
tal psychology and de-
partment chair and Jo
Lynne Robins PhD as-
sistant professor in the
VCU School of Nursing
have been awarded a VCU Presidential
Research Quest Award for Project HEART
Their study will examine the impact of
stress on the physical body for mothers of
teenagers in underserved communities in
the Richmond area and its surrounding
communities Also the study will examine
relationships between stress and resilien-
cy on heart health in adolescents and
mothers living in underserved communi-
ties Read more about this important in-
terdisciplinary effort at improved commu-
nity engagement and health
Joshua Langberg PhD
assistant professor in the
clinical psychology pro-
gram received a $24
million grant from the
Institute of Educational
Sciences for the project
ldquoEfficacy of an Organiza-
tional Skills Intervention for Middle School
Students with ADHD The four-year grant
will be used to compare two different
types of school-based interventions for
improving the academic performance of
middle school-age students with ADHD
Read more about it
Micah McCreary PhD
associate professor in the
counseling psychology
program led a group of
seven students and one
kindergarten teacher to
the ravaged island of Haiti
as part of the VCU service-
learning Haitian Empowerment Program
between science and religion Read the
news release from VCU News
VCU recently made a promotional video
highlighting four facultystudent research
partnerships and discussing some of the
benefits of participating in research and
what students need to
know to ensure a success-
ful experience Joe Por-
ter PhD professor of
biopsychology and his
undergraduate student
Brian Joseph were fea-
tured Watch the video
Bruce Rybarczyk PhD
director of clinical training
for our clinical program
and newly promoted pro-
fessor of clinical psycholo-
gy was recently featured
in an article in the maga-
zine ldquoVirginia Livingrdquo for his expertise in
the study and treatment of insomnia
Read the article
Third year doctoral stu-
dent in the health psy-
chology program Daniel
Snipes MS recently
learned that his first au-
thor publication (co-
authored by Eric Be-
notsch PhD) entitled High-
risk cocktails and high-risk sex Examining
the relation between alcohol mixed with
energy drink consumption sexual behav-
ior and drug use in college students was
the second most downloaded article in the
journal Addictive Behaviors for the month
of August Read the abstract
Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD professor
in the clinical psychology
program director of
graduate studies and co-
director of the Anxiety
Clinic at the Center for
Psychological Services
and Development was recently called up-
on to address the management of the
Department News and Updates
Kliewer
McCreary
Porter
Langberg
Southam-Gerow
Rybarczyk
Belgrave
Snipes
Abrams
Heller
Hulsey Van Tongeren Green
anxiety children sometimes feel about go-
ing back to school in the fall Read the
VCU News QampA Another bit of good
news for Southam-Gerow is his recent
promotion from associate professor to full
professor
Everett Worthington
PhD director of clinical
training in the counseling
psychology program was
nominated for the pres-
tigious Joseph B and To-
by Gittler Prize The
$25000 prize includes a medal and a lec-
ture at Brandeis University by the recipi-
ent The awardee must have produced a
body of published work that reflects schol-
arly excellence and a lasting contribution
to racial ethnic andor religious relations
anywhere in the world
Worthington has also been featured in
several media and print outlets recently
For example an article he wrote on forgiv-
ing the man who murdered his mother
appeared in Septemberrsquos issue of Christi-
anity Today the largest popular magazine
in American Christianity He was also
quoted as an expert in forgiveness in a
recent online article regarding the ordeal
of Ariel Castro and the three women he
held as captives in his Cleveland base-
ment
In addition Worthington has published a
new book ldquoMoving Forward Six Steps to
Forgiving Yourself and Breaking Free from
the Pastrdquo that was featured in a VCU
news article Read an excerpt
Linda Zyzniewski PhD associate profes-
sor of social psychology director of under-
graduate studies and deanrsquos fellow for the
College of Humanities and Sciences is
president-elect of VCUrsquos chapter of Phi
Kappa Phi Her term will
be for the 2014-15
school year ΦΚΦ faculty
have made significant
contributions to ad-
vancement of knowledge
and understanding
through research publication profession-
al innovation or artistic creativity sus-
tained excellence in teaching achieve-
ments transcending customary levels of
service in academic or professional socie-
ties of national scope recognition by other
major honor societies special honors and
awards and significant leadership in the
VCU academic community
Congratulations to the
recipients of this yearrsquos
annual department fac-
ulty awards for excel-
lence The Outstanding
Service Award was given
to Barbara Myers
PhD for sustained ex-
cellence in service to her community uni-
versity College department and field
Myers has been instrumental in establish-
ing and maintaining VCUrsquos community
partnership with Richmond City Jails
The winner of this yearrsquos Outstanding
Scholarship Award goes to Joshua Lang-
berg PhD Langberg is a strong ADHD
researcher who continues to publish high
impact findings and obtain substantial
grant funding for his work
Finally we would like to recognize Micah
McCreary PhD as this yearrsquos winner of
the Outstanding Teaching Award
McCreary continues to be one of the high-
est student-rated instructors in our de-
partment He provided an excellent ser-
vice learning opportunity for our students
this summer in Haiti
Support Staff Updates
Jennifer Elswick Direc-
tor for Strategic Initia-
tives and Assistant to
Chair was appointed to
serve as one of two in-
augural staff members
on the VCU Academic
Affairs Committee She
was also featured in a recent article in the
College of Humanities and Sciences news-
letter
Stephanie Hart MBA
CRA service center di-
rector of operations par-
ticipated in the National
Council of University Re-
search Administrators
Financial Research Ad-
ministration Workshop The
two and a half day workshop focused pri-
marily on the financial aspects of research
administration and provided an in-depth
look at financial compliance issues
through a combination of lecture case
studies review of federal audit reports
and a discussion of best practices
Yin Huang grants manag-
er just completed the
three-credit course Busi-
ness Statistics to supple-
ment the knowledge base
for her position
Diana Pauley executive
secretary received a Spot Award for Day-
to-Day Excellence for her persistence in
getting Williams House a new roof
Department News and Updates
Worthington
Elswick
Zyzniewski
Myers
Hart
Kurt Crandall PhD is a licensed clinical
psychologist who joined our faculty this
fall Crandall received his PhD in clinical
psychology from the University of Kansas
with a specialty in health psychology He
interned at the Veterans Affairs Medical
Center in Washington DC where he
worked in psychiatric triage counseled pa-
tients with chronic pain and conducted
group therapy for veterans who were en-
rolled in a partial hospitalization program
Following his internship year he spent
three years as an assistant professor in the
Department of Psychology at Wesleyan Col-
lege in Macon Georgia From there Cran-
dall left academia and returned to clinical
work to complete a postdoctoral fellowship
with an emphasis on couples and family
therapy at a community mental health cen-
ter in Chicago After his postdoctoral expe-
rience he worked as a staff psychologist in
the Primary Care Clinic at the VA Hospital in
Seattle
Upon his move back to the east coast Cran-
dall returned to academia and joined the
psychology faculty at Longwood University
For the past several years he has also been
employed as a psychologist in a private
practice here in Richmond Crandall prac-
tices as a cognitive behavioral therapist and
is trained to work with adults His clinical
areas of interest and experience include
promoting health through behavioral
change treating mood and anxiety disor-
ders helping clients cope with physical ill-
ness and disease facilitating stress manage-
ment and counseling couples His general
research interests are in the areas of health
psychology and positive psychology More
specifically he is interested in the effect
positive frames of thinking (eg hope opti-
mism forgiveness) may have on onersquos phys-
ical and emotional health
Zewelanji Serpell PhD joined our depart-
ment this fall as an associate professor in
the developmental program Before VCU
she was an associate professor in the psy-
chology department at Virginia State Uni-
versity Prior to that Serpell held a re-
search faculty position at James Madison
University and served as the associate di-
rector of the Alvin V Baird Attention and
Learning Disabilities Center She has also
held research positions at the Research Tri-
angle Institute-International the Eunice
Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development Study of
Early Childcare the American Association
for Colleges of Teacher Education and the
Center for Research on Children Placed At-
Risk
Serpellrsquos principle research interest is har-
nessing advances in cognitive science to
develop interventions that target executive
functions Translation is a particular goal of
her work which often takes the form of a
series of iterative small-N lab studies to in-
dividualize or perfect the design of inter-
ventions followed by often challenging
attempts to implement these interventions
in the real world of schools
Serpell currently has three active projects
In collaboration with former department
assistant professor Michelle Ellefson PhD
and Teresa Parr (BS lsquo93 MS lsquo95 PhD
lsquo99) the first project explores whether the
mental activities associated with playing
chess improve executive function and aca-
demic outcomes in elementary school stu-
dents The second and third projects are
funded by the National Science Foundation
and conducted in collaboration with col-
leagues from Virginia State University and
University of California San Diego These
projects involve testing the efficacy of com-
mercially available ldquobrain trainingrdquo pro-
grams with African American students and
examining the role of non-cognitive factors
specifically motivation and affect in cogni-
tive training contexts
Serpell was born and raised in Zambia and
reports having family all over the world
She received her bachelorrsquos degree in psy-
chology from Clark University in Worcester
Mass and her masterrsquos degree and PhD in
developmental psychology from Howard
University in Washington DC In her spare
time Serpell enjoys reading novels cooking
vegetarian meals and swimming with her
two sons She says she came to VCU for the
research opportunitiesmdashnew faculty collab-
orations working with VCUrsquos diverse stu-
dent body and getting involved with efforts
to improve outcomes for K-12 students
attending urban public schools
Meet our New Faculty Members
Zewelanji Serpell PhD
Kurt Crandall PhD
An affable psychology professor with a tidy office Dr Albert D Farrell warmly greets visi-tors to the West Franklin Street space that houses the Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth De-velopment The institute serves as a hub for studies led by Dr Farrell its director and one of the na-tionrsquos leading research scientists on risk and protective factors associated with problem behaviors during adolescence He began his academic career at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1980 as an assis-tant professor with the goal of ldquoworking with students who are involved in and excited about researchrdquo In 1992 he joined an effort that dramatically shaped the rest of his career It began with evaluating a Richmond youth violence prevention program Since then Dr Farrell has received nearly $16 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue re-searching youth violence including developing and evaluating a middle school program Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways which was designed to reduce violence by promoting positive problem-solving skills Grants totaling $26 million have supported his research which has been cited more than 1500 times and as often as 100 times annually in recent years Dr Farrellrsquos work has been continuously funded by the CDC for 21 straight years ldquoHis empirically supported model for youth violence prevention is considered the gold standard by psychologistsrdquo writes Dr James Coleman dean of the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences In 2005 the Clark-Hill Institute was selected by the CDC as one of eight Academic Centers of Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention and received $43 million in funding over five years Five years later VCU edged out Johns Hopkins Harvard Columbia and the University of California Berkley among others for a second round of funding securing $65 million to run the institute through September 2015 ldquoIrsquom really proud we were able accomplish thatrdquo Dr Farrell says ldquoWe competed extremely well against elite institutions with considerable resourcesrdquo For one CDC-funded project Dr Farrell collaborated on the Multisite Youth Violence Prevention Project with researchers from Duke University the University of Georgia and the University of Illinois at Chicago He developed most key aspects of the study according to Dr Thomas Simon deputy associate director for science in the CDCrsquos division of violence prevention ldquoDr Farrell has a gift for bringing together diverse opinions and identifying a path that utilizes the best science and practice principlesrdquo Dr Simon writes He uses that same quality in the classroom where he continues to teach the ldquoResearch Methods in Clinical Psychologyrdquo course he created 32 years ago Dr Farrell describes his role as more facilitator than teacher as he works to get students thinking about problems instead of looking to him for answers Dr Monique Vulin Reynolds a former student describes his class as one of the most useful and enjoyable she took at VCU ldquoHis own passion and dedication to the subject matter was what made the difference in keeping us absorbed and working hard to meet his expectationsrdquo she writes He earns near-perfect ratings on student evaluations according to Dr Wendy Kliewer chair of the psychology department Thatrsquos an unparalleled feat she writes especially since he taught a graduate statistics course she says both students and faculty shy away from Dr Scott Vrana a VCU psychology professor notes that one thing is missing from Dr Farrellrsquos resume mdash that he pours ldquothousands of hours into promoting and advancing the careers of other faculty members graduate students and postdoctoral fel-lowsrdquo His record does reflect some of that time Dr Farrell has chaired advisory committees for 30 masterrsquos theses and 22 doctoral dissertations Students and faculty describe him as a mentor who is approachable open and supportive and who always makes time for others no matter his schedule In reflecting on his career at VCU Dr Farrell says the way its pieces ended up fitting together seems sensible Its specific course however was strongly shaped by opportunities that presented themselves along the way Being at VCU provided advantages over other universities he worked with on youth violence prevention research he says mdash chiefly the lack of barriers between VCU and the community because most Richmonders are connected to VCU in some way While he has no imminent plans for retirement Dr Farrell says he hopes that he will be remembered as the first director of the Clark-Hill Institute as it continues making important strides in youth violence prevention ldquoWe are so totally aligned with VCUrsquos Quest for Distinctionrdquo he says ldquoWersquore interdisciplinary and well---positioned to really expand We have tremendous potentialrdquo
Recipient of the University Award of Excellence
Albert Farrell PhD
Picture and article courtesy of VCU University Relations
Graduate students in the clinical and
counseling psychology doctoral pro-
grams have completed a series of studies
under the mentorship of Bruce
Rybarczyk PhD (lsquo89 clinical program
graduate professor of clinical psycholo-
gy and director of clinical training) mak-
ing substantial contributions to advanc-
ing the treatment of insomnia in individ-
uals with co-morbid psychiatric condi-
tions Three of those studies were fea-
tured in a special issue of the Journal of
Clinical Psychology Two of the studies
were intervention studies with individu-
als with psychiatric diagnoses The first
was a dissertation by Nile Wagley PhD
(rsquo10 counseling program) providing cog-
nitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to pa-
tients undergoing treatment at the VCU
Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic These pa-
tients were receiving treatment for an
average of 36 years and continued to
have insomnia symptoms in spite of their
psychiatric care Two sessions of CBT for
insomnia including one conducted via
telephone were effective in improving
sleep and reducing depressive symp-
toms Among the twenty patients who
participated in treatment 38 were able
to achieve normal sleep eight weeks
after the start of treatment relative to
none in the control group A second dis-
sertation study at the same clinic em-
ploying a large group of patients all of
whom were dependent on hypnotic
medication for managing their insomnia
and a longer format of treatment was
recently completed by sixth year clinical
psychology graduate student Hannah
Lund It also obtained encouraging re-
sults that will be written up for publica-
tion in the near future
A second intervention study targeting
recent veterans with Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) conducted by
Skye Margolies PhD (rsquo11 clinical pro-
gram) was also featured in the special
issue This dissertation study tested four
sessions of CBT-I and an optional supple-
mentary treatment for nightmares
(imagery rehearsal therapy) with forty
combat veterans (mean age 377 years)
who served in Afghanistan andor Iraq a
group that has experienced high levels of
both PTSD and insomnia The treatment
sessions were provided at the McGuire
Veterans Administration Hospital in Rich-
mond The treatment led to significant
improvements in self-reported and ob-
jectively measured sleep a reduction in
PTSD symptom severity and PTSD-
related nighttime symptoms and a re-
duction in depression and distressed
mood compared to the waitlist control
group This study was replicated by Lau-
rin Mack PhD (rsquo13 clinical program)
Her study provided a classroom CBT in-
tervention to a wide array of veterans as
a follow-up supplement to a recently
completed a psycho-educational course
on coping with PTSD This study replicat-
ed the earlier findings of improved sleep
although it did not obtain the same re-
sult for reductions in PTSD symptoms
possibly related to the fact that many of
VCU Students Faculty and
Alumni Contribute to
Advancing the Treatment of
Insomnia Bruce Rybarczyk PhD
the participants had PTSD for several
decades rather than several years Both
Margolies and Mack were funded by
prestigious Rehabilitation Research Fel-
lowship awards for over $61000 com-
bined from the Department of Veteran
Affairs
CBT for insomnia was developed by a
group of pioneering researchers begin-
ning twenty-five years ago VCU Psychol-
ogy and Psychiatry has a long history
with this pioneering work One of the
most prolific researchers in this area
Jack Edinger PhD (rsquo78) is an alumnus of
the clinical psychology program and an-
other prominent researcher Charles
Morin PhD was a faculty member at
VCU While here Morin conducted one
of the first randomized clinical trials
showing that CBT was superior to hyp-
notic sleep medications CBT has several
treatment components including an ini-
tial reduction in sleep to increase sleep
drive and retrain normal sleep as well as
a method for eliminating time spent in
bed while awake to weaken the associa-
tion between being in bed and having
anxiety about not falling asleep The
treatment also includes education in the
science of
sleep in order
to provide the
patient with an
ldquoownerrsquos man-
ualrdquo for their
sleep system
These studies
contribute to
growing evi-
dence that CBT
for insomnia is
a treatment
that should be
offered to all
mental health
patients as a
supplement to
other treatments they are receiving that
are targeting the primary mental health
diagnosis Not only is sleep substantially
improved as a result of these interven-
tions but other mental health symptoms
are alleviated as a consequence of im-
proved sleep Additionally there are no
side effects treatment is brief the bene-
fits are sustained over time and the cost
is limited especially when employing self
-help materials The challenge that lies
ahead is training more clinicians to deliv-
er this brief treatment and getting the
word is out to health professionals and
the public that this should be a first line
treatment for persistent insomnia Alt-
hough a 2005 National Institutes of
Health expert panel recommended that
CBT be offered to all chronic insomnia
sufferers before prescribing a medica-
tion there has been very limited pro-
gress in dissemination thus far This is
due to the public and professional bias
towards the use of medications and the
lack of awareness of this newer treat-
ment approach To address the science-
practice gap future research by
Rybarczyk and colleagues will test a
ldquostepped carerdquo approach to delivering
CBT in primary care using varied levels
of treatment intensity and different
methods of delivery including the Inter-
net This stepped care approach will be
tested in primary care offices The con-
cept was detailed in a 2011 publication
by Mack and Rybarczyk
Although there are less than two hun-
dred clinical psychologists who are ex-
perts and researchers in CBT for insom-
nia a remarkable number of them are
VCU clinical psychology alumni In addi-
tion to Edinger and Rybarczyk Jason
Ong PhD (rsquo04 clinical program) is
board certified in behavioral sleep medi-
cine and is a prominent insomnia re-
searcher at Rush University Medical Cen-
ter in Chicago Don Townsend PhD
(rsquo99 clinical program) is a board certified
sleep clinician at the Fairview Sleep Cen-
ter in Minnesota and Kevin Smith PhD
(rsquo04 clinical program) is an assistant pro-
fessor of pediatrics at the University of
Missouri-Kansas City and is board certi-
fied in behavioral sleep medicine VCU
alumni are likely to have an even larger
impact on the growing field of behavioral
sleep medicine in the future as all four
of the recent graduates who conducted
the research
described
above are con-
tinuing to work
in this field
VCU faculty contributors to the studies de-scribed above include Drs Steve Danish David Leszczyszyn John Lynch (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo89) Tim Nay and Scott Vra-na
Bruce Rybarczyk PhD and Denise Borden MD discuss a patientrsquos care in VCUrsquos Primary Care Clinic
Over the past year the news has been filled with ongoing
legislative disputes in Washington Terms like fiscal cliff
debt ceiling and sequestration have become part of our vo-
cabulary With myriad predictions being made it can be
hard to decipher what impact recent government actions
could have here in our department
There are several recent government actions that could sub-
stantially influence research activity in Psychology The
first is known as sequestration or the ldquofiscal cliffrdquo This
was a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011 which im-
posed across-the-board cuts to defense and discretionary
programs in the event that Congress could not reach a com-
promise on the federal budget The Act was supposed to
motivate Congress to reach a solution as no one wanted or
expected to see sequestration implemented Unfortunately
Congress failed to reach a compromise and sequestration
went into effect on March 1 2013
Sequestration resulted in substantial budget cuts to our ma-
jor federal funders The National Institutes for Health Psy-
chologyrsquos largest funding source lost 5 of its total budget
amounting to $155 billion Since these were across-the-
board cuts no area of health research was spared As a
result we have received fewer new awards and our contin-
uing awards have been reduced VCU President Michael
Rao estimated in February that VCUrsquos grant portfolio could
see reductions of $12-$21 million by September 2013 as a
direct result of sequestration Luckily we have not seen
this dire outcome just yetmdashVCUrsquos grant award portfolio
showed excellent performance in fiscal year 2013mdashbut that
does not mean that effects will not be felt later
For example at the department level fewer new grant
awards could result in a lack of replacement funding for
projects slated to end soon Individuals paid from those
projects would likely be laid off if no source of new fund-
ing could be found Reduced budgets for continuing pro-
jects could result in cuts to the number of people a given
project could support Sequestration will also make it hard-
er for new faculty to get their first grants as grant programs
become increasingly competitive This in turn makes it
harder for them to support graduate students and postdoc-
toral associates There could also be an impact on federally
funded fellowships scholarships and student aid The fed-
eral work-study program for example could lose up to $50
million dollars as a result of sequestration That represents
a substantial number of students who would have to find
other sources of income
As if that were not enough sequestration is only one piece
of the puzzle Other government actions have the potential
to compound the impacts One such action is the Afforda-
ble Care Act otherwise known as ldquoObamacarerdquo Aside
from the obvious controversy the ACA has had some unin-
tended consequences In Virginia it resulted in the Man-
power Control Act or the 29-Hour Rule This law limits
part-time and hourly employees to a total of 29 hours per
week This has resulted in loss of income for students and
other part-time employees some of whom have historically
held multiple jobs at the university Multiple university
jobs are no longer allowed under the Manpower Control
Act In addition since the rule applies to adjunct faculty
too it has resulted in a reduction in the number of credit
hours they can teach This means an additional burden on
the already overloaded full-time faculty who must make up
The Impact of Recent US Government Actions on the
Departmentrsquos Research Mission
Brigette S Pfister MHRD CRA
Page 9
the shortfall in credit hours taught in addition to their ex-
isting responsibilitiesmdashlike grant writing This could fur-
ther depress our new award activity over the next few
years
The recent government shutdown adds another dimension
of complexity The government shutdown was brought
about by circumstances similar to those of sequestration
Once again legislators needed to compromise on the feder-
al budget in order to avert disaster This time the point of
contention was the Affordable Care Act Republicans
wanted to defund the ACA as a condition of passing the
Continuing Resolution that would keep the government
operational Democrats refused to approve any bill that
attempted to defund or otherwise nullify the ACA Once
again no compromise was reached and the government
shutdown took effect on October 1 2013
Immediately many federal systems were taken of-
fline We could not submit new proposals progress reports
or even establish new accounts Awards already delayed
and reduced by sequestration stopped altogether for the
duration of the shutdown Though there is widespread
conjecture on the subject no one really knows what the
long term impact will be on university research
During the shutdown work on existing projects was al-
lowed to continue provided that funding had already been
made available However we were unable to draw down
funds from the federal government In other words if we
didnrsquot already have it then we couldnrsquot spend it If the
shutdown had gone on longer even existing projects would
have probably had to lay off grant funded personnel and in
some cases completely stop work Also the government
doesnrsquot process passports and visas during the shutdown
so projects that depend on foreign travel were held up con-
siderably
The situation could worsen if Congress fails to devise a
workable long-term solution when the current debt ceiling
expires on February 7 If there is failure to compromise
the United States could default on our national debt There
is no clear picture of what the impacts of that would be but
we know they would not be positive
Since our overall grant portfolio at VCU did not appear to
suffer in fiscal year 2013 it might be tempting to disregard
some of the more dire warnings However it is important
to recognize that incoming awards are based on proposals
submitted in fiscal year 2012 or earlier so many of those
funding decisions were made prior to the most current cri-
sis We probably wont see the true impact of all of the
above until fiscal year 2014 or thereafter At minimum
the cessation of all proposal activity during the shutdown
will result in delayed resumption of award activity in addi-
tion to the delays and budget cuts already happening be-
cause of sequestration This will likely cause our total
awarded dollars to decrease over the next few years
Overall the impact on VCU research may not be disas-
trous but at the department level grant projects and the
individuals working on those projects could suffer signifi-
cant impact from the cumulative effects
Brigette S Pfister is director of sponsored programs for the
College of Humanities and Sciences at VCU
Dome United States Capitol Washington DC
Architect of the Capitol
Adriana Rodriguez graduated from the
University of California Berkeley in 2008
with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and
a minor in ethnic studies Following grad-
uation Rodriguez obtained a research as-
sistant position with Bruce Chorpita
PhD at UCLA helping to advance the
effectiveness of mental health treatment
for children and adolescents Her work
with Chorpita further solidified her aspira-
tion to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical
psychology working specifically with racial
andor ethnic minority youth
Rodriguez joined the Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD research laboratory as a
doctoral student in clinical psychology in
the fall of 2010 When asked why Rodri-
guez decided to attend VCU she stated
that she felt inspired and motivated by the
energy and innovation that Southam-
Gerow brings to the field of psychology
ldquoIt was the best decision I could have
maderdquo
In reflecting on her experience at VCU
Rodriguez is struck by how collaborative
the department in general and her lab in
particular are Her research interests lie
broadly in the dissemination and imple-
mentation of mental health treatment for
children and adolescents She is also in-
terested in cultural and linguistic adapta-
tions of assessments to minority popula-
tions in real-world clinic settings Recent-
ly Rodriguez was able to collaborate with
Rosalie Corona PhD of the clinical psy-
chology program whose work focuses on
health promotion and risk reduction
among ethnic minority populations In
working with Latina college students Ro-
driguez notes ldquoI understand the difficul-
ties that this population is facing from a
policy perspective and also through my
personal experiencehellip I was that kid who
didnrsquot have enough money for the bus
farerdquo
Born to a working-class Mexican family
Rodriguez is the first to receive a college
education let alone pursue a graduate
degree Her work is driven in part by a
desire to empower her family and culture
while forging her own identity
When asked about career aspirations she
responds ldquoI want to keep goinghellip go as far
as I canrdquo Rodriguez is molding herself for
a research position in academia where she
would ideally like to serve at the public
policy level of mental health treatment
dissemination and implementation
In her spare time she enjoys running long
distances around Richmondrsquos Byrd Park
and Brownrsquos Island She also spends time
drawing particularly individuals with pro-
nounced facial expressions Rodriguez
jokes that this interest probably stems
from all the time she has spent coding vid-
eotapes in the Southam-Gerow lab
Graduate Student Spotlight
Adriana Rodriguez MS Clinical Psychology program
The Global Bridges Project is a community engaged research pro-ject directed by Maghboeba Mosavel PhD of VCUrsquos Department of Social and Behavioral Health School of Medicine This summer Mosavel led a small team of six students to the University of Kwa-Zulu-Natalmdasha VCU international partner universitymdashin Durban South Africa to conduct community engaged research in the Ken-neth Gardens public housing community in Durban Jasmine Abrams and Morgan Maxwell were two of those students A third student Carrie Miller is a second year master of public health student who has previously worked for the Department of Psychol-ogy as project coordinator for Clarissa Holmes PhD Abrams and Maxwell chronicled their work in Durban on this blog httpbuilding-global-bridgesblogspotcom Itrsquos a great read
Submitted by Annie Rabinovitz doctoral
student in the clinical psychology program
Abrams Maxwell
Linda A Mensah-Etsi (see front cover) a
junior psychology major is a recent recipi-
ent of the Melvin V Lubman Scholarship
in Psychology The Melvin V Lubman
Scholarship was established by Mrs Golde
Lubman Feldman to honor her husbandrsquos
dedication and service as a professor in
the Department of Psychology Mensah-
Etsi reports that the scholarship will help
her greatly with her tuition and fees
When asked why she chose psychology as
a major Mensah-Etsi said that she is curi-
ous about many things and psychology
was the one subject that kept her interest
piqued at all times She said ldquoI like how I
can always be surprised by all the different
topics covered under psychology alonerdquo
Surely her constant interest is in part due
to her two ldquoall-time favoriterdquo classesmdash
Statistical Applications in the Psychology
Field with Linda Zyzniewski PhD and
Abnormal Psychology with adjunct profes-
sor Jessica Brown Mensah-Etsi picked
these as her favorites because she likes
the mathematical focus of statistics and
admitted to having an ldquoobsessionrdquo with
mental illnesses
Continuing her love for the subject Men-
sah-Etsi has decided to further her skills by
applying for several internships through-
out the department After narrowing
down her choices for internships this fall
from three options she is excited to have
begun her new internship at VCUrsquos Clark
Hill Institute for Positive Youth
Development She says she chose this op-
portunity because ldquonot only is it in the
field in which I am currently interested
the internship will give me the opportunity
to learn a valuable coding skill that I might
eventually need to userdquo
A former volunteer elementary school
teachers aide she has a clear interest in
working with children and teens and
would like to pursue another volunteer
opportunity with the organization Stop
Child Abuse Now here in Richmond
With time on her side Mensah-Etsi cer-
tainly has plenty of opportunities to
change her career path She hopes she
can get a job with her degree or perhaps
continue on to graduate school and even
sees a career in research as a possibility
Ultimately though she is interested in
counseling young children or teens who
have experienced trauma Her goal is to
help kids ldquounderstand that at least one
person is on their side even if it seems that
they have to deal with it on their ownrdquo
One of the many interesting aspects of
this junior is that she is only 18 years old
She was a mere 16 years of age when she
first enrolled at VCU and proves daily that
age has nothing to do with capacity for
success A very hard worker when asked
about her free time Mensah-Etsi says she
has been very preoccupied with school-
work as well as with working two jobs
However she says working out at the gym
has been very close to a hobby for her
lately
When shersquos not in Richmond Mensah-Etsi
lives in Alexandria with her family We
asked her why she chose to settle in Rich-
mond and attend VCU and she jokingly
said it is because her two favorite colors
are black and yellow ldquoOn a serious noterdquo
she stated ldquoI just really fell in love with
the city when I visited so there was no
doubt in my mind that I wanted to attend
VCU I grew up in a city so this felt close
to homerdquo
A native of Togo in West Africa Mensah-
Etsi moved to the US in 2007 shortly be-
fore she turned 13 She says it wasnrsquot a
hard transition for her as she already
spoke French and Ewe (an ethnic lan-
guage) so English was quite easy to learn
by comparison She indeed misses the
spicy foods of Togo but also says that
while other people in Richmond may be
annoyed by the street sounds lights and
crooked sidewalks it makes her feel right
at home
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral stu-
dent in the health psychology program
Undergraduate Student Spotlight
Linda A Mensah-Etsi Class of lsquo15
Congratulations to David Rockman class of 2013 for receiving the Benjamin A Gilman Scholarship Rockman will receive $5000 to study in one country from four weeks to one academic year Named after retired Congressman Benjamin A Gilman from New York the programrsquos goal is to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go
This summer Paul Perrin PhD led six
VCU psychology doctoral students on a
month-long expedition to the University of
Deusto in Bilbao Spain to participate in a
research training program on racialethnic
disparities in health The trip was due in
large part to Perrinrsquos ongoing collabora-
tion with Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla
PhD a research professor in the Universi-
ty of Deustorsquos Department of Psychology
and former faculty member in VCUrsquos De-
partment of Physical Medicine and Reha-
bilitation Perrin and Arango-Lasprilla
spent the past year planning and coordi-
nating this unique opportunity for stu-
dents who worked with them on various
research projects meeting and collabo-
rating with researchers from all over the
world Among the group of 20 interna-
tional researchers contributing to and par-
ticipating in this training program were
psychology doctoral students Gillian Lei-
bach and Stephen Trapp of the counseling
program Sarah Doyle of the developmen-
tal program Shaina Gulin of the clinical
program and Alejandra Morlett Paredes
and Megan Sutter of the health program
The students worked with a team of inter-
national researchers spanning ten differ-
ent countries The purpose of the training
program was to teach students to conduct
health disparities research in an interna-
tional context and build collaborative
teams at various universities and rehabili-
tation facilities The specific focus was the
psychosocial functioning of individuals
from understudied global regions with
neurological conditions such as traumatic
brain injury dementia spinal cord injury
and multiple sclerosis Unpaid family care-
givers often provide the majority of the
informal care to individuals with these
conditions yet have very few resources in
order to meet their family and caregiving
needs Therefore a major goal of these
projects was to study the factors related
to mental and physical health of caregiv-
ers and to create culturally sensitive
health care recommendations for these
regions The team is accumulating evi-
dence for interventions that will improve
the quality of informal care for individuals
with neurological conditions in regions
such as Latin America where much of this
research is being conducted
Each of the VCU doctoral students had the
opportunity to take the lead on projects
studying the potential protective and risk
factors associated with caregiver mental
and physical health in either older adults
with dementia or in children with spinal
cord injuries and disorders They were
also able to propose potential future pro-
jects with existing data or completely new
data collections based in various under-
studied global regions such as in Neiva
Colombia Auckland New Zealand Copen-
hagen Denmark and Mexico City Mexico
among many others Perrin and the team
of international researchers offered a
number of seminars on advanced research
methods and statistics such as factor
analysis structural equation modeling
qualitative research methods meta-
analysis neuroimaging and scientific man-
uscript preparation
The
group
was able
to take
part in
many
cultural
experi-
ences
and enjoyed exploring the city of Bilbao
and the surrounding countryside and
beaches The researchers and students
spent most of their time in the countryrsquos
Basque region where they were able to
visit the iconic Guggenheim Museum of
modern and contemporary art innumera-
ble pintxo restaurants (a specialty of this
region similar to tapas) and a celebration
of Bilbaorsquos 713th anniversary
The group also traveled to many places
around the country including Bermeo and
San Sebastiaacuten which are located on the
Northern coast of Spain near the border of
France In Bermeo they made a trek to
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe a hermitage
that is accessed by hiking down a narrow
trail crossing a stone bridge and walking
up approximately 230 steps The group
felt the hike was definitely worth the
effort though andmdashas a legend in-
structsmdashgot to the peak rang a bell three
times and made three wishes Together
many of the researchers and students also
took a day trip to San Sebastiaacuten a coastal
town that rests on the Bay of Biscay fa-
mous for its renowned Basque food and
of course its shoreline They also got the
chance to venture to southern France and
Barcelona
Spotlight on International Research and Learning
Paul Perrin PhD
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student
in the health psychology program
ldquoA major goal of these
projects was to study the
factors related to mental
and physical health of
caregivers and to create
culturally sensitive health
care recommendations for
these regionsrdquo
ldquoI had a wonderful experience in Bilbao When I started graduate
school I certainly did not expect I would get to travel abroad to do
research It was a really unique opportunity getting to meet and work with well-known researchers from around the world Bilbao
is beautiful and I did quite a bit of exploring in and around the city
learning the areas rich cultural customs and history It is a good
feeling to know that our research has the potential to help im-prove the quality of life of patients with neurological conditions
and their caregiversrdquo
Shaina Gulin clinical psychology doctoral student
Back row [L to R] Javier Pentildea
(Spain) Hinemoa Elder (New Zea-
land) Nada Andelic (Norway)
Alfonso Caracuel (Spain) Hugo
Senra (Portugal) Stephen Trapp
(USA) Ivan Panyavin (Spain)
Anne Norup (Denmark) Charles
Hallmark (USA) Alejandra Morlett
(USA) Alexander Moreno
(Canada) Rociacuteo Del Pino Saacuteez
(Spain) Clara Isabel Gonzaacutelez
Berdugo (Spain) Maria Cristina
Quijano (Colombia) Yaneth Rodri-
guez (Mexico)
Front row [L to R] Juan Carlos
Arango-Lasprilla (Spain) Carlos de
los Reyes (Colombia) Megan
Sutter (USA) Sarah Doyle (USA)
Gillian Leibach (USA) Shaina Gulin
(USA) Naroa Ibarretxe (Spain)
Paul Perrin (USA)
Kristin Heron PhD from Penn State University visited the de-
partment early in the fall semester Heron is associate director
of the Dynamic Real-time Ecological Ambulatory Methodologies
Initiative at Penn States Survey Research Center In this posi-
tion she uses ecological momentary assessment and ecological
momentary intervention in her research focused on a range of
clinical health topics including eating behaviors body image
physical activity promotion and smoking cessation Ecological
momentary assessment broadly refers to the use of assess-
ments (eg questionnaires) that capture information about
people as they go about their daily lives in their natural environ-
ment (eg home) Ecological momentary intervention refers to
interventions or treat-
ments that are delivered
to individuals as they go
about their daily lives
Heron spent time training
students in Dr Robin
Everharts research lab on
ecological momentary
assessment for a pediatric
asthma study that will
allow families to use
smart phones as they re-
port on their childs asth-
ma care in real time
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
professor of psychology
at the University of Vir-
ginia presented a talk to
the department in Sep-
tember titled ldquoThe Psy-
chological Wealth of
Nationsrdquo
Here is the abstract
What is a good society
Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good
society is a happy society―namely a society in which most citi-
zens are happy and free from fear Since the publication of
ldquoThe Wealth of Nationsrdquo by Adam Smith in 1776 most econo-
mists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a material-
ly wealthy society Thus gross national product and related
indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of
nations from the 1950rsquos to date Recently however prominent
economists as well as political scientists sociologists and psy-
chologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materi-
ally wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust
one another have a sense of freedom and have close social re-
lationships The inquiry into the psychological wealth of na-
tions or the subjective well-being of nations helps answer a
fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for mil-
lennia lsquolsquoWhat is a good societyrsquo
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
Kristin Heron PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Benita Belvet
Jessica Brown
Suzzette Chopin
Lillian Christon Arnold
Ashley Dibble
Rebecca Hubbard
David Jennings
Nichole Kelly
Laurin Mack
Priscilla Powell
Molly Neff
Laura Slosky
Denicia Titchner
Stephanie Wolf
Bachelor of Science
Vanessa Agyeman
Hasen Alghamdi
Latessa Allums
Michael Amon
Sonja Ayers
Sweska Basnet
Kirstie Breland
Erica Brown
Ashley Callis
Jakwame Carey
Megan Cavanagh
Grace Charriez
Courtney Christian
Alicia Cook
Aldijana Cordic
Jonathan Cox
Mary Dean
Anne Fishback
Sherona Gardner
Andrew Gibbs
Myra Glorioso
Logan Gravitt
Lateisha Greene
Katelyn Gruber
Jamila Harris
Tiquana Hill
James Hovermale
Savonne Howard
Marshall Hunter
Kelley Hurdle
Arturo Iglesias
Lucas Keckley
Hira Khalid
Jamison Lancaster
Dana Larson
Russ Lawrence
Michele Mascatello
Rachel Mason
Tiffany Mayo
Natasha McCoy
Alexandra McDougall
Brandie Mckenzie
Xue Ju Meyer
Scott Misturini
Lindsay Mitchiner
Lea Moisa
Brooke Myers
Krislee Nelson
Paul Norton
Sierre Norton
Kristin Oravetz
Stephen Page
Ryan Pannell
Kevin Papile
Natalie Parks
Krishna Patel
Justin Payne
James Peacock
Quy Phan
Cecilia Presseau
Nathalie Rieder
Kylessia Ross
Faryal Shahid
Katelyn Sisk
Angel Slach
Indira Smajlagic
Natalie Taylor
Adrienne Tetreault
Brandon Tolbert
Tierraney Truss
James Vosti
Brenda Wei
Patrick Wiley
Alaysia Williams
Lyndsay Wilshaw
Christopher Wilson
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to
education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual
orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of Psychology
806 W Franklin St
PO Box 842018
Richmond VA 23284-2018
Phone 804-828-1193
Fax 804-828-2237
Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu
Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu
Virginia Commonwealth
University
Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology
A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine
Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from
bottom on far right
Hulsey Van Tongeren Green
anxiety children sometimes feel about go-
ing back to school in the fall Read the
VCU News QampA Another bit of good
news for Southam-Gerow is his recent
promotion from associate professor to full
professor
Everett Worthington
PhD director of clinical
training in the counseling
psychology program was
nominated for the pres-
tigious Joseph B and To-
by Gittler Prize The
$25000 prize includes a medal and a lec-
ture at Brandeis University by the recipi-
ent The awardee must have produced a
body of published work that reflects schol-
arly excellence and a lasting contribution
to racial ethnic andor religious relations
anywhere in the world
Worthington has also been featured in
several media and print outlets recently
For example an article he wrote on forgiv-
ing the man who murdered his mother
appeared in Septemberrsquos issue of Christi-
anity Today the largest popular magazine
in American Christianity He was also
quoted as an expert in forgiveness in a
recent online article regarding the ordeal
of Ariel Castro and the three women he
held as captives in his Cleveland base-
ment
In addition Worthington has published a
new book ldquoMoving Forward Six Steps to
Forgiving Yourself and Breaking Free from
the Pastrdquo that was featured in a VCU
news article Read an excerpt
Linda Zyzniewski PhD associate profes-
sor of social psychology director of under-
graduate studies and deanrsquos fellow for the
College of Humanities and Sciences is
president-elect of VCUrsquos chapter of Phi
Kappa Phi Her term will
be for the 2014-15
school year ΦΚΦ faculty
have made significant
contributions to ad-
vancement of knowledge
and understanding
through research publication profession-
al innovation or artistic creativity sus-
tained excellence in teaching achieve-
ments transcending customary levels of
service in academic or professional socie-
ties of national scope recognition by other
major honor societies special honors and
awards and significant leadership in the
VCU academic community
Congratulations to the
recipients of this yearrsquos
annual department fac-
ulty awards for excel-
lence The Outstanding
Service Award was given
to Barbara Myers
PhD for sustained ex-
cellence in service to her community uni-
versity College department and field
Myers has been instrumental in establish-
ing and maintaining VCUrsquos community
partnership with Richmond City Jails
The winner of this yearrsquos Outstanding
Scholarship Award goes to Joshua Lang-
berg PhD Langberg is a strong ADHD
researcher who continues to publish high
impact findings and obtain substantial
grant funding for his work
Finally we would like to recognize Micah
McCreary PhD as this yearrsquos winner of
the Outstanding Teaching Award
McCreary continues to be one of the high-
est student-rated instructors in our de-
partment He provided an excellent ser-
vice learning opportunity for our students
this summer in Haiti
Support Staff Updates
Jennifer Elswick Direc-
tor for Strategic Initia-
tives and Assistant to
Chair was appointed to
serve as one of two in-
augural staff members
on the VCU Academic
Affairs Committee She
was also featured in a recent article in the
College of Humanities and Sciences news-
letter
Stephanie Hart MBA
CRA service center di-
rector of operations par-
ticipated in the National
Council of University Re-
search Administrators
Financial Research Ad-
ministration Workshop The
two and a half day workshop focused pri-
marily on the financial aspects of research
administration and provided an in-depth
look at financial compliance issues
through a combination of lecture case
studies review of federal audit reports
and a discussion of best practices
Yin Huang grants manag-
er just completed the
three-credit course Busi-
ness Statistics to supple-
ment the knowledge base
for her position
Diana Pauley executive
secretary received a Spot Award for Day-
to-Day Excellence for her persistence in
getting Williams House a new roof
Department News and Updates
Worthington
Elswick
Zyzniewski
Myers
Hart
Kurt Crandall PhD is a licensed clinical
psychologist who joined our faculty this
fall Crandall received his PhD in clinical
psychology from the University of Kansas
with a specialty in health psychology He
interned at the Veterans Affairs Medical
Center in Washington DC where he
worked in psychiatric triage counseled pa-
tients with chronic pain and conducted
group therapy for veterans who were en-
rolled in a partial hospitalization program
Following his internship year he spent
three years as an assistant professor in the
Department of Psychology at Wesleyan Col-
lege in Macon Georgia From there Cran-
dall left academia and returned to clinical
work to complete a postdoctoral fellowship
with an emphasis on couples and family
therapy at a community mental health cen-
ter in Chicago After his postdoctoral expe-
rience he worked as a staff psychologist in
the Primary Care Clinic at the VA Hospital in
Seattle
Upon his move back to the east coast Cran-
dall returned to academia and joined the
psychology faculty at Longwood University
For the past several years he has also been
employed as a psychologist in a private
practice here in Richmond Crandall prac-
tices as a cognitive behavioral therapist and
is trained to work with adults His clinical
areas of interest and experience include
promoting health through behavioral
change treating mood and anxiety disor-
ders helping clients cope with physical ill-
ness and disease facilitating stress manage-
ment and counseling couples His general
research interests are in the areas of health
psychology and positive psychology More
specifically he is interested in the effect
positive frames of thinking (eg hope opti-
mism forgiveness) may have on onersquos phys-
ical and emotional health
Zewelanji Serpell PhD joined our depart-
ment this fall as an associate professor in
the developmental program Before VCU
she was an associate professor in the psy-
chology department at Virginia State Uni-
versity Prior to that Serpell held a re-
search faculty position at James Madison
University and served as the associate di-
rector of the Alvin V Baird Attention and
Learning Disabilities Center She has also
held research positions at the Research Tri-
angle Institute-International the Eunice
Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development Study of
Early Childcare the American Association
for Colleges of Teacher Education and the
Center for Research on Children Placed At-
Risk
Serpellrsquos principle research interest is har-
nessing advances in cognitive science to
develop interventions that target executive
functions Translation is a particular goal of
her work which often takes the form of a
series of iterative small-N lab studies to in-
dividualize or perfect the design of inter-
ventions followed by often challenging
attempts to implement these interventions
in the real world of schools
Serpell currently has three active projects
In collaboration with former department
assistant professor Michelle Ellefson PhD
and Teresa Parr (BS lsquo93 MS lsquo95 PhD
lsquo99) the first project explores whether the
mental activities associated with playing
chess improve executive function and aca-
demic outcomes in elementary school stu-
dents The second and third projects are
funded by the National Science Foundation
and conducted in collaboration with col-
leagues from Virginia State University and
University of California San Diego These
projects involve testing the efficacy of com-
mercially available ldquobrain trainingrdquo pro-
grams with African American students and
examining the role of non-cognitive factors
specifically motivation and affect in cogni-
tive training contexts
Serpell was born and raised in Zambia and
reports having family all over the world
She received her bachelorrsquos degree in psy-
chology from Clark University in Worcester
Mass and her masterrsquos degree and PhD in
developmental psychology from Howard
University in Washington DC In her spare
time Serpell enjoys reading novels cooking
vegetarian meals and swimming with her
two sons She says she came to VCU for the
research opportunitiesmdashnew faculty collab-
orations working with VCUrsquos diverse stu-
dent body and getting involved with efforts
to improve outcomes for K-12 students
attending urban public schools
Meet our New Faculty Members
Zewelanji Serpell PhD
Kurt Crandall PhD
An affable psychology professor with a tidy office Dr Albert D Farrell warmly greets visi-tors to the West Franklin Street space that houses the Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth De-velopment The institute serves as a hub for studies led by Dr Farrell its director and one of the na-tionrsquos leading research scientists on risk and protective factors associated with problem behaviors during adolescence He began his academic career at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1980 as an assis-tant professor with the goal of ldquoworking with students who are involved in and excited about researchrdquo In 1992 he joined an effort that dramatically shaped the rest of his career It began with evaluating a Richmond youth violence prevention program Since then Dr Farrell has received nearly $16 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue re-searching youth violence including developing and evaluating a middle school program Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways which was designed to reduce violence by promoting positive problem-solving skills Grants totaling $26 million have supported his research which has been cited more than 1500 times and as often as 100 times annually in recent years Dr Farrellrsquos work has been continuously funded by the CDC for 21 straight years ldquoHis empirically supported model for youth violence prevention is considered the gold standard by psychologistsrdquo writes Dr James Coleman dean of the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences In 2005 the Clark-Hill Institute was selected by the CDC as one of eight Academic Centers of Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention and received $43 million in funding over five years Five years later VCU edged out Johns Hopkins Harvard Columbia and the University of California Berkley among others for a second round of funding securing $65 million to run the institute through September 2015 ldquoIrsquom really proud we were able accomplish thatrdquo Dr Farrell says ldquoWe competed extremely well against elite institutions with considerable resourcesrdquo For one CDC-funded project Dr Farrell collaborated on the Multisite Youth Violence Prevention Project with researchers from Duke University the University of Georgia and the University of Illinois at Chicago He developed most key aspects of the study according to Dr Thomas Simon deputy associate director for science in the CDCrsquos division of violence prevention ldquoDr Farrell has a gift for bringing together diverse opinions and identifying a path that utilizes the best science and practice principlesrdquo Dr Simon writes He uses that same quality in the classroom where he continues to teach the ldquoResearch Methods in Clinical Psychologyrdquo course he created 32 years ago Dr Farrell describes his role as more facilitator than teacher as he works to get students thinking about problems instead of looking to him for answers Dr Monique Vulin Reynolds a former student describes his class as one of the most useful and enjoyable she took at VCU ldquoHis own passion and dedication to the subject matter was what made the difference in keeping us absorbed and working hard to meet his expectationsrdquo she writes He earns near-perfect ratings on student evaluations according to Dr Wendy Kliewer chair of the psychology department Thatrsquos an unparalleled feat she writes especially since he taught a graduate statistics course she says both students and faculty shy away from Dr Scott Vrana a VCU psychology professor notes that one thing is missing from Dr Farrellrsquos resume mdash that he pours ldquothousands of hours into promoting and advancing the careers of other faculty members graduate students and postdoctoral fel-lowsrdquo His record does reflect some of that time Dr Farrell has chaired advisory committees for 30 masterrsquos theses and 22 doctoral dissertations Students and faculty describe him as a mentor who is approachable open and supportive and who always makes time for others no matter his schedule In reflecting on his career at VCU Dr Farrell says the way its pieces ended up fitting together seems sensible Its specific course however was strongly shaped by opportunities that presented themselves along the way Being at VCU provided advantages over other universities he worked with on youth violence prevention research he says mdash chiefly the lack of barriers between VCU and the community because most Richmonders are connected to VCU in some way While he has no imminent plans for retirement Dr Farrell says he hopes that he will be remembered as the first director of the Clark-Hill Institute as it continues making important strides in youth violence prevention ldquoWe are so totally aligned with VCUrsquos Quest for Distinctionrdquo he says ldquoWersquore interdisciplinary and well---positioned to really expand We have tremendous potentialrdquo
Recipient of the University Award of Excellence
Albert Farrell PhD
Picture and article courtesy of VCU University Relations
Graduate students in the clinical and
counseling psychology doctoral pro-
grams have completed a series of studies
under the mentorship of Bruce
Rybarczyk PhD (lsquo89 clinical program
graduate professor of clinical psycholo-
gy and director of clinical training) mak-
ing substantial contributions to advanc-
ing the treatment of insomnia in individ-
uals with co-morbid psychiatric condi-
tions Three of those studies were fea-
tured in a special issue of the Journal of
Clinical Psychology Two of the studies
were intervention studies with individu-
als with psychiatric diagnoses The first
was a dissertation by Nile Wagley PhD
(rsquo10 counseling program) providing cog-
nitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to pa-
tients undergoing treatment at the VCU
Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic These pa-
tients were receiving treatment for an
average of 36 years and continued to
have insomnia symptoms in spite of their
psychiatric care Two sessions of CBT for
insomnia including one conducted via
telephone were effective in improving
sleep and reducing depressive symp-
toms Among the twenty patients who
participated in treatment 38 were able
to achieve normal sleep eight weeks
after the start of treatment relative to
none in the control group A second dis-
sertation study at the same clinic em-
ploying a large group of patients all of
whom were dependent on hypnotic
medication for managing their insomnia
and a longer format of treatment was
recently completed by sixth year clinical
psychology graduate student Hannah
Lund It also obtained encouraging re-
sults that will be written up for publica-
tion in the near future
A second intervention study targeting
recent veterans with Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) conducted by
Skye Margolies PhD (rsquo11 clinical pro-
gram) was also featured in the special
issue This dissertation study tested four
sessions of CBT-I and an optional supple-
mentary treatment for nightmares
(imagery rehearsal therapy) with forty
combat veterans (mean age 377 years)
who served in Afghanistan andor Iraq a
group that has experienced high levels of
both PTSD and insomnia The treatment
sessions were provided at the McGuire
Veterans Administration Hospital in Rich-
mond The treatment led to significant
improvements in self-reported and ob-
jectively measured sleep a reduction in
PTSD symptom severity and PTSD-
related nighttime symptoms and a re-
duction in depression and distressed
mood compared to the waitlist control
group This study was replicated by Lau-
rin Mack PhD (rsquo13 clinical program)
Her study provided a classroom CBT in-
tervention to a wide array of veterans as
a follow-up supplement to a recently
completed a psycho-educational course
on coping with PTSD This study replicat-
ed the earlier findings of improved sleep
although it did not obtain the same re-
sult for reductions in PTSD symptoms
possibly related to the fact that many of
VCU Students Faculty and
Alumni Contribute to
Advancing the Treatment of
Insomnia Bruce Rybarczyk PhD
the participants had PTSD for several
decades rather than several years Both
Margolies and Mack were funded by
prestigious Rehabilitation Research Fel-
lowship awards for over $61000 com-
bined from the Department of Veteran
Affairs
CBT for insomnia was developed by a
group of pioneering researchers begin-
ning twenty-five years ago VCU Psychol-
ogy and Psychiatry has a long history
with this pioneering work One of the
most prolific researchers in this area
Jack Edinger PhD (rsquo78) is an alumnus of
the clinical psychology program and an-
other prominent researcher Charles
Morin PhD was a faculty member at
VCU While here Morin conducted one
of the first randomized clinical trials
showing that CBT was superior to hyp-
notic sleep medications CBT has several
treatment components including an ini-
tial reduction in sleep to increase sleep
drive and retrain normal sleep as well as
a method for eliminating time spent in
bed while awake to weaken the associa-
tion between being in bed and having
anxiety about not falling asleep The
treatment also includes education in the
science of
sleep in order
to provide the
patient with an
ldquoownerrsquos man-
ualrdquo for their
sleep system
These studies
contribute to
growing evi-
dence that CBT
for insomnia is
a treatment
that should be
offered to all
mental health
patients as a
supplement to
other treatments they are receiving that
are targeting the primary mental health
diagnosis Not only is sleep substantially
improved as a result of these interven-
tions but other mental health symptoms
are alleviated as a consequence of im-
proved sleep Additionally there are no
side effects treatment is brief the bene-
fits are sustained over time and the cost
is limited especially when employing self
-help materials The challenge that lies
ahead is training more clinicians to deliv-
er this brief treatment and getting the
word is out to health professionals and
the public that this should be a first line
treatment for persistent insomnia Alt-
hough a 2005 National Institutes of
Health expert panel recommended that
CBT be offered to all chronic insomnia
sufferers before prescribing a medica-
tion there has been very limited pro-
gress in dissemination thus far This is
due to the public and professional bias
towards the use of medications and the
lack of awareness of this newer treat-
ment approach To address the science-
practice gap future research by
Rybarczyk and colleagues will test a
ldquostepped carerdquo approach to delivering
CBT in primary care using varied levels
of treatment intensity and different
methods of delivery including the Inter-
net This stepped care approach will be
tested in primary care offices The con-
cept was detailed in a 2011 publication
by Mack and Rybarczyk
Although there are less than two hun-
dred clinical psychologists who are ex-
perts and researchers in CBT for insom-
nia a remarkable number of them are
VCU clinical psychology alumni In addi-
tion to Edinger and Rybarczyk Jason
Ong PhD (rsquo04 clinical program) is
board certified in behavioral sleep medi-
cine and is a prominent insomnia re-
searcher at Rush University Medical Cen-
ter in Chicago Don Townsend PhD
(rsquo99 clinical program) is a board certified
sleep clinician at the Fairview Sleep Cen-
ter in Minnesota and Kevin Smith PhD
(rsquo04 clinical program) is an assistant pro-
fessor of pediatrics at the University of
Missouri-Kansas City and is board certi-
fied in behavioral sleep medicine VCU
alumni are likely to have an even larger
impact on the growing field of behavioral
sleep medicine in the future as all four
of the recent graduates who conducted
the research
described
above are con-
tinuing to work
in this field
VCU faculty contributors to the studies de-scribed above include Drs Steve Danish David Leszczyszyn John Lynch (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo89) Tim Nay and Scott Vra-na
Bruce Rybarczyk PhD and Denise Borden MD discuss a patientrsquos care in VCUrsquos Primary Care Clinic
Over the past year the news has been filled with ongoing
legislative disputes in Washington Terms like fiscal cliff
debt ceiling and sequestration have become part of our vo-
cabulary With myriad predictions being made it can be
hard to decipher what impact recent government actions
could have here in our department
There are several recent government actions that could sub-
stantially influence research activity in Psychology The
first is known as sequestration or the ldquofiscal cliffrdquo This
was a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011 which im-
posed across-the-board cuts to defense and discretionary
programs in the event that Congress could not reach a com-
promise on the federal budget The Act was supposed to
motivate Congress to reach a solution as no one wanted or
expected to see sequestration implemented Unfortunately
Congress failed to reach a compromise and sequestration
went into effect on March 1 2013
Sequestration resulted in substantial budget cuts to our ma-
jor federal funders The National Institutes for Health Psy-
chologyrsquos largest funding source lost 5 of its total budget
amounting to $155 billion Since these were across-the-
board cuts no area of health research was spared As a
result we have received fewer new awards and our contin-
uing awards have been reduced VCU President Michael
Rao estimated in February that VCUrsquos grant portfolio could
see reductions of $12-$21 million by September 2013 as a
direct result of sequestration Luckily we have not seen
this dire outcome just yetmdashVCUrsquos grant award portfolio
showed excellent performance in fiscal year 2013mdashbut that
does not mean that effects will not be felt later
For example at the department level fewer new grant
awards could result in a lack of replacement funding for
projects slated to end soon Individuals paid from those
projects would likely be laid off if no source of new fund-
ing could be found Reduced budgets for continuing pro-
jects could result in cuts to the number of people a given
project could support Sequestration will also make it hard-
er for new faculty to get their first grants as grant programs
become increasingly competitive This in turn makes it
harder for them to support graduate students and postdoc-
toral associates There could also be an impact on federally
funded fellowships scholarships and student aid The fed-
eral work-study program for example could lose up to $50
million dollars as a result of sequestration That represents
a substantial number of students who would have to find
other sources of income
As if that were not enough sequestration is only one piece
of the puzzle Other government actions have the potential
to compound the impacts One such action is the Afforda-
ble Care Act otherwise known as ldquoObamacarerdquo Aside
from the obvious controversy the ACA has had some unin-
tended consequences In Virginia it resulted in the Man-
power Control Act or the 29-Hour Rule This law limits
part-time and hourly employees to a total of 29 hours per
week This has resulted in loss of income for students and
other part-time employees some of whom have historically
held multiple jobs at the university Multiple university
jobs are no longer allowed under the Manpower Control
Act In addition since the rule applies to adjunct faculty
too it has resulted in a reduction in the number of credit
hours they can teach This means an additional burden on
the already overloaded full-time faculty who must make up
The Impact of Recent US Government Actions on the
Departmentrsquos Research Mission
Brigette S Pfister MHRD CRA
Page 9
the shortfall in credit hours taught in addition to their ex-
isting responsibilitiesmdashlike grant writing This could fur-
ther depress our new award activity over the next few
years
The recent government shutdown adds another dimension
of complexity The government shutdown was brought
about by circumstances similar to those of sequestration
Once again legislators needed to compromise on the feder-
al budget in order to avert disaster This time the point of
contention was the Affordable Care Act Republicans
wanted to defund the ACA as a condition of passing the
Continuing Resolution that would keep the government
operational Democrats refused to approve any bill that
attempted to defund or otherwise nullify the ACA Once
again no compromise was reached and the government
shutdown took effect on October 1 2013
Immediately many federal systems were taken of-
fline We could not submit new proposals progress reports
or even establish new accounts Awards already delayed
and reduced by sequestration stopped altogether for the
duration of the shutdown Though there is widespread
conjecture on the subject no one really knows what the
long term impact will be on university research
During the shutdown work on existing projects was al-
lowed to continue provided that funding had already been
made available However we were unable to draw down
funds from the federal government In other words if we
didnrsquot already have it then we couldnrsquot spend it If the
shutdown had gone on longer even existing projects would
have probably had to lay off grant funded personnel and in
some cases completely stop work Also the government
doesnrsquot process passports and visas during the shutdown
so projects that depend on foreign travel were held up con-
siderably
The situation could worsen if Congress fails to devise a
workable long-term solution when the current debt ceiling
expires on February 7 If there is failure to compromise
the United States could default on our national debt There
is no clear picture of what the impacts of that would be but
we know they would not be positive
Since our overall grant portfolio at VCU did not appear to
suffer in fiscal year 2013 it might be tempting to disregard
some of the more dire warnings However it is important
to recognize that incoming awards are based on proposals
submitted in fiscal year 2012 or earlier so many of those
funding decisions were made prior to the most current cri-
sis We probably wont see the true impact of all of the
above until fiscal year 2014 or thereafter At minimum
the cessation of all proposal activity during the shutdown
will result in delayed resumption of award activity in addi-
tion to the delays and budget cuts already happening be-
cause of sequestration This will likely cause our total
awarded dollars to decrease over the next few years
Overall the impact on VCU research may not be disas-
trous but at the department level grant projects and the
individuals working on those projects could suffer signifi-
cant impact from the cumulative effects
Brigette S Pfister is director of sponsored programs for the
College of Humanities and Sciences at VCU
Dome United States Capitol Washington DC
Architect of the Capitol
Adriana Rodriguez graduated from the
University of California Berkeley in 2008
with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and
a minor in ethnic studies Following grad-
uation Rodriguez obtained a research as-
sistant position with Bruce Chorpita
PhD at UCLA helping to advance the
effectiveness of mental health treatment
for children and adolescents Her work
with Chorpita further solidified her aspira-
tion to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical
psychology working specifically with racial
andor ethnic minority youth
Rodriguez joined the Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD research laboratory as a
doctoral student in clinical psychology in
the fall of 2010 When asked why Rodri-
guez decided to attend VCU she stated
that she felt inspired and motivated by the
energy and innovation that Southam-
Gerow brings to the field of psychology
ldquoIt was the best decision I could have
maderdquo
In reflecting on her experience at VCU
Rodriguez is struck by how collaborative
the department in general and her lab in
particular are Her research interests lie
broadly in the dissemination and imple-
mentation of mental health treatment for
children and adolescents She is also in-
terested in cultural and linguistic adapta-
tions of assessments to minority popula-
tions in real-world clinic settings Recent-
ly Rodriguez was able to collaborate with
Rosalie Corona PhD of the clinical psy-
chology program whose work focuses on
health promotion and risk reduction
among ethnic minority populations In
working with Latina college students Ro-
driguez notes ldquoI understand the difficul-
ties that this population is facing from a
policy perspective and also through my
personal experiencehellip I was that kid who
didnrsquot have enough money for the bus
farerdquo
Born to a working-class Mexican family
Rodriguez is the first to receive a college
education let alone pursue a graduate
degree Her work is driven in part by a
desire to empower her family and culture
while forging her own identity
When asked about career aspirations she
responds ldquoI want to keep goinghellip go as far
as I canrdquo Rodriguez is molding herself for
a research position in academia where she
would ideally like to serve at the public
policy level of mental health treatment
dissemination and implementation
In her spare time she enjoys running long
distances around Richmondrsquos Byrd Park
and Brownrsquos Island She also spends time
drawing particularly individuals with pro-
nounced facial expressions Rodriguez
jokes that this interest probably stems
from all the time she has spent coding vid-
eotapes in the Southam-Gerow lab
Graduate Student Spotlight
Adriana Rodriguez MS Clinical Psychology program
The Global Bridges Project is a community engaged research pro-ject directed by Maghboeba Mosavel PhD of VCUrsquos Department of Social and Behavioral Health School of Medicine This summer Mosavel led a small team of six students to the University of Kwa-Zulu-Natalmdasha VCU international partner universitymdashin Durban South Africa to conduct community engaged research in the Ken-neth Gardens public housing community in Durban Jasmine Abrams and Morgan Maxwell were two of those students A third student Carrie Miller is a second year master of public health student who has previously worked for the Department of Psychol-ogy as project coordinator for Clarissa Holmes PhD Abrams and Maxwell chronicled their work in Durban on this blog httpbuilding-global-bridgesblogspotcom Itrsquos a great read
Submitted by Annie Rabinovitz doctoral
student in the clinical psychology program
Abrams Maxwell
Linda A Mensah-Etsi (see front cover) a
junior psychology major is a recent recipi-
ent of the Melvin V Lubman Scholarship
in Psychology The Melvin V Lubman
Scholarship was established by Mrs Golde
Lubman Feldman to honor her husbandrsquos
dedication and service as a professor in
the Department of Psychology Mensah-
Etsi reports that the scholarship will help
her greatly with her tuition and fees
When asked why she chose psychology as
a major Mensah-Etsi said that she is curi-
ous about many things and psychology
was the one subject that kept her interest
piqued at all times She said ldquoI like how I
can always be surprised by all the different
topics covered under psychology alonerdquo
Surely her constant interest is in part due
to her two ldquoall-time favoriterdquo classesmdash
Statistical Applications in the Psychology
Field with Linda Zyzniewski PhD and
Abnormal Psychology with adjunct profes-
sor Jessica Brown Mensah-Etsi picked
these as her favorites because she likes
the mathematical focus of statistics and
admitted to having an ldquoobsessionrdquo with
mental illnesses
Continuing her love for the subject Men-
sah-Etsi has decided to further her skills by
applying for several internships through-
out the department After narrowing
down her choices for internships this fall
from three options she is excited to have
begun her new internship at VCUrsquos Clark
Hill Institute for Positive Youth
Development She says she chose this op-
portunity because ldquonot only is it in the
field in which I am currently interested
the internship will give me the opportunity
to learn a valuable coding skill that I might
eventually need to userdquo
A former volunteer elementary school
teachers aide she has a clear interest in
working with children and teens and
would like to pursue another volunteer
opportunity with the organization Stop
Child Abuse Now here in Richmond
With time on her side Mensah-Etsi cer-
tainly has plenty of opportunities to
change her career path She hopes she
can get a job with her degree or perhaps
continue on to graduate school and even
sees a career in research as a possibility
Ultimately though she is interested in
counseling young children or teens who
have experienced trauma Her goal is to
help kids ldquounderstand that at least one
person is on their side even if it seems that
they have to deal with it on their ownrdquo
One of the many interesting aspects of
this junior is that she is only 18 years old
She was a mere 16 years of age when she
first enrolled at VCU and proves daily that
age has nothing to do with capacity for
success A very hard worker when asked
about her free time Mensah-Etsi says she
has been very preoccupied with school-
work as well as with working two jobs
However she says working out at the gym
has been very close to a hobby for her
lately
When shersquos not in Richmond Mensah-Etsi
lives in Alexandria with her family We
asked her why she chose to settle in Rich-
mond and attend VCU and she jokingly
said it is because her two favorite colors
are black and yellow ldquoOn a serious noterdquo
she stated ldquoI just really fell in love with
the city when I visited so there was no
doubt in my mind that I wanted to attend
VCU I grew up in a city so this felt close
to homerdquo
A native of Togo in West Africa Mensah-
Etsi moved to the US in 2007 shortly be-
fore she turned 13 She says it wasnrsquot a
hard transition for her as she already
spoke French and Ewe (an ethnic lan-
guage) so English was quite easy to learn
by comparison She indeed misses the
spicy foods of Togo but also says that
while other people in Richmond may be
annoyed by the street sounds lights and
crooked sidewalks it makes her feel right
at home
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral stu-
dent in the health psychology program
Undergraduate Student Spotlight
Linda A Mensah-Etsi Class of lsquo15
Congratulations to David Rockman class of 2013 for receiving the Benjamin A Gilman Scholarship Rockman will receive $5000 to study in one country from four weeks to one academic year Named after retired Congressman Benjamin A Gilman from New York the programrsquos goal is to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go
This summer Paul Perrin PhD led six
VCU psychology doctoral students on a
month-long expedition to the University of
Deusto in Bilbao Spain to participate in a
research training program on racialethnic
disparities in health The trip was due in
large part to Perrinrsquos ongoing collabora-
tion with Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla
PhD a research professor in the Universi-
ty of Deustorsquos Department of Psychology
and former faculty member in VCUrsquos De-
partment of Physical Medicine and Reha-
bilitation Perrin and Arango-Lasprilla
spent the past year planning and coordi-
nating this unique opportunity for stu-
dents who worked with them on various
research projects meeting and collabo-
rating with researchers from all over the
world Among the group of 20 interna-
tional researchers contributing to and par-
ticipating in this training program were
psychology doctoral students Gillian Lei-
bach and Stephen Trapp of the counseling
program Sarah Doyle of the developmen-
tal program Shaina Gulin of the clinical
program and Alejandra Morlett Paredes
and Megan Sutter of the health program
The students worked with a team of inter-
national researchers spanning ten differ-
ent countries The purpose of the training
program was to teach students to conduct
health disparities research in an interna-
tional context and build collaborative
teams at various universities and rehabili-
tation facilities The specific focus was the
psychosocial functioning of individuals
from understudied global regions with
neurological conditions such as traumatic
brain injury dementia spinal cord injury
and multiple sclerosis Unpaid family care-
givers often provide the majority of the
informal care to individuals with these
conditions yet have very few resources in
order to meet their family and caregiving
needs Therefore a major goal of these
projects was to study the factors related
to mental and physical health of caregiv-
ers and to create culturally sensitive
health care recommendations for these
regions The team is accumulating evi-
dence for interventions that will improve
the quality of informal care for individuals
with neurological conditions in regions
such as Latin America where much of this
research is being conducted
Each of the VCU doctoral students had the
opportunity to take the lead on projects
studying the potential protective and risk
factors associated with caregiver mental
and physical health in either older adults
with dementia or in children with spinal
cord injuries and disorders They were
also able to propose potential future pro-
jects with existing data or completely new
data collections based in various under-
studied global regions such as in Neiva
Colombia Auckland New Zealand Copen-
hagen Denmark and Mexico City Mexico
among many others Perrin and the team
of international researchers offered a
number of seminars on advanced research
methods and statistics such as factor
analysis structural equation modeling
qualitative research methods meta-
analysis neuroimaging and scientific man-
uscript preparation
The
group
was able
to take
part in
many
cultural
experi-
ences
and enjoyed exploring the city of Bilbao
and the surrounding countryside and
beaches The researchers and students
spent most of their time in the countryrsquos
Basque region where they were able to
visit the iconic Guggenheim Museum of
modern and contemporary art innumera-
ble pintxo restaurants (a specialty of this
region similar to tapas) and a celebration
of Bilbaorsquos 713th anniversary
The group also traveled to many places
around the country including Bermeo and
San Sebastiaacuten which are located on the
Northern coast of Spain near the border of
France In Bermeo they made a trek to
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe a hermitage
that is accessed by hiking down a narrow
trail crossing a stone bridge and walking
up approximately 230 steps The group
felt the hike was definitely worth the
effort though andmdashas a legend in-
structsmdashgot to the peak rang a bell three
times and made three wishes Together
many of the researchers and students also
took a day trip to San Sebastiaacuten a coastal
town that rests on the Bay of Biscay fa-
mous for its renowned Basque food and
of course its shoreline They also got the
chance to venture to southern France and
Barcelona
Spotlight on International Research and Learning
Paul Perrin PhD
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student
in the health psychology program
ldquoA major goal of these
projects was to study the
factors related to mental
and physical health of
caregivers and to create
culturally sensitive health
care recommendations for
these regionsrdquo
ldquoI had a wonderful experience in Bilbao When I started graduate
school I certainly did not expect I would get to travel abroad to do
research It was a really unique opportunity getting to meet and work with well-known researchers from around the world Bilbao
is beautiful and I did quite a bit of exploring in and around the city
learning the areas rich cultural customs and history It is a good
feeling to know that our research has the potential to help im-prove the quality of life of patients with neurological conditions
and their caregiversrdquo
Shaina Gulin clinical psychology doctoral student
Back row [L to R] Javier Pentildea
(Spain) Hinemoa Elder (New Zea-
land) Nada Andelic (Norway)
Alfonso Caracuel (Spain) Hugo
Senra (Portugal) Stephen Trapp
(USA) Ivan Panyavin (Spain)
Anne Norup (Denmark) Charles
Hallmark (USA) Alejandra Morlett
(USA) Alexander Moreno
(Canada) Rociacuteo Del Pino Saacuteez
(Spain) Clara Isabel Gonzaacutelez
Berdugo (Spain) Maria Cristina
Quijano (Colombia) Yaneth Rodri-
guez (Mexico)
Front row [L to R] Juan Carlos
Arango-Lasprilla (Spain) Carlos de
los Reyes (Colombia) Megan
Sutter (USA) Sarah Doyle (USA)
Gillian Leibach (USA) Shaina Gulin
(USA) Naroa Ibarretxe (Spain)
Paul Perrin (USA)
Kristin Heron PhD from Penn State University visited the de-
partment early in the fall semester Heron is associate director
of the Dynamic Real-time Ecological Ambulatory Methodologies
Initiative at Penn States Survey Research Center In this posi-
tion she uses ecological momentary assessment and ecological
momentary intervention in her research focused on a range of
clinical health topics including eating behaviors body image
physical activity promotion and smoking cessation Ecological
momentary assessment broadly refers to the use of assess-
ments (eg questionnaires) that capture information about
people as they go about their daily lives in their natural environ-
ment (eg home) Ecological momentary intervention refers to
interventions or treat-
ments that are delivered
to individuals as they go
about their daily lives
Heron spent time training
students in Dr Robin
Everharts research lab on
ecological momentary
assessment for a pediatric
asthma study that will
allow families to use
smart phones as they re-
port on their childs asth-
ma care in real time
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
professor of psychology
at the University of Vir-
ginia presented a talk to
the department in Sep-
tember titled ldquoThe Psy-
chological Wealth of
Nationsrdquo
Here is the abstract
What is a good society
Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good
society is a happy society―namely a society in which most citi-
zens are happy and free from fear Since the publication of
ldquoThe Wealth of Nationsrdquo by Adam Smith in 1776 most econo-
mists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a material-
ly wealthy society Thus gross national product and related
indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of
nations from the 1950rsquos to date Recently however prominent
economists as well as political scientists sociologists and psy-
chologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materi-
ally wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust
one another have a sense of freedom and have close social re-
lationships The inquiry into the psychological wealth of na-
tions or the subjective well-being of nations helps answer a
fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for mil-
lennia lsquolsquoWhat is a good societyrsquo
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
Kristin Heron PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Benita Belvet
Jessica Brown
Suzzette Chopin
Lillian Christon Arnold
Ashley Dibble
Rebecca Hubbard
David Jennings
Nichole Kelly
Laurin Mack
Priscilla Powell
Molly Neff
Laura Slosky
Denicia Titchner
Stephanie Wolf
Bachelor of Science
Vanessa Agyeman
Hasen Alghamdi
Latessa Allums
Michael Amon
Sonja Ayers
Sweska Basnet
Kirstie Breland
Erica Brown
Ashley Callis
Jakwame Carey
Megan Cavanagh
Grace Charriez
Courtney Christian
Alicia Cook
Aldijana Cordic
Jonathan Cox
Mary Dean
Anne Fishback
Sherona Gardner
Andrew Gibbs
Myra Glorioso
Logan Gravitt
Lateisha Greene
Katelyn Gruber
Jamila Harris
Tiquana Hill
James Hovermale
Savonne Howard
Marshall Hunter
Kelley Hurdle
Arturo Iglesias
Lucas Keckley
Hira Khalid
Jamison Lancaster
Dana Larson
Russ Lawrence
Michele Mascatello
Rachel Mason
Tiffany Mayo
Natasha McCoy
Alexandra McDougall
Brandie Mckenzie
Xue Ju Meyer
Scott Misturini
Lindsay Mitchiner
Lea Moisa
Brooke Myers
Krislee Nelson
Paul Norton
Sierre Norton
Kristin Oravetz
Stephen Page
Ryan Pannell
Kevin Papile
Natalie Parks
Krishna Patel
Justin Payne
James Peacock
Quy Phan
Cecilia Presseau
Nathalie Rieder
Kylessia Ross
Faryal Shahid
Katelyn Sisk
Angel Slach
Indira Smajlagic
Natalie Taylor
Adrienne Tetreault
Brandon Tolbert
Tierraney Truss
James Vosti
Brenda Wei
Patrick Wiley
Alaysia Williams
Lyndsay Wilshaw
Christopher Wilson
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to
education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual
orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of Psychology
806 W Franklin St
PO Box 842018
Richmond VA 23284-2018
Phone 804-828-1193
Fax 804-828-2237
Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu
Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu
Virginia Commonwealth
University
Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology
A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine
Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from
bottom on far right
Kurt Crandall PhD is a licensed clinical
psychologist who joined our faculty this
fall Crandall received his PhD in clinical
psychology from the University of Kansas
with a specialty in health psychology He
interned at the Veterans Affairs Medical
Center in Washington DC where he
worked in psychiatric triage counseled pa-
tients with chronic pain and conducted
group therapy for veterans who were en-
rolled in a partial hospitalization program
Following his internship year he spent
three years as an assistant professor in the
Department of Psychology at Wesleyan Col-
lege in Macon Georgia From there Cran-
dall left academia and returned to clinical
work to complete a postdoctoral fellowship
with an emphasis on couples and family
therapy at a community mental health cen-
ter in Chicago After his postdoctoral expe-
rience he worked as a staff psychologist in
the Primary Care Clinic at the VA Hospital in
Seattle
Upon his move back to the east coast Cran-
dall returned to academia and joined the
psychology faculty at Longwood University
For the past several years he has also been
employed as a psychologist in a private
practice here in Richmond Crandall prac-
tices as a cognitive behavioral therapist and
is trained to work with adults His clinical
areas of interest and experience include
promoting health through behavioral
change treating mood and anxiety disor-
ders helping clients cope with physical ill-
ness and disease facilitating stress manage-
ment and counseling couples His general
research interests are in the areas of health
psychology and positive psychology More
specifically he is interested in the effect
positive frames of thinking (eg hope opti-
mism forgiveness) may have on onersquos phys-
ical and emotional health
Zewelanji Serpell PhD joined our depart-
ment this fall as an associate professor in
the developmental program Before VCU
she was an associate professor in the psy-
chology department at Virginia State Uni-
versity Prior to that Serpell held a re-
search faculty position at James Madison
University and served as the associate di-
rector of the Alvin V Baird Attention and
Learning Disabilities Center She has also
held research positions at the Research Tri-
angle Institute-International the Eunice
Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development Study of
Early Childcare the American Association
for Colleges of Teacher Education and the
Center for Research on Children Placed At-
Risk
Serpellrsquos principle research interest is har-
nessing advances in cognitive science to
develop interventions that target executive
functions Translation is a particular goal of
her work which often takes the form of a
series of iterative small-N lab studies to in-
dividualize or perfect the design of inter-
ventions followed by often challenging
attempts to implement these interventions
in the real world of schools
Serpell currently has three active projects
In collaboration with former department
assistant professor Michelle Ellefson PhD
and Teresa Parr (BS lsquo93 MS lsquo95 PhD
lsquo99) the first project explores whether the
mental activities associated with playing
chess improve executive function and aca-
demic outcomes in elementary school stu-
dents The second and third projects are
funded by the National Science Foundation
and conducted in collaboration with col-
leagues from Virginia State University and
University of California San Diego These
projects involve testing the efficacy of com-
mercially available ldquobrain trainingrdquo pro-
grams with African American students and
examining the role of non-cognitive factors
specifically motivation and affect in cogni-
tive training contexts
Serpell was born and raised in Zambia and
reports having family all over the world
She received her bachelorrsquos degree in psy-
chology from Clark University in Worcester
Mass and her masterrsquos degree and PhD in
developmental psychology from Howard
University in Washington DC In her spare
time Serpell enjoys reading novels cooking
vegetarian meals and swimming with her
two sons She says she came to VCU for the
research opportunitiesmdashnew faculty collab-
orations working with VCUrsquos diverse stu-
dent body and getting involved with efforts
to improve outcomes for K-12 students
attending urban public schools
Meet our New Faculty Members
Zewelanji Serpell PhD
Kurt Crandall PhD
An affable psychology professor with a tidy office Dr Albert D Farrell warmly greets visi-tors to the West Franklin Street space that houses the Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth De-velopment The institute serves as a hub for studies led by Dr Farrell its director and one of the na-tionrsquos leading research scientists on risk and protective factors associated with problem behaviors during adolescence He began his academic career at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1980 as an assis-tant professor with the goal of ldquoworking with students who are involved in and excited about researchrdquo In 1992 he joined an effort that dramatically shaped the rest of his career It began with evaluating a Richmond youth violence prevention program Since then Dr Farrell has received nearly $16 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue re-searching youth violence including developing and evaluating a middle school program Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways which was designed to reduce violence by promoting positive problem-solving skills Grants totaling $26 million have supported his research which has been cited more than 1500 times and as often as 100 times annually in recent years Dr Farrellrsquos work has been continuously funded by the CDC for 21 straight years ldquoHis empirically supported model for youth violence prevention is considered the gold standard by psychologistsrdquo writes Dr James Coleman dean of the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences In 2005 the Clark-Hill Institute was selected by the CDC as one of eight Academic Centers of Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention and received $43 million in funding over five years Five years later VCU edged out Johns Hopkins Harvard Columbia and the University of California Berkley among others for a second round of funding securing $65 million to run the institute through September 2015 ldquoIrsquom really proud we were able accomplish thatrdquo Dr Farrell says ldquoWe competed extremely well against elite institutions with considerable resourcesrdquo For one CDC-funded project Dr Farrell collaborated on the Multisite Youth Violence Prevention Project with researchers from Duke University the University of Georgia and the University of Illinois at Chicago He developed most key aspects of the study according to Dr Thomas Simon deputy associate director for science in the CDCrsquos division of violence prevention ldquoDr Farrell has a gift for bringing together diverse opinions and identifying a path that utilizes the best science and practice principlesrdquo Dr Simon writes He uses that same quality in the classroom where he continues to teach the ldquoResearch Methods in Clinical Psychologyrdquo course he created 32 years ago Dr Farrell describes his role as more facilitator than teacher as he works to get students thinking about problems instead of looking to him for answers Dr Monique Vulin Reynolds a former student describes his class as one of the most useful and enjoyable she took at VCU ldquoHis own passion and dedication to the subject matter was what made the difference in keeping us absorbed and working hard to meet his expectationsrdquo she writes He earns near-perfect ratings on student evaluations according to Dr Wendy Kliewer chair of the psychology department Thatrsquos an unparalleled feat she writes especially since he taught a graduate statistics course she says both students and faculty shy away from Dr Scott Vrana a VCU psychology professor notes that one thing is missing from Dr Farrellrsquos resume mdash that he pours ldquothousands of hours into promoting and advancing the careers of other faculty members graduate students and postdoctoral fel-lowsrdquo His record does reflect some of that time Dr Farrell has chaired advisory committees for 30 masterrsquos theses and 22 doctoral dissertations Students and faculty describe him as a mentor who is approachable open and supportive and who always makes time for others no matter his schedule In reflecting on his career at VCU Dr Farrell says the way its pieces ended up fitting together seems sensible Its specific course however was strongly shaped by opportunities that presented themselves along the way Being at VCU provided advantages over other universities he worked with on youth violence prevention research he says mdash chiefly the lack of barriers between VCU and the community because most Richmonders are connected to VCU in some way While he has no imminent plans for retirement Dr Farrell says he hopes that he will be remembered as the first director of the Clark-Hill Institute as it continues making important strides in youth violence prevention ldquoWe are so totally aligned with VCUrsquos Quest for Distinctionrdquo he says ldquoWersquore interdisciplinary and well---positioned to really expand We have tremendous potentialrdquo
Recipient of the University Award of Excellence
Albert Farrell PhD
Picture and article courtesy of VCU University Relations
Graduate students in the clinical and
counseling psychology doctoral pro-
grams have completed a series of studies
under the mentorship of Bruce
Rybarczyk PhD (lsquo89 clinical program
graduate professor of clinical psycholo-
gy and director of clinical training) mak-
ing substantial contributions to advanc-
ing the treatment of insomnia in individ-
uals with co-morbid psychiatric condi-
tions Three of those studies were fea-
tured in a special issue of the Journal of
Clinical Psychology Two of the studies
were intervention studies with individu-
als with psychiatric diagnoses The first
was a dissertation by Nile Wagley PhD
(rsquo10 counseling program) providing cog-
nitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to pa-
tients undergoing treatment at the VCU
Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic These pa-
tients were receiving treatment for an
average of 36 years and continued to
have insomnia symptoms in spite of their
psychiatric care Two sessions of CBT for
insomnia including one conducted via
telephone were effective in improving
sleep and reducing depressive symp-
toms Among the twenty patients who
participated in treatment 38 were able
to achieve normal sleep eight weeks
after the start of treatment relative to
none in the control group A second dis-
sertation study at the same clinic em-
ploying a large group of patients all of
whom were dependent on hypnotic
medication for managing their insomnia
and a longer format of treatment was
recently completed by sixth year clinical
psychology graduate student Hannah
Lund It also obtained encouraging re-
sults that will be written up for publica-
tion in the near future
A second intervention study targeting
recent veterans with Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) conducted by
Skye Margolies PhD (rsquo11 clinical pro-
gram) was also featured in the special
issue This dissertation study tested four
sessions of CBT-I and an optional supple-
mentary treatment for nightmares
(imagery rehearsal therapy) with forty
combat veterans (mean age 377 years)
who served in Afghanistan andor Iraq a
group that has experienced high levels of
both PTSD and insomnia The treatment
sessions were provided at the McGuire
Veterans Administration Hospital in Rich-
mond The treatment led to significant
improvements in self-reported and ob-
jectively measured sleep a reduction in
PTSD symptom severity and PTSD-
related nighttime symptoms and a re-
duction in depression and distressed
mood compared to the waitlist control
group This study was replicated by Lau-
rin Mack PhD (rsquo13 clinical program)
Her study provided a classroom CBT in-
tervention to a wide array of veterans as
a follow-up supplement to a recently
completed a psycho-educational course
on coping with PTSD This study replicat-
ed the earlier findings of improved sleep
although it did not obtain the same re-
sult for reductions in PTSD symptoms
possibly related to the fact that many of
VCU Students Faculty and
Alumni Contribute to
Advancing the Treatment of
Insomnia Bruce Rybarczyk PhD
the participants had PTSD for several
decades rather than several years Both
Margolies and Mack were funded by
prestigious Rehabilitation Research Fel-
lowship awards for over $61000 com-
bined from the Department of Veteran
Affairs
CBT for insomnia was developed by a
group of pioneering researchers begin-
ning twenty-five years ago VCU Psychol-
ogy and Psychiatry has a long history
with this pioneering work One of the
most prolific researchers in this area
Jack Edinger PhD (rsquo78) is an alumnus of
the clinical psychology program and an-
other prominent researcher Charles
Morin PhD was a faculty member at
VCU While here Morin conducted one
of the first randomized clinical trials
showing that CBT was superior to hyp-
notic sleep medications CBT has several
treatment components including an ini-
tial reduction in sleep to increase sleep
drive and retrain normal sleep as well as
a method for eliminating time spent in
bed while awake to weaken the associa-
tion between being in bed and having
anxiety about not falling asleep The
treatment also includes education in the
science of
sleep in order
to provide the
patient with an
ldquoownerrsquos man-
ualrdquo for their
sleep system
These studies
contribute to
growing evi-
dence that CBT
for insomnia is
a treatment
that should be
offered to all
mental health
patients as a
supplement to
other treatments they are receiving that
are targeting the primary mental health
diagnosis Not only is sleep substantially
improved as a result of these interven-
tions but other mental health symptoms
are alleviated as a consequence of im-
proved sleep Additionally there are no
side effects treatment is brief the bene-
fits are sustained over time and the cost
is limited especially when employing self
-help materials The challenge that lies
ahead is training more clinicians to deliv-
er this brief treatment and getting the
word is out to health professionals and
the public that this should be a first line
treatment for persistent insomnia Alt-
hough a 2005 National Institutes of
Health expert panel recommended that
CBT be offered to all chronic insomnia
sufferers before prescribing a medica-
tion there has been very limited pro-
gress in dissemination thus far This is
due to the public and professional bias
towards the use of medications and the
lack of awareness of this newer treat-
ment approach To address the science-
practice gap future research by
Rybarczyk and colleagues will test a
ldquostepped carerdquo approach to delivering
CBT in primary care using varied levels
of treatment intensity and different
methods of delivery including the Inter-
net This stepped care approach will be
tested in primary care offices The con-
cept was detailed in a 2011 publication
by Mack and Rybarczyk
Although there are less than two hun-
dred clinical psychologists who are ex-
perts and researchers in CBT for insom-
nia a remarkable number of them are
VCU clinical psychology alumni In addi-
tion to Edinger and Rybarczyk Jason
Ong PhD (rsquo04 clinical program) is
board certified in behavioral sleep medi-
cine and is a prominent insomnia re-
searcher at Rush University Medical Cen-
ter in Chicago Don Townsend PhD
(rsquo99 clinical program) is a board certified
sleep clinician at the Fairview Sleep Cen-
ter in Minnesota and Kevin Smith PhD
(rsquo04 clinical program) is an assistant pro-
fessor of pediatrics at the University of
Missouri-Kansas City and is board certi-
fied in behavioral sleep medicine VCU
alumni are likely to have an even larger
impact on the growing field of behavioral
sleep medicine in the future as all four
of the recent graduates who conducted
the research
described
above are con-
tinuing to work
in this field
VCU faculty contributors to the studies de-scribed above include Drs Steve Danish David Leszczyszyn John Lynch (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo89) Tim Nay and Scott Vra-na
Bruce Rybarczyk PhD and Denise Borden MD discuss a patientrsquos care in VCUrsquos Primary Care Clinic
Over the past year the news has been filled with ongoing
legislative disputes in Washington Terms like fiscal cliff
debt ceiling and sequestration have become part of our vo-
cabulary With myriad predictions being made it can be
hard to decipher what impact recent government actions
could have here in our department
There are several recent government actions that could sub-
stantially influence research activity in Psychology The
first is known as sequestration or the ldquofiscal cliffrdquo This
was a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011 which im-
posed across-the-board cuts to defense and discretionary
programs in the event that Congress could not reach a com-
promise on the federal budget The Act was supposed to
motivate Congress to reach a solution as no one wanted or
expected to see sequestration implemented Unfortunately
Congress failed to reach a compromise and sequestration
went into effect on March 1 2013
Sequestration resulted in substantial budget cuts to our ma-
jor federal funders The National Institutes for Health Psy-
chologyrsquos largest funding source lost 5 of its total budget
amounting to $155 billion Since these were across-the-
board cuts no area of health research was spared As a
result we have received fewer new awards and our contin-
uing awards have been reduced VCU President Michael
Rao estimated in February that VCUrsquos grant portfolio could
see reductions of $12-$21 million by September 2013 as a
direct result of sequestration Luckily we have not seen
this dire outcome just yetmdashVCUrsquos grant award portfolio
showed excellent performance in fiscal year 2013mdashbut that
does not mean that effects will not be felt later
For example at the department level fewer new grant
awards could result in a lack of replacement funding for
projects slated to end soon Individuals paid from those
projects would likely be laid off if no source of new fund-
ing could be found Reduced budgets for continuing pro-
jects could result in cuts to the number of people a given
project could support Sequestration will also make it hard-
er for new faculty to get their first grants as grant programs
become increasingly competitive This in turn makes it
harder for them to support graduate students and postdoc-
toral associates There could also be an impact on federally
funded fellowships scholarships and student aid The fed-
eral work-study program for example could lose up to $50
million dollars as a result of sequestration That represents
a substantial number of students who would have to find
other sources of income
As if that were not enough sequestration is only one piece
of the puzzle Other government actions have the potential
to compound the impacts One such action is the Afforda-
ble Care Act otherwise known as ldquoObamacarerdquo Aside
from the obvious controversy the ACA has had some unin-
tended consequences In Virginia it resulted in the Man-
power Control Act or the 29-Hour Rule This law limits
part-time and hourly employees to a total of 29 hours per
week This has resulted in loss of income for students and
other part-time employees some of whom have historically
held multiple jobs at the university Multiple university
jobs are no longer allowed under the Manpower Control
Act In addition since the rule applies to adjunct faculty
too it has resulted in a reduction in the number of credit
hours they can teach This means an additional burden on
the already overloaded full-time faculty who must make up
The Impact of Recent US Government Actions on the
Departmentrsquos Research Mission
Brigette S Pfister MHRD CRA
Page 9
the shortfall in credit hours taught in addition to their ex-
isting responsibilitiesmdashlike grant writing This could fur-
ther depress our new award activity over the next few
years
The recent government shutdown adds another dimension
of complexity The government shutdown was brought
about by circumstances similar to those of sequestration
Once again legislators needed to compromise on the feder-
al budget in order to avert disaster This time the point of
contention was the Affordable Care Act Republicans
wanted to defund the ACA as a condition of passing the
Continuing Resolution that would keep the government
operational Democrats refused to approve any bill that
attempted to defund or otherwise nullify the ACA Once
again no compromise was reached and the government
shutdown took effect on October 1 2013
Immediately many federal systems were taken of-
fline We could not submit new proposals progress reports
or even establish new accounts Awards already delayed
and reduced by sequestration stopped altogether for the
duration of the shutdown Though there is widespread
conjecture on the subject no one really knows what the
long term impact will be on university research
During the shutdown work on existing projects was al-
lowed to continue provided that funding had already been
made available However we were unable to draw down
funds from the federal government In other words if we
didnrsquot already have it then we couldnrsquot spend it If the
shutdown had gone on longer even existing projects would
have probably had to lay off grant funded personnel and in
some cases completely stop work Also the government
doesnrsquot process passports and visas during the shutdown
so projects that depend on foreign travel were held up con-
siderably
The situation could worsen if Congress fails to devise a
workable long-term solution when the current debt ceiling
expires on February 7 If there is failure to compromise
the United States could default on our national debt There
is no clear picture of what the impacts of that would be but
we know they would not be positive
Since our overall grant portfolio at VCU did not appear to
suffer in fiscal year 2013 it might be tempting to disregard
some of the more dire warnings However it is important
to recognize that incoming awards are based on proposals
submitted in fiscal year 2012 or earlier so many of those
funding decisions were made prior to the most current cri-
sis We probably wont see the true impact of all of the
above until fiscal year 2014 or thereafter At minimum
the cessation of all proposal activity during the shutdown
will result in delayed resumption of award activity in addi-
tion to the delays and budget cuts already happening be-
cause of sequestration This will likely cause our total
awarded dollars to decrease over the next few years
Overall the impact on VCU research may not be disas-
trous but at the department level grant projects and the
individuals working on those projects could suffer signifi-
cant impact from the cumulative effects
Brigette S Pfister is director of sponsored programs for the
College of Humanities and Sciences at VCU
Dome United States Capitol Washington DC
Architect of the Capitol
Adriana Rodriguez graduated from the
University of California Berkeley in 2008
with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and
a minor in ethnic studies Following grad-
uation Rodriguez obtained a research as-
sistant position with Bruce Chorpita
PhD at UCLA helping to advance the
effectiveness of mental health treatment
for children and adolescents Her work
with Chorpita further solidified her aspira-
tion to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical
psychology working specifically with racial
andor ethnic minority youth
Rodriguez joined the Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD research laboratory as a
doctoral student in clinical psychology in
the fall of 2010 When asked why Rodri-
guez decided to attend VCU she stated
that she felt inspired and motivated by the
energy and innovation that Southam-
Gerow brings to the field of psychology
ldquoIt was the best decision I could have
maderdquo
In reflecting on her experience at VCU
Rodriguez is struck by how collaborative
the department in general and her lab in
particular are Her research interests lie
broadly in the dissemination and imple-
mentation of mental health treatment for
children and adolescents She is also in-
terested in cultural and linguistic adapta-
tions of assessments to minority popula-
tions in real-world clinic settings Recent-
ly Rodriguez was able to collaborate with
Rosalie Corona PhD of the clinical psy-
chology program whose work focuses on
health promotion and risk reduction
among ethnic minority populations In
working with Latina college students Ro-
driguez notes ldquoI understand the difficul-
ties that this population is facing from a
policy perspective and also through my
personal experiencehellip I was that kid who
didnrsquot have enough money for the bus
farerdquo
Born to a working-class Mexican family
Rodriguez is the first to receive a college
education let alone pursue a graduate
degree Her work is driven in part by a
desire to empower her family and culture
while forging her own identity
When asked about career aspirations she
responds ldquoI want to keep goinghellip go as far
as I canrdquo Rodriguez is molding herself for
a research position in academia where she
would ideally like to serve at the public
policy level of mental health treatment
dissemination and implementation
In her spare time she enjoys running long
distances around Richmondrsquos Byrd Park
and Brownrsquos Island She also spends time
drawing particularly individuals with pro-
nounced facial expressions Rodriguez
jokes that this interest probably stems
from all the time she has spent coding vid-
eotapes in the Southam-Gerow lab
Graduate Student Spotlight
Adriana Rodriguez MS Clinical Psychology program
The Global Bridges Project is a community engaged research pro-ject directed by Maghboeba Mosavel PhD of VCUrsquos Department of Social and Behavioral Health School of Medicine This summer Mosavel led a small team of six students to the University of Kwa-Zulu-Natalmdasha VCU international partner universitymdashin Durban South Africa to conduct community engaged research in the Ken-neth Gardens public housing community in Durban Jasmine Abrams and Morgan Maxwell were two of those students A third student Carrie Miller is a second year master of public health student who has previously worked for the Department of Psychol-ogy as project coordinator for Clarissa Holmes PhD Abrams and Maxwell chronicled their work in Durban on this blog httpbuilding-global-bridgesblogspotcom Itrsquos a great read
Submitted by Annie Rabinovitz doctoral
student in the clinical psychology program
Abrams Maxwell
Linda A Mensah-Etsi (see front cover) a
junior psychology major is a recent recipi-
ent of the Melvin V Lubman Scholarship
in Psychology The Melvin V Lubman
Scholarship was established by Mrs Golde
Lubman Feldman to honor her husbandrsquos
dedication and service as a professor in
the Department of Psychology Mensah-
Etsi reports that the scholarship will help
her greatly with her tuition and fees
When asked why she chose psychology as
a major Mensah-Etsi said that she is curi-
ous about many things and psychology
was the one subject that kept her interest
piqued at all times She said ldquoI like how I
can always be surprised by all the different
topics covered under psychology alonerdquo
Surely her constant interest is in part due
to her two ldquoall-time favoriterdquo classesmdash
Statistical Applications in the Psychology
Field with Linda Zyzniewski PhD and
Abnormal Psychology with adjunct profes-
sor Jessica Brown Mensah-Etsi picked
these as her favorites because she likes
the mathematical focus of statistics and
admitted to having an ldquoobsessionrdquo with
mental illnesses
Continuing her love for the subject Men-
sah-Etsi has decided to further her skills by
applying for several internships through-
out the department After narrowing
down her choices for internships this fall
from three options she is excited to have
begun her new internship at VCUrsquos Clark
Hill Institute for Positive Youth
Development She says she chose this op-
portunity because ldquonot only is it in the
field in which I am currently interested
the internship will give me the opportunity
to learn a valuable coding skill that I might
eventually need to userdquo
A former volunteer elementary school
teachers aide she has a clear interest in
working with children and teens and
would like to pursue another volunteer
opportunity with the organization Stop
Child Abuse Now here in Richmond
With time on her side Mensah-Etsi cer-
tainly has plenty of opportunities to
change her career path She hopes she
can get a job with her degree or perhaps
continue on to graduate school and even
sees a career in research as a possibility
Ultimately though she is interested in
counseling young children or teens who
have experienced trauma Her goal is to
help kids ldquounderstand that at least one
person is on their side even if it seems that
they have to deal with it on their ownrdquo
One of the many interesting aspects of
this junior is that she is only 18 years old
She was a mere 16 years of age when she
first enrolled at VCU and proves daily that
age has nothing to do with capacity for
success A very hard worker when asked
about her free time Mensah-Etsi says she
has been very preoccupied with school-
work as well as with working two jobs
However she says working out at the gym
has been very close to a hobby for her
lately
When shersquos not in Richmond Mensah-Etsi
lives in Alexandria with her family We
asked her why she chose to settle in Rich-
mond and attend VCU and she jokingly
said it is because her two favorite colors
are black and yellow ldquoOn a serious noterdquo
she stated ldquoI just really fell in love with
the city when I visited so there was no
doubt in my mind that I wanted to attend
VCU I grew up in a city so this felt close
to homerdquo
A native of Togo in West Africa Mensah-
Etsi moved to the US in 2007 shortly be-
fore she turned 13 She says it wasnrsquot a
hard transition for her as she already
spoke French and Ewe (an ethnic lan-
guage) so English was quite easy to learn
by comparison She indeed misses the
spicy foods of Togo but also says that
while other people in Richmond may be
annoyed by the street sounds lights and
crooked sidewalks it makes her feel right
at home
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral stu-
dent in the health psychology program
Undergraduate Student Spotlight
Linda A Mensah-Etsi Class of lsquo15
Congratulations to David Rockman class of 2013 for receiving the Benjamin A Gilman Scholarship Rockman will receive $5000 to study in one country from four weeks to one academic year Named after retired Congressman Benjamin A Gilman from New York the programrsquos goal is to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go
This summer Paul Perrin PhD led six
VCU psychology doctoral students on a
month-long expedition to the University of
Deusto in Bilbao Spain to participate in a
research training program on racialethnic
disparities in health The trip was due in
large part to Perrinrsquos ongoing collabora-
tion with Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla
PhD a research professor in the Universi-
ty of Deustorsquos Department of Psychology
and former faculty member in VCUrsquos De-
partment of Physical Medicine and Reha-
bilitation Perrin and Arango-Lasprilla
spent the past year planning and coordi-
nating this unique opportunity for stu-
dents who worked with them on various
research projects meeting and collabo-
rating with researchers from all over the
world Among the group of 20 interna-
tional researchers contributing to and par-
ticipating in this training program were
psychology doctoral students Gillian Lei-
bach and Stephen Trapp of the counseling
program Sarah Doyle of the developmen-
tal program Shaina Gulin of the clinical
program and Alejandra Morlett Paredes
and Megan Sutter of the health program
The students worked with a team of inter-
national researchers spanning ten differ-
ent countries The purpose of the training
program was to teach students to conduct
health disparities research in an interna-
tional context and build collaborative
teams at various universities and rehabili-
tation facilities The specific focus was the
psychosocial functioning of individuals
from understudied global regions with
neurological conditions such as traumatic
brain injury dementia spinal cord injury
and multiple sclerosis Unpaid family care-
givers often provide the majority of the
informal care to individuals with these
conditions yet have very few resources in
order to meet their family and caregiving
needs Therefore a major goal of these
projects was to study the factors related
to mental and physical health of caregiv-
ers and to create culturally sensitive
health care recommendations for these
regions The team is accumulating evi-
dence for interventions that will improve
the quality of informal care for individuals
with neurological conditions in regions
such as Latin America where much of this
research is being conducted
Each of the VCU doctoral students had the
opportunity to take the lead on projects
studying the potential protective and risk
factors associated with caregiver mental
and physical health in either older adults
with dementia or in children with spinal
cord injuries and disorders They were
also able to propose potential future pro-
jects with existing data or completely new
data collections based in various under-
studied global regions such as in Neiva
Colombia Auckland New Zealand Copen-
hagen Denmark and Mexico City Mexico
among many others Perrin and the team
of international researchers offered a
number of seminars on advanced research
methods and statistics such as factor
analysis structural equation modeling
qualitative research methods meta-
analysis neuroimaging and scientific man-
uscript preparation
The
group
was able
to take
part in
many
cultural
experi-
ences
and enjoyed exploring the city of Bilbao
and the surrounding countryside and
beaches The researchers and students
spent most of their time in the countryrsquos
Basque region where they were able to
visit the iconic Guggenheim Museum of
modern and contemporary art innumera-
ble pintxo restaurants (a specialty of this
region similar to tapas) and a celebration
of Bilbaorsquos 713th anniversary
The group also traveled to many places
around the country including Bermeo and
San Sebastiaacuten which are located on the
Northern coast of Spain near the border of
France In Bermeo they made a trek to
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe a hermitage
that is accessed by hiking down a narrow
trail crossing a stone bridge and walking
up approximately 230 steps The group
felt the hike was definitely worth the
effort though andmdashas a legend in-
structsmdashgot to the peak rang a bell three
times and made three wishes Together
many of the researchers and students also
took a day trip to San Sebastiaacuten a coastal
town that rests on the Bay of Biscay fa-
mous for its renowned Basque food and
of course its shoreline They also got the
chance to venture to southern France and
Barcelona
Spotlight on International Research and Learning
Paul Perrin PhD
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student
in the health psychology program
ldquoA major goal of these
projects was to study the
factors related to mental
and physical health of
caregivers and to create
culturally sensitive health
care recommendations for
these regionsrdquo
ldquoI had a wonderful experience in Bilbao When I started graduate
school I certainly did not expect I would get to travel abroad to do
research It was a really unique opportunity getting to meet and work with well-known researchers from around the world Bilbao
is beautiful and I did quite a bit of exploring in and around the city
learning the areas rich cultural customs and history It is a good
feeling to know that our research has the potential to help im-prove the quality of life of patients with neurological conditions
and their caregiversrdquo
Shaina Gulin clinical psychology doctoral student
Back row [L to R] Javier Pentildea
(Spain) Hinemoa Elder (New Zea-
land) Nada Andelic (Norway)
Alfonso Caracuel (Spain) Hugo
Senra (Portugal) Stephen Trapp
(USA) Ivan Panyavin (Spain)
Anne Norup (Denmark) Charles
Hallmark (USA) Alejandra Morlett
(USA) Alexander Moreno
(Canada) Rociacuteo Del Pino Saacuteez
(Spain) Clara Isabel Gonzaacutelez
Berdugo (Spain) Maria Cristina
Quijano (Colombia) Yaneth Rodri-
guez (Mexico)
Front row [L to R] Juan Carlos
Arango-Lasprilla (Spain) Carlos de
los Reyes (Colombia) Megan
Sutter (USA) Sarah Doyle (USA)
Gillian Leibach (USA) Shaina Gulin
(USA) Naroa Ibarretxe (Spain)
Paul Perrin (USA)
Kristin Heron PhD from Penn State University visited the de-
partment early in the fall semester Heron is associate director
of the Dynamic Real-time Ecological Ambulatory Methodologies
Initiative at Penn States Survey Research Center In this posi-
tion she uses ecological momentary assessment and ecological
momentary intervention in her research focused on a range of
clinical health topics including eating behaviors body image
physical activity promotion and smoking cessation Ecological
momentary assessment broadly refers to the use of assess-
ments (eg questionnaires) that capture information about
people as they go about their daily lives in their natural environ-
ment (eg home) Ecological momentary intervention refers to
interventions or treat-
ments that are delivered
to individuals as they go
about their daily lives
Heron spent time training
students in Dr Robin
Everharts research lab on
ecological momentary
assessment for a pediatric
asthma study that will
allow families to use
smart phones as they re-
port on their childs asth-
ma care in real time
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
professor of psychology
at the University of Vir-
ginia presented a talk to
the department in Sep-
tember titled ldquoThe Psy-
chological Wealth of
Nationsrdquo
Here is the abstract
What is a good society
Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good
society is a happy society―namely a society in which most citi-
zens are happy and free from fear Since the publication of
ldquoThe Wealth of Nationsrdquo by Adam Smith in 1776 most econo-
mists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a material-
ly wealthy society Thus gross national product and related
indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of
nations from the 1950rsquos to date Recently however prominent
economists as well as political scientists sociologists and psy-
chologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materi-
ally wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust
one another have a sense of freedom and have close social re-
lationships The inquiry into the psychological wealth of na-
tions or the subjective well-being of nations helps answer a
fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for mil-
lennia lsquolsquoWhat is a good societyrsquo
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
Kristin Heron PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Benita Belvet
Jessica Brown
Suzzette Chopin
Lillian Christon Arnold
Ashley Dibble
Rebecca Hubbard
David Jennings
Nichole Kelly
Laurin Mack
Priscilla Powell
Molly Neff
Laura Slosky
Denicia Titchner
Stephanie Wolf
Bachelor of Science
Vanessa Agyeman
Hasen Alghamdi
Latessa Allums
Michael Amon
Sonja Ayers
Sweska Basnet
Kirstie Breland
Erica Brown
Ashley Callis
Jakwame Carey
Megan Cavanagh
Grace Charriez
Courtney Christian
Alicia Cook
Aldijana Cordic
Jonathan Cox
Mary Dean
Anne Fishback
Sherona Gardner
Andrew Gibbs
Myra Glorioso
Logan Gravitt
Lateisha Greene
Katelyn Gruber
Jamila Harris
Tiquana Hill
James Hovermale
Savonne Howard
Marshall Hunter
Kelley Hurdle
Arturo Iglesias
Lucas Keckley
Hira Khalid
Jamison Lancaster
Dana Larson
Russ Lawrence
Michele Mascatello
Rachel Mason
Tiffany Mayo
Natasha McCoy
Alexandra McDougall
Brandie Mckenzie
Xue Ju Meyer
Scott Misturini
Lindsay Mitchiner
Lea Moisa
Brooke Myers
Krislee Nelson
Paul Norton
Sierre Norton
Kristin Oravetz
Stephen Page
Ryan Pannell
Kevin Papile
Natalie Parks
Krishna Patel
Justin Payne
James Peacock
Quy Phan
Cecilia Presseau
Nathalie Rieder
Kylessia Ross
Faryal Shahid
Katelyn Sisk
Angel Slach
Indira Smajlagic
Natalie Taylor
Adrienne Tetreault
Brandon Tolbert
Tierraney Truss
James Vosti
Brenda Wei
Patrick Wiley
Alaysia Williams
Lyndsay Wilshaw
Christopher Wilson
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to
education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual
orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of Psychology
806 W Franklin St
PO Box 842018
Richmond VA 23284-2018
Phone 804-828-1193
Fax 804-828-2237
Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu
Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu
Virginia Commonwealth
University
Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology
A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine
Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from
bottom on far right
An affable psychology professor with a tidy office Dr Albert D Farrell warmly greets visi-tors to the West Franklin Street space that houses the Clark-Hill Institute for Positive Youth De-velopment The institute serves as a hub for studies led by Dr Farrell its director and one of the na-tionrsquos leading research scientists on risk and protective factors associated with problem behaviors during adolescence He began his academic career at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1980 as an assis-tant professor with the goal of ldquoworking with students who are involved in and excited about researchrdquo In 1992 he joined an effort that dramatically shaped the rest of his career It began with evaluating a Richmond youth violence prevention program Since then Dr Farrell has received nearly $16 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue re-searching youth violence including developing and evaluating a middle school program Responding in Peaceful and Positive Ways which was designed to reduce violence by promoting positive problem-solving skills Grants totaling $26 million have supported his research which has been cited more than 1500 times and as often as 100 times annually in recent years Dr Farrellrsquos work has been continuously funded by the CDC for 21 straight years ldquoHis empirically supported model for youth violence prevention is considered the gold standard by psychologistsrdquo writes Dr James Coleman dean of the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences In 2005 the Clark-Hill Institute was selected by the CDC as one of eight Academic Centers of Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention and received $43 million in funding over five years Five years later VCU edged out Johns Hopkins Harvard Columbia and the University of California Berkley among others for a second round of funding securing $65 million to run the institute through September 2015 ldquoIrsquom really proud we were able accomplish thatrdquo Dr Farrell says ldquoWe competed extremely well against elite institutions with considerable resourcesrdquo For one CDC-funded project Dr Farrell collaborated on the Multisite Youth Violence Prevention Project with researchers from Duke University the University of Georgia and the University of Illinois at Chicago He developed most key aspects of the study according to Dr Thomas Simon deputy associate director for science in the CDCrsquos division of violence prevention ldquoDr Farrell has a gift for bringing together diverse opinions and identifying a path that utilizes the best science and practice principlesrdquo Dr Simon writes He uses that same quality in the classroom where he continues to teach the ldquoResearch Methods in Clinical Psychologyrdquo course he created 32 years ago Dr Farrell describes his role as more facilitator than teacher as he works to get students thinking about problems instead of looking to him for answers Dr Monique Vulin Reynolds a former student describes his class as one of the most useful and enjoyable she took at VCU ldquoHis own passion and dedication to the subject matter was what made the difference in keeping us absorbed and working hard to meet his expectationsrdquo she writes He earns near-perfect ratings on student evaluations according to Dr Wendy Kliewer chair of the psychology department Thatrsquos an unparalleled feat she writes especially since he taught a graduate statistics course she says both students and faculty shy away from Dr Scott Vrana a VCU psychology professor notes that one thing is missing from Dr Farrellrsquos resume mdash that he pours ldquothousands of hours into promoting and advancing the careers of other faculty members graduate students and postdoctoral fel-lowsrdquo His record does reflect some of that time Dr Farrell has chaired advisory committees for 30 masterrsquos theses and 22 doctoral dissertations Students and faculty describe him as a mentor who is approachable open and supportive and who always makes time for others no matter his schedule In reflecting on his career at VCU Dr Farrell says the way its pieces ended up fitting together seems sensible Its specific course however was strongly shaped by opportunities that presented themselves along the way Being at VCU provided advantages over other universities he worked with on youth violence prevention research he says mdash chiefly the lack of barriers between VCU and the community because most Richmonders are connected to VCU in some way While he has no imminent plans for retirement Dr Farrell says he hopes that he will be remembered as the first director of the Clark-Hill Institute as it continues making important strides in youth violence prevention ldquoWe are so totally aligned with VCUrsquos Quest for Distinctionrdquo he says ldquoWersquore interdisciplinary and well---positioned to really expand We have tremendous potentialrdquo
Recipient of the University Award of Excellence
Albert Farrell PhD
Picture and article courtesy of VCU University Relations
Graduate students in the clinical and
counseling psychology doctoral pro-
grams have completed a series of studies
under the mentorship of Bruce
Rybarczyk PhD (lsquo89 clinical program
graduate professor of clinical psycholo-
gy and director of clinical training) mak-
ing substantial contributions to advanc-
ing the treatment of insomnia in individ-
uals with co-morbid psychiatric condi-
tions Three of those studies were fea-
tured in a special issue of the Journal of
Clinical Psychology Two of the studies
were intervention studies with individu-
als with psychiatric diagnoses The first
was a dissertation by Nile Wagley PhD
(rsquo10 counseling program) providing cog-
nitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to pa-
tients undergoing treatment at the VCU
Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic These pa-
tients were receiving treatment for an
average of 36 years and continued to
have insomnia symptoms in spite of their
psychiatric care Two sessions of CBT for
insomnia including one conducted via
telephone were effective in improving
sleep and reducing depressive symp-
toms Among the twenty patients who
participated in treatment 38 were able
to achieve normal sleep eight weeks
after the start of treatment relative to
none in the control group A second dis-
sertation study at the same clinic em-
ploying a large group of patients all of
whom were dependent on hypnotic
medication for managing their insomnia
and a longer format of treatment was
recently completed by sixth year clinical
psychology graduate student Hannah
Lund It also obtained encouraging re-
sults that will be written up for publica-
tion in the near future
A second intervention study targeting
recent veterans with Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) conducted by
Skye Margolies PhD (rsquo11 clinical pro-
gram) was also featured in the special
issue This dissertation study tested four
sessions of CBT-I and an optional supple-
mentary treatment for nightmares
(imagery rehearsal therapy) with forty
combat veterans (mean age 377 years)
who served in Afghanistan andor Iraq a
group that has experienced high levels of
both PTSD and insomnia The treatment
sessions were provided at the McGuire
Veterans Administration Hospital in Rich-
mond The treatment led to significant
improvements in self-reported and ob-
jectively measured sleep a reduction in
PTSD symptom severity and PTSD-
related nighttime symptoms and a re-
duction in depression and distressed
mood compared to the waitlist control
group This study was replicated by Lau-
rin Mack PhD (rsquo13 clinical program)
Her study provided a classroom CBT in-
tervention to a wide array of veterans as
a follow-up supplement to a recently
completed a psycho-educational course
on coping with PTSD This study replicat-
ed the earlier findings of improved sleep
although it did not obtain the same re-
sult for reductions in PTSD symptoms
possibly related to the fact that many of
VCU Students Faculty and
Alumni Contribute to
Advancing the Treatment of
Insomnia Bruce Rybarczyk PhD
the participants had PTSD for several
decades rather than several years Both
Margolies and Mack were funded by
prestigious Rehabilitation Research Fel-
lowship awards for over $61000 com-
bined from the Department of Veteran
Affairs
CBT for insomnia was developed by a
group of pioneering researchers begin-
ning twenty-five years ago VCU Psychol-
ogy and Psychiatry has a long history
with this pioneering work One of the
most prolific researchers in this area
Jack Edinger PhD (rsquo78) is an alumnus of
the clinical psychology program and an-
other prominent researcher Charles
Morin PhD was a faculty member at
VCU While here Morin conducted one
of the first randomized clinical trials
showing that CBT was superior to hyp-
notic sleep medications CBT has several
treatment components including an ini-
tial reduction in sleep to increase sleep
drive and retrain normal sleep as well as
a method for eliminating time spent in
bed while awake to weaken the associa-
tion between being in bed and having
anxiety about not falling asleep The
treatment also includes education in the
science of
sleep in order
to provide the
patient with an
ldquoownerrsquos man-
ualrdquo for their
sleep system
These studies
contribute to
growing evi-
dence that CBT
for insomnia is
a treatment
that should be
offered to all
mental health
patients as a
supplement to
other treatments they are receiving that
are targeting the primary mental health
diagnosis Not only is sleep substantially
improved as a result of these interven-
tions but other mental health symptoms
are alleviated as a consequence of im-
proved sleep Additionally there are no
side effects treatment is brief the bene-
fits are sustained over time and the cost
is limited especially when employing self
-help materials The challenge that lies
ahead is training more clinicians to deliv-
er this brief treatment and getting the
word is out to health professionals and
the public that this should be a first line
treatment for persistent insomnia Alt-
hough a 2005 National Institutes of
Health expert panel recommended that
CBT be offered to all chronic insomnia
sufferers before prescribing a medica-
tion there has been very limited pro-
gress in dissemination thus far This is
due to the public and professional bias
towards the use of medications and the
lack of awareness of this newer treat-
ment approach To address the science-
practice gap future research by
Rybarczyk and colleagues will test a
ldquostepped carerdquo approach to delivering
CBT in primary care using varied levels
of treatment intensity and different
methods of delivery including the Inter-
net This stepped care approach will be
tested in primary care offices The con-
cept was detailed in a 2011 publication
by Mack and Rybarczyk
Although there are less than two hun-
dred clinical psychologists who are ex-
perts and researchers in CBT for insom-
nia a remarkable number of them are
VCU clinical psychology alumni In addi-
tion to Edinger and Rybarczyk Jason
Ong PhD (rsquo04 clinical program) is
board certified in behavioral sleep medi-
cine and is a prominent insomnia re-
searcher at Rush University Medical Cen-
ter in Chicago Don Townsend PhD
(rsquo99 clinical program) is a board certified
sleep clinician at the Fairview Sleep Cen-
ter in Minnesota and Kevin Smith PhD
(rsquo04 clinical program) is an assistant pro-
fessor of pediatrics at the University of
Missouri-Kansas City and is board certi-
fied in behavioral sleep medicine VCU
alumni are likely to have an even larger
impact on the growing field of behavioral
sleep medicine in the future as all four
of the recent graduates who conducted
the research
described
above are con-
tinuing to work
in this field
VCU faculty contributors to the studies de-scribed above include Drs Steve Danish David Leszczyszyn John Lynch (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo89) Tim Nay and Scott Vra-na
Bruce Rybarczyk PhD and Denise Borden MD discuss a patientrsquos care in VCUrsquos Primary Care Clinic
Over the past year the news has been filled with ongoing
legislative disputes in Washington Terms like fiscal cliff
debt ceiling and sequestration have become part of our vo-
cabulary With myriad predictions being made it can be
hard to decipher what impact recent government actions
could have here in our department
There are several recent government actions that could sub-
stantially influence research activity in Psychology The
first is known as sequestration or the ldquofiscal cliffrdquo This
was a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011 which im-
posed across-the-board cuts to defense and discretionary
programs in the event that Congress could not reach a com-
promise on the federal budget The Act was supposed to
motivate Congress to reach a solution as no one wanted or
expected to see sequestration implemented Unfortunately
Congress failed to reach a compromise and sequestration
went into effect on March 1 2013
Sequestration resulted in substantial budget cuts to our ma-
jor federal funders The National Institutes for Health Psy-
chologyrsquos largest funding source lost 5 of its total budget
amounting to $155 billion Since these were across-the-
board cuts no area of health research was spared As a
result we have received fewer new awards and our contin-
uing awards have been reduced VCU President Michael
Rao estimated in February that VCUrsquos grant portfolio could
see reductions of $12-$21 million by September 2013 as a
direct result of sequestration Luckily we have not seen
this dire outcome just yetmdashVCUrsquos grant award portfolio
showed excellent performance in fiscal year 2013mdashbut that
does not mean that effects will not be felt later
For example at the department level fewer new grant
awards could result in a lack of replacement funding for
projects slated to end soon Individuals paid from those
projects would likely be laid off if no source of new fund-
ing could be found Reduced budgets for continuing pro-
jects could result in cuts to the number of people a given
project could support Sequestration will also make it hard-
er for new faculty to get their first grants as grant programs
become increasingly competitive This in turn makes it
harder for them to support graduate students and postdoc-
toral associates There could also be an impact on federally
funded fellowships scholarships and student aid The fed-
eral work-study program for example could lose up to $50
million dollars as a result of sequestration That represents
a substantial number of students who would have to find
other sources of income
As if that were not enough sequestration is only one piece
of the puzzle Other government actions have the potential
to compound the impacts One such action is the Afforda-
ble Care Act otherwise known as ldquoObamacarerdquo Aside
from the obvious controversy the ACA has had some unin-
tended consequences In Virginia it resulted in the Man-
power Control Act or the 29-Hour Rule This law limits
part-time and hourly employees to a total of 29 hours per
week This has resulted in loss of income for students and
other part-time employees some of whom have historically
held multiple jobs at the university Multiple university
jobs are no longer allowed under the Manpower Control
Act In addition since the rule applies to adjunct faculty
too it has resulted in a reduction in the number of credit
hours they can teach This means an additional burden on
the already overloaded full-time faculty who must make up
The Impact of Recent US Government Actions on the
Departmentrsquos Research Mission
Brigette S Pfister MHRD CRA
Page 9
the shortfall in credit hours taught in addition to their ex-
isting responsibilitiesmdashlike grant writing This could fur-
ther depress our new award activity over the next few
years
The recent government shutdown adds another dimension
of complexity The government shutdown was brought
about by circumstances similar to those of sequestration
Once again legislators needed to compromise on the feder-
al budget in order to avert disaster This time the point of
contention was the Affordable Care Act Republicans
wanted to defund the ACA as a condition of passing the
Continuing Resolution that would keep the government
operational Democrats refused to approve any bill that
attempted to defund or otherwise nullify the ACA Once
again no compromise was reached and the government
shutdown took effect on October 1 2013
Immediately many federal systems were taken of-
fline We could not submit new proposals progress reports
or even establish new accounts Awards already delayed
and reduced by sequestration stopped altogether for the
duration of the shutdown Though there is widespread
conjecture on the subject no one really knows what the
long term impact will be on university research
During the shutdown work on existing projects was al-
lowed to continue provided that funding had already been
made available However we were unable to draw down
funds from the federal government In other words if we
didnrsquot already have it then we couldnrsquot spend it If the
shutdown had gone on longer even existing projects would
have probably had to lay off grant funded personnel and in
some cases completely stop work Also the government
doesnrsquot process passports and visas during the shutdown
so projects that depend on foreign travel were held up con-
siderably
The situation could worsen if Congress fails to devise a
workable long-term solution when the current debt ceiling
expires on February 7 If there is failure to compromise
the United States could default on our national debt There
is no clear picture of what the impacts of that would be but
we know they would not be positive
Since our overall grant portfolio at VCU did not appear to
suffer in fiscal year 2013 it might be tempting to disregard
some of the more dire warnings However it is important
to recognize that incoming awards are based on proposals
submitted in fiscal year 2012 or earlier so many of those
funding decisions were made prior to the most current cri-
sis We probably wont see the true impact of all of the
above until fiscal year 2014 or thereafter At minimum
the cessation of all proposal activity during the shutdown
will result in delayed resumption of award activity in addi-
tion to the delays and budget cuts already happening be-
cause of sequestration This will likely cause our total
awarded dollars to decrease over the next few years
Overall the impact on VCU research may not be disas-
trous but at the department level grant projects and the
individuals working on those projects could suffer signifi-
cant impact from the cumulative effects
Brigette S Pfister is director of sponsored programs for the
College of Humanities and Sciences at VCU
Dome United States Capitol Washington DC
Architect of the Capitol
Adriana Rodriguez graduated from the
University of California Berkeley in 2008
with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and
a minor in ethnic studies Following grad-
uation Rodriguez obtained a research as-
sistant position with Bruce Chorpita
PhD at UCLA helping to advance the
effectiveness of mental health treatment
for children and adolescents Her work
with Chorpita further solidified her aspira-
tion to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical
psychology working specifically with racial
andor ethnic minority youth
Rodriguez joined the Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD research laboratory as a
doctoral student in clinical psychology in
the fall of 2010 When asked why Rodri-
guez decided to attend VCU she stated
that she felt inspired and motivated by the
energy and innovation that Southam-
Gerow brings to the field of psychology
ldquoIt was the best decision I could have
maderdquo
In reflecting on her experience at VCU
Rodriguez is struck by how collaborative
the department in general and her lab in
particular are Her research interests lie
broadly in the dissemination and imple-
mentation of mental health treatment for
children and adolescents She is also in-
terested in cultural and linguistic adapta-
tions of assessments to minority popula-
tions in real-world clinic settings Recent-
ly Rodriguez was able to collaborate with
Rosalie Corona PhD of the clinical psy-
chology program whose work focuses on
health promotion and risk reduction
among ethnic minority populations In
working with Latina college students Ro-
driguez notes ldquoI understand the difficul-
ties that this population is facing from a
policy perspective and also through my
personal experiencehellip I was that kid who
didnrsquot have enough money for the bus
farerdquo
Born to a working-class Mexican family
Rodriguez is the first to receive a college
education let alone pursue a graduate
degree Her work is driven in part by a
desire to empower her family and culture
while forging her own identity
When asked about career aspirations she
responds ldquoI want to keep goinghellip go as far
as I canrdquo Rodriguez is molding herself for
a research position in academia where she
would ideally like to serve at the public
policy level of mental health treatment
dissemination and implementation
In her spare time she enjoys running long
distances around Richmondrsquos Byrd Park
and Brownrsquos Island She also spends time
drawing particularly individuals with pro-
nounced facial expressions Rodriguez
jokes that this interest probably stems
from all the time she has spent coding vid-
eotapes in the Southam-Gerow lab
Graduate Student Spotlight
Adriana Rodriguez MS Clinical Psychology program
The Global Bridges Project is a community engaged research pro-ject directed by Maghboeba Mosavel PhD of VCUrsquos Department of Social and Behavioral Health School of Medicine This summer Mosavel led a small team of six students to the University of Kwa-Zulu-Natalmdasha VCU international partner universitymdashin Durban South Africa to conduct community engaged research in the Ken-neth Gardens public housing community in Durban Jasmine Abrams and Morgan Maxwell were two of those students A third student Carrie Miller is a second year master of public health student who has previously worked for the Department of Psychol-ogy as project coordinator for Clarissa Holmes PhD Abrams and Maxwell chronicled their work in Durban on this blog httpbuilding-global-bridgesblogspotcom Itrsquos a great read
Submitted by Annie Rabinovitz doctoral
student in the clinical psychology program
Abrams Maxwell
Linda A Mensah-Etsi (see front cover) a
junior psychology major is a recent recipi-
ent of the Melvin V Lubman Scholarship
in Psychology The Melvin V Lubman
Scholarship was established by Mrs Golde
Lubman Feldman to honor her husbandrsquos
dedication and service as a professor in
the Department of Psychology Mensah-
Etsi reports that the scholarship will help
her greatly with her tuition and fees
When asked why she chose psychology as
a major Mensah-Etsi said that she is curi-
ous about many things and psychology
was the one subject that kept her interest
piqued at all times She said ldquoI like how I
can always be surprised by all the different
topics covered under psychology alonerdquo
Surely her constant interest is in part due
to her two ldquoall-time favoriterdquo classesmdash
Statistical Applications in the Psychology
Field with Linda Zyzniewski PhD and
Abnormal Psychology with adjunct profes-
sor Jessica Brown Mensah-Etsi picked
these as her favorites because she likes
the mathematical focus of statistics and
admitted to having an ldquoobsessionrdquo with
mental illnesses
Continuing her love for the subject Men-
sah-Etsi has decided to further her skills by
applying for several internships through-
out the department After narrowing
down her choices for internships this fall
from three options she is excited to have
begun her new internship at VCUrsquos Clark
Hill Institute for Positive Youth
Development She says she chose this op-
portunity because ldquonot only is it in the
field in which I am currently interested
the internship will give me the opportunity
to learn a valuable coding skill that I might
eventually need to userdquo
A former volunteer elementary school
teachers aide she has a clear interest in
working with children and teens and
would like to pursue another volunteer
opportunity with the organization Stop
Child Abuse Now here in Richmond
With time on her side Mensah-Etsi cer-
tainly has plenty of opportunities to
change her career path She hopes she
can get a job with her degree or perhaps
continue on to graduate school and even
sees a career in research as a possibility
Ultimately though she is interested in
counseling young children or teens who
have experienced trauma Her goal is to
help kids ldquounderstand that at least one
person is on their side even if it seems that
they have to deal with it on their ownrdquo
One of the many interesting aspects of
this junior is that she is only 18 years old
She was a mere 16 years of age when she
first enrolled at VCU and proves daily that
age has nothing to do with capacity for
success A very hard worker when asked
about her free time Mensah-Etsi says she
has been very preoccupied with school-
work as well as with working two jobs
However she says working out at the gym
has been very close to a hobby for her
lately
When shersquos not in Richmond Mensah-Etsi
lives in Alexandria with her family We
asked her why she chose to settle in Rich-
mond and attend VCU and she jokingly
said it is because her two favorite colors
are black and yellow ldquoOn a serious noterdquo
she stated ldquoI just really fell in love with
the city when I visited so there was no
doubt in my mind that I wanted to attend
VCU I grew up in a city so this felt close
to homerdquo
A native of Togo in West Africa Mensah-
Etsi moved to the US in 2007 shortly be-
fore she turned 13 She says it wasnrsquot a
hard transition for her as she already
spoke French and Ewe (an ethnic lan-
guage) so English was quite easy to learn
by comparison She indeed misses the
spicy foods of Togo but also says that
while other people in Richmond may be
annoyed by the street sounds lights and
crooked sidewalks it makes her feel right
at home
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral stu-
dent in the health psychology program
Undergraduate Student Spotlight
Linda A Mensah-Etsi Class of lsquo15
Congratulations to David Rockman class of 2013 for receiving the Benjamin A Gilman Scholarship Rockman will receive $5000 to study in one country from four weeks to one academic year Named after retired Congressman Benjamin A Gilman from New York the programrsquos goal is to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go
This summer Paul Perrin PhD led six
VCU psychology doctoral students on a
month-long expedition to the University of
Deusto in Bilbao Spain to participate in a
research training program on racialethnic
disparities in health The trip was due in
large part to Perrinrsquos ongoing collabora-
tion with Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla
PhD a research professor in the Universi-
ty of Deustorsquos Department of Psychology
and former faculty member in VCUrsquos De-
partment of Physical Medicine and Reha-
bilitation Perrin and Arango-Lasprilla
spent the past year planning and coordi-
nating this unique opportunity for stu-
dents who worked with them on various
research projects meeting and collabo-
rating with researchers from all over the
world Among the group of 20 interna-
tional researchers contributing to and par-
ticipating in this training program were
psychology doctoral students Gillian Lei-
bach and Stephen Trapp of the counseling
program Sarah Doyle of the developmen-
tal program Shaina Gulin of the clinical
program and Alejandra Morlett Paredes
and Megan Sutter of the health program
The students worked with a team of inter-
national researchers spanning ten differ-
ent countries The purpose of the training
program was to teach students to conduct
health disparities research in an interna-
tional context and build collaborative
teams at various universities and rehabili-
tation facilities The specific focus was the
psychosocial functioning of individuals
from understudied global regions with
neurological conditions such as traumatic
brain injury dementia spinal cord injury
and multiple sclerosis Unpaid family care-
givers often provide the majority of the
informal care to individuals with these
conditions yet have very few resources in
order to meet their family and caregiving
needs Therefore a major goal of these
projects was to study the factors related
to mental and physical health of caregiv-
ers and to create culturally sensitive
health care recommendations for these
regions The team is accumulating evi-
dence for interventions that will improve
the quality of informal care for individuals
with neurological conditions in regions
such as Latin America where much of this
research is being conducted
Each of the VCU doctoral students had the
opportunity to take the lead on projects
studying the potential protective and risk
factors associated with caregiver mental
and physical health in either older adults
with dementia or in children with spinal
cord injuries and disorders They were
also able to propose potential future pro-
jects with existing data or completely new
data collections based in various under-
studied global regions such as in Neiva
Colombia Auckland New Zealand Copen-
hagen Denmark and Mexico City Mexico
among many others Perrin and the team
of international researchers offered a
number of seminars on advanced research
methods and statistics such as factor
analysis structural equation modeling
qualitative research methods meta-
analysis neuroimaging and scientific man-
uscript preparation
The
group
was able
to take
part in
many
cultural
experi-
ences
and enjoyed exploring the city of Bilbao
and the surrounding countryside and
beaches The researchers and students
spent most of their time in the countryrsquos
Basque region where they were able to
visit the iconic Guggenheim Museum of
modern and contemporary art innumera-
ble pintxo restaurants (a specialty of this
region similar to tapas) and a celebration
of Bilbaorsquos 713th anniversary
The group also traveled to many places
around the country including Bermeo and
San Sebastiaacuten which are located on the
Northern coast of Spain near the border of
France In Bermeo they made a trek to
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe a hermitage
that is accessed by hiking down a narrow
trail crossing a stone bridge and walking
up approximately 230 steps The group
felt the hike was definitely worth the
effort though andmdashas a legend in-
structsmdashgot to the peak rang a bell three
times and made three wishes Together
many of the researchers and students also
took a day trip to San Sebastiaacuten a coastal
town that rests on the Bay of Biscay fa-
mous for its renowned Basque food and
of course its shoreline They also got the
chance to venture to southern France and
Barcelona
Spotlight on International Research and Learning
Paul Perrin PhD
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student
in the health psychology program
ldquoA major goal of these
projects was to study the
factors related to mental
and physical health of
caregivers and to create
culturally sensitive health
care recommendations for
these regionsrdquo
ldquoI had a wonderful experience in Bilbao When I started graduate
school I certainly did not expect I would get to travel abroad to do
research It was a really unique opportunity getting to meet and work with well-known researchers from around the world Bilbao
is beautiful and I did quite a bit of exploring in and around the city
learning the areas rich cultural customs and history It is a good
feeling to know that our research has the potential to help im-prove the quality of life of patients with neurological conditions
and their caregiversrdquo
Shaina Gulin clinical psychology doctoral student
Back row [L to R] Javier Pentildea
(Spain) Hinemoa Elder (New Zea-
land) Nada Andelic (Norway)
Alfonso Caracuel (Spain) Hugo
Senra (Portugal) Stephen Trapp
(USA) Ivan Panyavin (Spain)
Anne Norup (Denmark) Charles
Hallmark (USA) Alejandra Morlett
(USA) Alexander Moreno
(Canada) Rociacuteo Del Pino Saacuteez
(Spain) Clara Isabel Gonzaacutelez
Berdugo (Spain) Maria Cristina
Quijano (Colombia) Yaneth Rodri-
guez (Mexico)
Front row [L to R] Juan Carlos
Arango-Lasprilla (Spain) Carlos de
los Reyes (Colombia) Megan
Sutter (USA) Sarah Doyle (USA)
Gillian Leibach (USA) Shaina Gulin
(USA) Naroa Ibarretxe (Spain)
Paul Perrin (USA)
Kristin Heron PhD from Penn State University visited the de-
partment early in the fall semester Heron is associate director
of the Dynamic Real-time Ecological Ambulatory Methodologies
Initiative at Penn States Survey Research Center In this posi-
tion she uses ecological momentary assessment and ecological
momentary intervention in her research focused on a range of
clinical health topics including eating behaviors body image
physical activity promotion and smoking cessation Ecological
momentary assessment broadly refers to the use of assess-
ments (eg questionnaires) that capture information about
people as they go about their daily lives in their natural environ-
ment (eg home) Ecological momentary intervention refers to
interventions or treat-
ments that are delivered
to individuals as they go
about their daily lives
Heron spent time training
students in Dr Robin
Everharts research lab on
ecological momentary
assessment for a pediatric
asthma study that will
allow families to use
smart phones as they re-
port on their childs asth-
ma care in real time
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
professor of psychology
at the University of Vir-
ginia presented a talk to
the department in Sep-
tember titled ldquoThe Psy-
chological Wealth of
Nationsrdquo
Here is the abstract
What is a good society
Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good
society is a happy society―namely a society in which most citi-
zens are happy and free from fear Since the publication of
ldquoThe Wealth of Nationsrdquo by Adam Smith in 1776 most econo-
mists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a material-
ly wealthy society Thus gross national product and related
indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of
nations from the 1950rsquos to date Recently however prominent
economists as well as political scientists sociologists and psy-
chologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materi-
ally wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust
one another have a sense of freedom and have close social re-
lationships The inquiry into the psychological wealth of na-
tions or the subjective well-being of nations helps answer a
fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for mil-
lennia lsquolsquoWhat is a good societyrsquo
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
Kristin Heron PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Benita Belvet
Jessica Brown
Suzzette Chopin
Lillian Christon Arnold
Ashley Dibble
Rebecca Hubbard
David Jennings
Nichole Kelly
Laurin Mack
Priscilla Powell
Molly Neff
Laura Slosky
Denicia Titchner
Stephanie Wolf
Bachelor of Science
Vanessa Agyeman
Hasen Alghamdi
Latessa Allums
Michael Amon
Sonja Ayers
Sweska Basnet
Kirstie Breland
Erica Brown
Ashley Callis
Jakwame Carey
Megan Cavanagh
Grace Charriez
Courtney Christian
Alicia Cook
Aldijana Cordic
Jonathan Cox
Mary Dean
Anne Fishback
Sherona Gardner
Andrew Gibbs
Myra Glorioso
Logan Gravitt
Lateisha Greene
Katelyn Gruber
Jamila Harris
Tiquana Hill
James Hovermale
Savonne Howard
Marshall Hunter
Kelley Hurdle
Arturo Iglesias
Lucas Keckley
Hira Khalid
Jamison Lancaster
Dana Larson
Russ Lawrence
Michele Mascatello
Rachel Mason
Tiffany Mayo
Natasha McCoy
Alexandra McDougall
Brandie Mckenzie
Xue Ju Meyer
Scott Misturini
Lindsay Mitchiner
Lea Moisa
Brooke Myers
Krislee Nelson
Paul Norton
Sierre Norton
Kristin Oravetz
Stephen Page
Ryan Pannell
Kevin Papile
Natalie Parks
Krishna Patel
Justin Payne
James Peacock
Quy Phan
Cecilia Presseau
Nathalie Rieder
Kylessia Ross
Faryal Shahid
Katelyn Sisk
Angel Slach
Indira Smajlagic
Natalie Taylor
Adrienne Tetreault
Brandon Tolbert
Tierraney Truss
James Vosti
Brenda Wei
Patrick Wiley
Alaysia Williams
Lyndsay Wilshaw
Christopher Wilson
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to
education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual
orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of Psychology
806 W Franklin St
PO Box 842018
Richmond VA 23284-2018
Phone 804-828-1193
Fax 804-828-2237
Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu
Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu
Virginia Commonwealth
University
Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology
A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine
Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from
bottom on far right
Graduate students in the clinical and
counseling psychology doctoral pro-
grams have completed a series of studies
under the mentorship of Bruce
Rybarczyk PhD (lsquo89 clinical program
graduate professor of clinical psycholo-
gy and director of clinical training) mak-
ing substantial contributions to advanc-
ing the treatment of insomnia in individ-
uals with co-morbid psychiatric condi-
tions Three of those studies were fea-
tured in a special issue of the Journal of
Clinical Psychology Two of the studies
were intervention studies with individu-
als with psychiatric diagnoses The first
was a dissertation by Nile Wagley PhD
(rsquo10 counseling program) providing cog-
nitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to pa-
tients undergoing treatment at the VCU
Outpatient Psychiatry Clinic These pa-
tients were receiving treatment for an
average of 36 years and continued to
have insomnia symptoms in spite of their
psychiatric care Two sessions of CBT for
insomnia including one conducted via
telephone were effective in improving
sleep and reducing depressive symp-
toms Among the twenty patients who
participated in treatment 38 were able
to achieve normal sleep eight weeks
after the start of treatment relative to
none in the control group A second dis-
sertation study at the same clinic em-
ploying a large group of patients all of
whom were dependent on hypnotic
medication for managing their insomnia
and a longer format of treatment was
recently completed by sixth year clinical
psychology graduate student Hannah
Lund It also obtained encouraging re-
sults that will be written up for publica-
tion in the near future
A second intervention study targeting
recent veterans with Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) conducted by
Skye Margolies PhD (rsquo11 clinical pro-
gram) was also featured in the special
issue This dissertation study tested four
sessions of CBT-I and an optional supple-
mentary treatment for nightmares
(imagery rehearsal therapy) with forty
combat veterans (mean age 377 years)
who served in Afghanistan andor Iraq a
group that has experienced high levels of
both PTSD and insomnia The treatment
sessions were provided at the McGuire
Veterans Administration Hospital in Rich-
mond The treatment led to significant
improvements in self-reported and ob-
jectively measured sleep a reduction in
PTSD symptom severity and PTSD-
related nighttime symptoms and a re-
duction in depression and distressed
mood compared to the waitlist control
group This study was replicated by Lau-
rin Mack PhD (rsquo13 clinical program)
Her study provided a classroom CBT in-
tervention to a wide array of veterans as
a follow-up supplement to a recently
completed a psycho-educational course
on coping with PTSD This study replicat-
ed the earlier findings of improved sleep
although it did not obtain the same re-
sult for reductions in PTSD symptoms
possibly related to the fact that many of
VCU Students Faculty and
Alumni Contribute to
Advancing the Treatment of
Insomnia Bruce Rybarczyk PhD
the participants had PTSD for several
decades rather than several years Both
Margolies and Mack were funded by
prestigious Rehabilitation Research Fel-
lowship awards for over $61000 com-
bined from the Department of Veteran
Affairs
CBT for insomnia was developed by a
group of pioneering researchers begin-
ning twenty-five years ago VCU Psychol-
ogy and Psychiatry has a long history
with this pioneering work One of the
most prolific researchers in this area
Jack Edinger PhD (rsquo78) is an alumnus of
the clinical psychology program and an-
other prominent researcher Charles
Morin PhD was a faculty member at
VCU While here Morin conducted one
of the first randomized clinical trials
showing that CBT was superior to hyp-
notic sleep medications CBT has several
treatment components including an ini-
tial reduction in sleep to increase sleep
drive and retrain normal sleep as well as
a method for eliminating time spent in
bed while awake to weaken the associa-
tion between being in bed and having
anxiety about not falling asleep The
treatment also includes education in the
science of
sleep in order
to provide the
patient with an
ldquoownerrsquos man-
ualrdquo for their
sleep system
These studies
contribute to
growing evi-
dence that CBT
for insomnia is
a treatment
that should be
offered to all
mental health
patients as a
supplement to
other treatments they are receiving that
are targeting the primary mental health
diagnosis Not only is sleep substantially
improved as a result of these interven-
tions but other mental health symptoms
are alleviated as a consequence of im-
proved sleep Additionally there are no
side effects treatment is brief the bene-
fits are sustained over time and the cost
is limited especially when employing self
-help materials The challenge that lies
ahead is training more clinicians to deliv-
er this brief treatment and getting the
word is out to health professionals and
the public that this should be a first line
treatment for persistent insomnia Alt-
hough a 2005 National Institutes of
Health expert panel recommended that
CBT be offered to all chronic insomnia
sufferers before prescribing a medica-
tion there has been very limited pro-
gress in dissemination thus far This is
due to the public and professional bias
towards the use of medications and the
lack of awareness of this newer treat-
ment approach To address the science-
practice gap future research by
Rybarczyk and colleagues will test a
ldquostepped carerdquo approach to delivering
CBT in primary care using varied levels
of treatment intensity and different
methods of delivery including the Inter-
net This stepped care approach will be
tested in primary care offices The con-
cept was detailed in a 2011 publication
by Mack and Rybarczyk
Although there are less than two hun-
dred clinical psychologists who are ex-
perts and researchers in CBT for insom-
nia a remarkable number of them are
VCU clinical psychology alumni In addi-
tion to Edinger and Rybarczyk Jason
Ong PhD (rsquo04 clinical program) is
board certified in behavioral sleep medi-
cine and is a prominent insomnia re-
searcher at Rush University Medical Cen-
ter in Chicago Don Townsend PhD
(rsquo99 clinical program) is a board certified
sleep clinician at the Fairview Sleep Cen-
ter in Minnesota and Kevin Smith PhD
(rsquo04 clinical program) is an assistant pro-
fessor of pediatrics at the University of
Missouri-Kansas City and is board certi-
fied in behavioral sleep medicine VCU
alumni are likely to have an even larger
impact on the growing field of behavioral
sleep medicine in the future as all four
of the recent graduates who conducted
the research
described
above are con-
tinuing to work
in this field
VCU faculty contributors to the studies de-scribed above include Drs Steve Danish David Leszczyszyn John Lynch (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo89) Tim Nay and Scott Vra-na
Bruce Rybarczyk PhD and Denise Borden MD discuss a patientrsquos care in VCUrsquos Primary Care Clinic
Over the past year the news has been filled with ongoing
legislative disputes in Washington Terms like fiscal cliff
debt ceiling and sequestration have become part of our vo-
cabulary With myriad predictions being made it can be
hard to decipher what impact recent government actions
could have here in our department
There are several recent government actions that could sub-
stantially influence research activity in Psychology The
first is known as sequestration or the ldquofiscal cliffrdquo This
was a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011 which im-
posed across-the-board cuts to defense and discretionary
programs in the event that Congress could not reach a com-
promise on the federal budget The Act was supposed to
motivate Congress to reach a solution as no one wanted or
expected to see sequestration implemented Unfortunately
Congress failed to reach a compromise and sequestration
went into effect on March 1 2013
Sequestration resulted in substantial budget cuts to our ma-
jor federal funders The National Institutes for Health Psy-
chologyrsquos largest funding source lost 5 of its total budget
amounting to $155 billion Since these were across-the-
board cuts no area of health research was spared As a
result we have received fewer new awards and our contin-
uing awards have been reduced VCU President Michael
Rao estimated in February that VCUrsquos grant portfolio could
see reductions of $12-$21 million by September 2013 as a
direct result of sequestration Luckily we have not seen
this dire outcome just yetmdashVCUrsquos grant award portfolio
showed excellent performance in fiscal year 2013mdashbut that
does not mean that effects will not be felt later
For example at the department level fewer new grant
awards could result in a lack of replacement funding for
projects slated to end soon Individuals paid from those
projects would likely be laid off if no source of new fund-
ing could be found Reduced budgets for continuing pro-
jects could result in cuts to the number of people a given
project could support Sequestration will also make it hard-
er for new faculty to get their first grants as grant programs
become increasingly competitive This in turn makes it
harder for them to support graduate students and postdoc-
toral associates There could also be an impact on federally
funded fellowships scholarships and student aid The fed-
eral work-study program for example could lose up to $50
million dollars as a result of sequestration That represents
a substantial number of students who would have to find
other sources of income
As if that were not enough sequestration is only one piece
of the puzzle Other government actions have the potential
to compound the impacts One such action is the Afforda-
ble Care Act otherwise known as ldquoObamacarerdquo Aside
from the obvious controversy the ACA has had some unin-
tended consequences In Virginia it resulted in the Man-
power Control Act or the 29-Hour Rule This law limits
part-time and hourly employees to a total of 29 hours per
week This has resulted in loss of income for students and
other part-time employees some of whom have historically
held multiple jobs at the university Multiple university
jobs are no longer allowed under the Manpower Control
Act In addition since the rule applies to adjunct faculty
too it has resulted in a reduction in the number of credit
hours they can teach This means an additional burden on
the already overloaded full-time faculty who must make up
The Impact of Recent US Government Actions on the
Departmentrsquos Research Mission
Brigette S Pfister MHRD CRA
Page 9
the shortfall in credit hours taught in addition to their ex-
isting responsibilitiesmdashlike grant writing This could fur-
ther depress our new award activity over the next few
years
The recent government shutdown adds another dimension
of complexity The government shutdown was brought
about by circumstances similar to those of sequestration
Once again legislators needed to compromise on the feder-
al budget in order to avert disaster This time the point of
contention was the Affordable Care Act Republicans
wanted to defund the ACA as a condition of passing the
Continuing Resolution that would keep the government
operational Democrats refused to approve any bill that
attempted to defund or otherwise nullify the ACA Once
again no compromise was reached and the government
shutdown took effect on October 1 2013
Immediately many federal systems were taken of-
fline We could not submit new proposals progress reports
or even establish new accounts Awards already delayed
and reduced by sequestration stopped altogether for the
duration of the shutdown Though there is widespread
conjecture on the subject no one really knows what the
long term impact will be on university research
During the shutdown work on existing projects was al-
lowed to continue provided that funding had already been
made available However we were unable to draw down
funds from the federal government In other words if we
didnrsquot already have it then we couldnrsquot spend it If the
shutdown had gone on longer even existing projects would
have probably had to lay off grant funded personnel and in
some cases completely stop work Also the government
doesnrsquot process passports and visas during the shutdown
so projects that depend on foreign travel were held up con-
siderably
The situation could worsen if Congress fails to devise a
workable long-term solution when the current debt ceiling
expires on February 7 If there is failure to compromise
the United States could default on our national debt There
is no clear picture of what the impacts of that would be but
we know they would not be positive
Since our overall grant portfolio at VCU did not appear to
suffer in fiscal year 2013 it might be tempting to disregard
some of the more dire warnings However it is important
to recognize that incoming awards are based on proposals
submitted in fiscal year 2012 or earlier so many of those
funding decisions were made prior to the most current cri-
sis We probably wont see the true impact of all of the
above until fiscal year 2014 or thereafter At minimum
the cessation of all proposal activity during the shutdown
will result in delayed resumption of award activity in addi-
tion to the delays and budget cuts already happening be-
cause of sequestration This will likely cause our total
awarded dollars to decrease over the next few years
Overall the impact on VCU research may not be disas-
trous but at the department level grant projects and the
individuals working on those projects could suffer signifi-
cant impact from the cumulative effects
Brigette S Pfister is director of sponsored programs for the
College of Humanities and Sciences at VCU
Dome United States Capitol Washington DC
Architect of the Capitol
Adriana Rodriguez graduated from the
University of California Berkeley in 2008
with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and
a minor in ethnic studies Following grad-
uation Rodriguez obtained a research as-
sistant position with Bruce Chorpita
PhD at UCLA helping to advance the
effectiveness of mental health treatment
for children and adolescents Her work
with Chorpita further solidified her aspira-
tion to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical
psychology working specifically with racial
andor ethnic minority youth
Rodriguez joined the Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD research laboratory as a
doctoral student in clinical psychology in
the fall of 2010 When asked why Rodri-
guez decided to attend VCU she stated
that she felt inspired and motivated by the
energy and innovation that Southam-
Gerow brings to the field of psychology
ldquoIt was the best decision I could have
maderdquo
In reflecting on her experience at VCU
Rodriguez is struck by how collaborative
the department in general and her lab in
particular are Her research interests lie
broadly in the dissemination and imple-
mentation of mental health treatment for
children and adolescents She is also in-
terested in cultural and linguistic adapta-
tions of assessments to minority popula-
tions in real-world clinic settings Recent-
ly Rodriguez was able to collaborate with
Rosalie Corona PhD of the clinical psy-
chology program whose work focuses on
health promotion and risk reduction
among ethnic minority populations In
working with Latina college students Ro-
driguez notes ldquoI understand the difficul-
ties that this population is facing from a
policy perspective and also through my
personal experiencehellip I was that kid who
didnrsquot have enough money for the bus
farerdquo
Born to a working-class Mexican family
Rodriguez is the first to receive a college
education let alone pursue a graduate
degree Her work is driven in part by a
desire to empower her family and culture
while forging her own identity
When asked about career aspirations she
responds ldquoI want to keep goinghellip go as far
as I canrdquo Rodriguez is molding herself for
a research position in academia where she
would ideally like to serve at the public
policy level of mental health treatment
dissemination and implementation
In her spare time she enjoys running long
distances around Richmondrsquos Byrd Park
and Brownrsquos Island She also spends time
drawing particularly individuals with pro-
nounced facial expressions Rodriguez
jokes that this interest probably stems
from all the time she has spent coding vid-
eotapes in the Southam-Gerow lab
Graduate Student Spotlight
Adriana Rodriguez MS Clinical Psychology program
The Global Bridges Project is a community engaged research pro-ject directed by Maghboeba Mosavel PhD of VCUrsquos Department of Social and Behavioral Health School of Medicine This summer Mosavel led a small team of six students to the University of Kwa-Zulu-Natalmdasha VCU international partner universitymdashin Durban South Africa to conduct community engaged research in the Ken-neth Gardens public housing community in Durban Jasmine Abrams and Morgan Maxwell were two of those students A third student Carrie Miller is a second year master of public health student who has previously worked for the Department of Psychol-ogy as project coordinator for Clarissa Holmes PhD Abrams and Maxwell chronicled their work in Durban on this blog httpbuilding-global-bridgesblogspotcom Itrsquos a great read
Submitted by Annie Rabinovitz doctoral
student in the clinical psychology program
Abrams Maxwell
Linda A Mensah-Etsi (see front cover) a
junior psychology major is a recent recipi-
ent of the Melvin V Lubman Scholarship
in Psychology The Melvin V Lubman
Scholarship was established by Mrs Golde
Lubman Feldman to honor her husbandrsquos
dedication and service as a professor in
the Department of Psychology Mensah-
Etsi reports that the scholarship will help
her greatly with her tuition and fees
When asked why she chose psychology as
a major Mensah-Etsi said that she is curi-
ous about many things and psychology
was the one subject that kept her interest
piqued at all times She said ldquoI like how I
can always be surprised by all the different
topics covered under psychology alonerdquo
Surely her constant interest is in part due
to her two ldquoall-time favoriterdquo classesmdash
Statistical Applications in the Psychology
Field with Linda Zyzniewski PhD and
Abnormal Psychology with adjunct profes-
sor Jessica Brown Mensah-Etsi picked
these as her favorites because she likes
the mathematical focus of statistics and
admitted to having an ldquoobsessionrdquo with
mental illnesses
Continuing her love for the subject Men-
sah-Etsi has decided to further her skills by
applying for several internships through-
out the department After narrowing
down her choices for internships this fall
from three options she is excited to have
begun her new internship at VCUrsquos Clark
Hill Institute for Positive Youth
Development She says she chose this op-
portunity because ldquonot only is it in the
field in which I am currently interested
the internship will give me the opportunity
to learn a valuable coding skill that I might
eventually need to userdquo
A former volunteer elementary school
teachers aide she has a clear interest in
working with children and teens and
would like to pursue another volunteer
opportunity with the organization Stop
Child Abuse Now here in Richmond
With time on her side Mensah-Etsi cer-
tainly has plenty of opportunities to
change her career path She hopes she
can get a job with her degree or perhaps
continue on to graduate school and even
sees a career in research as a possibility
Ultimately though she is interested in
counseling young children or teens who
have experienced trauma Her goal is to
help kids ldquounderstand that at least one
person is on their side even if it seems that
they have to deal with it on their ownrdquo
One of the many interesting aspects of
this junior is that she is only 18 years old
She was a mere 16 years of age when she
first enrolled at VCU and proves daily that
age has nothing to do with capacity for
success A very hard worker when asked
about her free time Mensah-Etsi says she
has been very preoccupied with school-
work as well as with working two jobs
However she says working out at the gym
has been very close to a hobby for her
lately
When shersquos not in Richmond Mensah-Etsi
lives in Alexandria with her family We
asked her why she chose to settle in Rich-
mond and attend VCU and she jokingly
said it is because her two favorite colors
are black and yellow ldquoOn a serious noterdquo
she stated ldquoI just really fell in love with
the city when I visited so there was no
doubt in my mind that I wanted to attend
VCU I grew up in a city so this felt close
to homerdquo
A native of Togo in West Africa Mensah-
Etsi moved to the US in 2007 shortly be-
fore she turned 13 She says it wasnrsquot a
hard transition for her as she already
spoke French and Ewe (an ethnic lan-
guage) so English was quite easy to learn
by comparison She indeed misses the
spicy foods of Togo but also says that
while other people in Richmond may be
annoyed by the street sounds lights and
crooked sidewalks it makes her feel right
at home
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral stu-
dent in the health psychology program
Undergraduate Student Spotlight
Linda A Mensah-Etsi Class of lsquo15
Congratulations to David Rockman class of 2013 for receiving the Benjamin A Gilman Scholarship Rockman will receive $5000 to study in one country from four weeks to one academic year Named after retired Congressman Benjamin A Gilman from New York the programrsquos goal is to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go
This summer Paul Perrin PhD led six
VCU psychology doctoral students on a
month-long expedition to the University of
Deusto in Bilbao Spain to participate in a
research training program on racialethnic
disparities in health The trip was due in
large part to Perrinrsquos ongoing collabora-
tion with Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla
PhD a research professor in the Universi-
ty of Deustorsquos Department of Psychology
and former faculty member in VCUrsquos De-
partment of Physical Medicine and Reha-
bilitation Perrin and Arango-Lasprilla
spent the past year planning and coordi-
nating this unique opportunity for stu-
dents who worked with them on various
research projects meeting and collabo-
rating with researchers from all over the
world Among the group of 20 interna-
tional researchers contributing to and par-
ticipating in this training program were
psychology doctoral students Gillian Lei-
bach and Stephen Trapp of the counseling
program Sarah Doyle of the developmen-
tal program Shaina Gulin of the clinical
program and Alejandra Morlett Paredes
and Megan Sutter of the health program
The students worked with a team of inter-
national researchers spanning ten differ-
ent countries The purpose of the training
program was to teach students to conduct
health disparities research in an interna-
tional context and build collaborative
teams at various universities and rehabili-
tation facilities The specific focus was the
psychosocial functioning of individuals
from understudied global regions with
neurological conditions such as traumatic
brain injury dementia spinal cord injury
and multiple sclerosis Unpaid family care-
givers often provide the majority of the
informal care to individuals with these
conditions yet have very few resources in
order to meet their family and caregiving
needs Therefore a major goal of these
projects was to study the factors related
to mental and physical health of caregiv-
ers and to create culturally sensitive
health care recommendations for these
regions The team is accumulating evi-
dence for interventions that will improve
the quality of informal care for individuals
with neurological conditions in regions
such as Latin America where much of this
research is being conducted
Each of the VCU doctoral students had the
opportunity to take the lead on projects
studying the potential protective and risk
factors associated with caregiver mental
and physical health in either older adults
with dementia or in children with spinal
cord injuries and disorders They were
also able to propose potential future pro-
jects with existing data or completely new
data collections based in various under-
studied global regions such as in Neiva
Colombia Auckland New Zealand Copen-
hagen Denmark and Mexico City Mexico
among many others Perrin and the team
of international researchers offered a
number of seminars on advanced research
methods and statistics such as factor
analysis structural equation modeling
qualitative research methods meta-
analysis neuroimaging and scientific man-
uscript preparation
The
group
was able
to take
part in
many
cultural
experi-
ences
and enjoyed exploring the city of Bilbao
and the surrounding countryside and
beaches The researchers and students
spent most of their time in the countryrsquos
Basque region where they were able to
visit the iconic Guggenheim Museum of
modern and contemporary art innumera-
ble pintxo restaurants (a specialty of this
region similar to tapas) and a celebration
of Bilbaorsquos 713th anniversary
The group also traveled to many places
around the country including Bermeo and
San Sebastiaacuten which are located on the
Northern coast of Spain near the border of
France In Bermeo they made a trek to
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe a hermitage
that is accessed by hiking down a narrow
trail crossing a stone bridge and walking
up approximately 230 steps The group
felt the hike was definitely worth the
effort though andmdashas a legend in-
structsmdashgot to the peak rang a bell three
times and made three wishes Together
many of the researchers and students also
took a day trip to San Sebastiaacuten a coastal
town that rests on the Bay of Biscay fa-
mous for its renowned Basque food and
of course its shoreline They also got the
chance to venture to southern France and
Barcelona
Spotlight on International Research and Learning
Paul Perrin PhD
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student
in the health psychology program
ldquoA major goal of these
projects was to study the
factors related to mental
and physical health of
caregivers and to create
culturally sensitive health
care recommendations for
these regionsrdquo
ldquoI had a wonderful experience in Bilbao When I started graduate
school I certainly did not expect I would get to travel abroad to do
research It was a really unique opportunity getting to meet and work with well-known researchers from around the world Bilbao
is beautiful and I did quite a bit of exploring in and around the city
learning the areas rich cultural customs and history It is a good
feeling to know that our research has the potential to help im-prove the quality of life of patients with neurological conditions
and their caregiversrdquo
Shaina Gulin clinical psychology doctoral student
Back row [L to R] Javier Pentildea
(Spain) Hinemoa Elder (New Zea-
land) Nada Andelic (Norway)
Alfonso Caracuel (Spain) Hugo
Senra (Portugal) Stephen Trapp
(USA) Ivan Panyavin (Spain)
Anne Norup (Denmark) Charles
Hallmark (USA) Alejandra Morlett
(USA) Alexander Moreno
(Canada) Rociacuteo Del Pino Saacuteez
(Spain) Clara Isabel Gonzaacutelez
Berdugo (Spain) Maria Cristina
Quijano (Colombia) Yaneth Rodri-
guez (Mexico)
Front row [L to R] Juan Carlos
Arango-Lasprilla (Spain) Carlos de
los Reyes (Colombia) Megan
Sutter (USA) Sarah Doyle (USA)
Gillian Leibach (USA) Shaina Gulin
(USA) Naroa Ibarretxe (Spain)
Paul Perrin (USA)
Kristin Heron PhD from Penn State University visited the de-
partment early in the fall semester Heron is associate director
of the Dynamic Real-time Ecological Ambulatory Methodologies
Initiative at Penn States Survey Research Center In this posi-
tion she uses ecological momentary assessment and ecological
momentary intervention in her research focused on a range of
clinical health topics including eating behaviors body image
physical activity promotion and smoking cessation Ecological
momentary assessment broadly refers to the use of assess-
ments (eg questionnaires) that capture information about
people as they go about their daily lives in their natural environ-
ment (eg home) Ecological momentary intervention refers to
interventions or treat-
ments that are delivered
to individuals as they go
about their daily lives
Heron spent time training
students in Dr Robin
Everharts research lab on
ecological momentary
assessment for a pediatric
asthma study that will
allow families to use
smart phones as they re-
port on their childs asth-
ma care in real time
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
professor of psychology
at the University of Vir-
ginia presented a talk to
the department in Sep-
tember titled ldquoThe Psy-
chological Wealth of
Nationsrdquo
Here is the abstract
What is a good society
Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good
society is a happy society―namely a society in which most citi-
zens are happy and free from fear Since the publication of
ldquoThe Wealth of Nationsrdquo by Adam Smith in 1776 most econo-
mists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a material-
ly wealthy society Thus gross national product and related
indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of
nations from the 1950rsquos to date Recently however prominent
economists as well as political scientists sociologists and psy-
chologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materi-
ally wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust
one another have a sense of freedom and have close social re-
lationships The inquiry into the psychological wealth of na-
tions or the subjective well-being of nations helps answer a
fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for mil-
lennia lsquolsquoWhat is a good societyrsquo
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
Kristin Heron PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Benita Belvet
Jessica Brown
Suzzette Chopin
Lillian Christon Arnold
Ashley Dibble
Rebecca Hubbard
David Jennings
Nichole Kelly
Laurin Mack
Priscilla Powell
Molly Neff
Laura Slosky
Denicia Titchner
Stephanie Wolf
Bachelor of Science
Vanessa Agyeman
Hasen Alghamdi
Latessa Allums
Michael Amon
Sonja Ayers
Sweska Basnet
Kirstie Breland
Erica Brown
Ashley Callis
Jakwame Carey
Megan Cavanagh
Grace Charriez
Courtney Christian
Alicia Cook
Aldijana Cordic
Jonathan Cox
Mary Dean
Anne Fishback
Sherona Gardner
Andrew Gibbs
Myra Glorioso
Logan Gravitt
Lateisha Greene
Katelyn Gruber
Jamila Harris
Tiquana Hill
James Hovermale
Savonne Howard
Marshall Hunter
Kelley Hurdle
Arturo Iglesias
Lucas Keckley
Hira Khalid
Jamison Lancaster
Dana Larson
Russ Lawrence
Michele Mascatello
Rachel Mason
Tiffany Mayo
Natasha McCoy
Alexandra McDougall
Brandie Mckenzie
Xue Ju Meyer
Scott Misturini
Lindsay Mitchiner
Lea Moisa
Brooke Myers
Krislee Nelson
Paul Norton
Sierre Norton
Kristin Oravetz
Stephen Page
Ryan Pannell
Kevin Papile
Natalie Parks
Krishna Patel
Justin Payne
James Peacock
Quy Phan
Cecilia Presseau
Nathalie Rieder
Kylessia Ross
Faryal Shahid
Katelyn Sisk
Angel Slach
Indira Smajlagic
Natalie Taylor
Adrienne Tetreault
Brandon Tolbert
Tierraney Truss
James Vosti
Brenda Wei
Patrick Wiley
Alaysia Williams
Lyndsay Wilshaw
Christopher Wilson
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to
education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual
orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of Psychology
806 W Franklin St
PO Box 842018
Richmond VA 23284-2018
Phone 804-828-1193
Fax 804-828-2237
Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu
Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu
Virginia Commonwealth
University
Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology
A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine
Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from
bottom on far right
the participants had PTSD for several
decades rather than several years Both
Margolies and Mack were funded by
prestigious Rehabilitation Research Fel-
lowship awards for over $61000 com-
bined from the Department of Veteran
Affairs
CBT for insomnia was developed by a
group of pioneering researchers begin-
ning twenty-five years ago VCU Psychol-
ogy and Psychiatry has a long history
with this pioneering work One of the
most prolific researchers in this area
Jack Edinger PhD (rsquo78) is an alumnus of
the clinical psychology program and an-
other prominent researcher Charles
Morin PhD was a faculty member at
VCU While here Morin conducted one
of the first randomized clinical trials
showing that CBT was superior to hyp-
notic sleep medications CBT has several
treatment components including an ini-
tial reduction in sleep to increase sleep
drive and retrain normal sleep as well as
a method for eliminating time spent in
bed while awake to weaken the associa-
tion between being in bed and having
anxiety about not falling asleep The
treatment also includes education in the
science of
sleep in order
to provide the
patient with an
ldquoownerrsquos man-
ualrdquo for their
sleep system
These studies
contribute to
growing evi-
dence that CBT
for insomnia is
a treatment
that should be
offered to all
mental health
patients as a
supplement to
other treatments they are receiving that
are targeting the primary mental health
diagnosis Not only is sleep substantially
improved as a result of these interven-
tions but other mental health symptoms
are alleviated as a consequence of im-
proved sleep Additionally there are no
side effects treatment is brief the bene-
fits are sustained over time and the cost
is limited especially when employing self
-help materials The challenge that lies
ahead is training more clinicians to deliv-
er this brief treatment and getting the
word is out to health professionals and
the public that this should be a first line
treatment for persistent insomnia Alt-
hough a 2005 National Institutes of
Health expert panel recommended that
CBT be offered to all chronic insomnia
sufferers before prescribing a medica-
tion there has been very limited pro-
gress in dissemination thus far This is
due to the public and professional bias
towards the use of medications and the
lack of awareness of this newer treat-
ment approach To address the science-
practice gap future research by
Rybarczyk and colleagues will test a
ldquostepped carerdquo approach to delivering
CBT in primary care using varied levels
of treatment intensity and different
methods of delivery including the Inter-
net This stepped care approach will be
tested in primary care offices The con-
cept was detailed in a 2011 publication
by Mack and Rybarczyk
Although there are less than two hun-
dred clinical psychologists who are ex-
perts and researchers in CBT for insom-
nia a remarkable number of them are
VCU clinical psychology alumni In addi-
tion to Edinger and Rybarczyk Jason
Ong PhD (rsquo04 clinical program) is
board certified in behavioral sleep medi-
cine and is a prominent insomnia re-
searcher at Rush University Medical Cen-
ter in Chicago Don Townsend PhD
(rsquo99 clinical program) is a board certified
sleep clinician at the Fairview Sleep Cen-
ter in Minnesota and Kevin Smith PhD
(rsquo04 clinical program) is an assistant pro-
fessor of pediatrics at the University of
Missouri-Kansas City and is board certi-
fied in behavioral sleep medicine VCU
alumni are likely to have an even larger
impact on the growing field of behavioral
sleep medicine in the future as all four
of the recent graduates who conducted
the research
described
above are con-
tinuing to work
in this field
VCU faculty contributors to the studies de-scribed above include Drs Steve Danish David Leszczyszyn John Lynch (MS lsquo86 PhD lsquo89) Tim Nay and Scott Vra-na
Bruce Rybarczyk PhD and Denise Borden MD discuss a patientrsquos care in VCUrsquos Primary Care Clinic
Over the past year the news has been filled with ongoing
legislative disputes in Washington Terms like fiscal cliff
debt ceiling and sequestration have become part of our vo-
cabulary With myriad predictions being made it can be
hard to decipher what impact recent government actions
could have here in our department
There are several recent government actions that could sub-
stantially influence research activity in Psychology The
first is known as sequestration or the ldquofiscal cliffrdquo This
was a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011 which im-
posed across-the-board cuts to defense and discretionary
programs in the event that Congress could not reach a com-
promise on the federal budget The Act was supposed to
motivate Congress to reach a solution as no one wanted or
expected to see sequestration implemented Unfortunately
Congress failed to reach a compromise and sequestration
went into effect on March 1 2013
Sequestration resulted in substantial budget cuts to our ma-
jor federal funders The National Institutes for Health Psy-
chologyrsquos largest funding source lost 5 of its total budget
amounting to $155 billion Since these were across-the-
board cuts no area of health research was spared As a
result we have received fewer new awards and our contin-
uing awards have been reduced VCU President Michael
Rao estimated in February that VCUrsquos grant portfolio could
see reductions of $12-$21 million by September 2013 as a
direct result of sequestration Luckily we have not seen
this dire outcome just yetmdashVCUrsquos grant award portfolio
showed excellent performance in fiscal year 2013mdashbut that
does not mean that effects will not be felt later
For example at the department level fewer new grant
awards could result in a lack of replacement funding for
projects slated to end soon Individuals paid from those
projects would likely be laid off if no source of new fund-
ing could be found Reduced budgets for continuing pro-
jects could result in cuts to the number of people a given
project could support Sequestration will also make it hard-
er for new faculty to get their first grants as grant programs
become increasingly competitive This in turn makes it
harder for them to support graduate students and postdoc-
toral associates There could also be an impact on federally
funded fellowships scholarships and student aid The fed-
eral work-study program for example could lose up to $50
million dollars as a result of sequestration That represents
a substantial number of students who would have to find
other sources of income
As if that were not enough sequestration is only one piece
of the puzzle Other government actions have the potential
to compound the impacts One such action is the Afforda-
ble Care Act otherwise known as ldquoObamacarerdquo Aside
from the obvious controversy the ACA has had some unin-
tended consequences In Virginia it resulted in the Man-
power Control Act or the 29-Hour Rule This law limits
part-time and hourly employees to a total of 29 hours per
week This has resulted in loss of income for students and
other part-time employees some of whom have historically
held multiple jobs at the university Multiple university
jobs are no longer allowed under the Manpower Control
Act In addition since the rule applies to adjunct faculty
too it has resulted in a reduction in the number of credit
hours they can teach This means an additional burden on
the already overloaded full-time faculty who must make up
The Impact of Recent US Government Actions on the
Departmentrsquos Research Mission
Brigette S Pfister MHRD CRA
Page 9
the shortfall in credit hours taught in addition to their ex-
isting responsibilitiesmdashlike grant writing This could fur-
ther depress our new award activity over the next few
years
The recent government shutdown adds another dimension
of complexity The government shutdown was brought
about by circumstances similar to those of sequestration
Once again legislators needed to compromise on the feder-
al budget in order to avert disaster This time the point of
contention was the Affordable Care Act Republicans
wanted to defund the ACA as a condition of passing the
Continuing Resolution that would keep the government
operational Democrats refused to approve any bill that
attempted to defund or otherwise nullify the ACA Once
again no compromise was reached and the government
shutdown took effect on October 1 2013
Immediately many federal systems were taken of-
fline We could not submit new proposals progress reports
or even establish new accounts Awards already delayed
and reduced by sequestration stopped altogether for the
duration of the shutdown Though there is widespread
conjecture on the subject no one really knows what the
long term impact will be on university research
During the shutdown work on existing projects was al-
lowed to continue provided that funding had already been
made available However we were unable to draw down
funds from the federal government In other words if we
didnrsquot already have it then we couldnrsquot spend it If the
shutdown had gone on longer even existing projects would
have probably had to lay off grant funded personnel and in
some cases completely stop work Also the government
doesnrsquot process passports and visas during the shutdown
so projects that depend on foreign travel were held up con-
siderably
The situation could worsen if Congress fails to devise a
workable long-term solution when the current debt ceiling
expires on February 7 If there is failure to compromise
the United States could default on our national debt There
is no clear picture of what the impacts of that would be but
we know they would not be positive
Since our overall grant portfolio at VCU did not appear to
suffer in fiscal year 2013 it might be tempting to disregard
some of the more dire warnings However it is important
to recognize that incoming awards are based on proposals
submitted in fiscal year 2012 or earlier so many of those
funding decisions were made prior to the most current cri-
sis We probably wont see the true impact of all of the
above until fiscal year 2014 or thereafter At minimum
the cessation of all proposal activity during the shutdown
will result in delayed resumption of award activity in addi-
tion to the delays and budget cuts already happening be-
cause of sequestration This will likely cause our total
awarded dollars to decrease over the next few years
Overall the impact on VCU research may not be disas-
trous but at the department level grant projects and the
individuals working on those projects could suffer signifi-
cant impact from the cumulative effects
Brigette S Pfister is director of sponsored programs for the
College of Humanities and Sciences at VCU
Dome United States Capitol Washington DC
Architect of the Capitol
Adriana Rodriguez graduated from the
University of California Berkeley in 2008
with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and
a minor in ethnic studies Following grad-
uation Rodriguez obtained a research as-
sistant position with Bruce Chorpita
PhD at UCLA helping to advance the
effectiveness of mental health treatment
for children and adolescents Her work
with Chorpita further solidified her aspira-
tion to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical
psychology working specifically with racial
andor ethnic minority youth
Rodriguez joined the Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD research laboratory as a
doctoral student in clinical psychology in
the fall of 2010 When asked why Rodri-
guez decided to attend VCU she stated
that she felt inspired and motivated by the
energy and innovation that Southam-
Gerow brings to the field of psychology
ldquoIt was the best decision I could have
maderdquo
In reflecting on her experience at VCU
Rodriguez is struck by how collaborative
the department in general and her lab in
particular are Her research interests lie
broadly in the dissemination and imple-
mentation of mental health treatment for
children and adolescents She is also in-
terested in cultural and linguistic adapta-
tions of assessments to minority popula-
tions in real-world clinic settings Recent-
ly Rodriguez was able to collaborate with
Rosalie Corona PhD of the clinical psy-
chology program whose work focuses on
health promotion and risk reduction
among ethnic minority populations In
working with Latina college students Ro-
driguez notes ldquoI understand the difficul-
ties that this population is facing from a
policy perspective and also through my
personal experiencehellip I was that kid who
didnrsquot have enough money for the bus
farerdquo
Born to a working-class Mexican family
Rodriguez is the first to receive a college
education let alone pursue a graduate
degree Her work is driven in part by a
desire to empower her family and culture
while forging her own identity
When asked about career aspirations she
responds ldquoI want to keep goinghellip go as far
as I canrdquo Rodriguez is molding herself for
a research position in academia where she
would ideally like to serve at the public
policy level of mental health treatment
dissemination and implementation
In her spare time she enjoys running long
distances around Richmondrsquos Byrd Park
and Brownrsquos Island She also spends time
drawing particularly individuals with pro-
nounced facial expressions Rodriguez
jokes that this interest probably stems
from all the time she has spent coding vid-
eotapes in the Southam-Gerow lab
Graduate Student Spotlight
Adriana Rodriguez MS Clinical Psychology program
The Global Bridges Project is a community engaged research pro-ject directed by Maghboeba Mosavel PhD of VCUrsquos Department of Social and Behavioral Health School of Medicine This summer Mosavel led a small team of six students to the University of Kwa-Zulu-Natalmdasha VCU international partner universitymdashin Durban South Africa to conduct community engaged research in the Ken-neth Gardens public housing community in Durban Jasmine Abrams and Morgan Maxwell were two of those students A third student Carrie Miller is a second year master of public health student who has previously worked for the Department of Psychol-ogy as project coordinator for Clarissa Holmes PhD Abrams and Maxwell chronicled their work in Durban on this blog httpbuilding-global-bridgesblogspotcom Itrsquos a great read
Submitted by Annie Rabinovitz doctoral
student in the clinical psychology program
Abrams Maxwell
Linda A Mensah-Etsi (see front cover) a
junior psychology major is a recent recipi-
ent of the Melvin V Lubman Scholarship
in Psychology The Melvin V Lubman
Scholarship was established by Mrs Golde
Lubman Feldman to honor her husbandrsquos
dedication and service as a professor in
the Department of Psychology Mensah-
Etsi reports that the scholarship will help
her greatly with her tuition and fees
When asked why she chose psychology as
a major Mensah-Etsi said that she is curi-
ous about many things and psychology
was the one subject that kept her interest
piqued at all times She said ldquoI like how I
can always be surprised by all the different
topics covered under psychology alonerdquo
Surely her constant interest is in part due
to her two ldquoall-time favoriterdquo classesmdash
Statistical Applications in the Psychology
Field with Linda Zyzniewski PhD and
Abnormal Psychology with adjunct profes-
sor Jessica Brown Mensah-Etsi picked
these as her favorites because she likes
the mathematical focus of statistics and
admitted to having an ldquoobsessionrdquo with
mental illnesses
Continuing her love for the subject Men-
sah-Etsi has decided to further her skills by
applying for several internships through-
out the department After narrowing
down her choices for internships this fall
from three options she is excited to have
begun her new internship at VCUrsquos Clark
Hill Institute for Positive Youth
Development She says she chose this op-
portunity because ldquonot only is it in the
field in which I am currently interested
the internship will give me the opportunity
to learn a valuable coding skill that I might
eventually need to userdquo
A former volunteer elementary school
teachers aide she has a clear interest in
working with children and teens and
would like to pursue another volunteer
opportunity with the organization Stop
Child Abuse Now here in Richmond
With time on her side Mensah-Etsi cer-
tainly has plenty of opportunities to
change her career path She hopes she
can get a job with her degree or perhaps
continue on to graduate school and even
sees a career in research as a possibility
Ultimately though she is interested in
counseling young children or teens who
have experienced trauma Her goal is to
help kids ldquounderstand that at least one
person is on their side even if it seems that
they have to deal with it on their ownrdquo
One of the many interesting aspects of
this junior is that she is only 18 years old
She was a mere 16 years of age when she
first enrolled at VCU and proves daily that
age has nothing to do with capacity for
success A very hard worker when asked
about her free time Mensah-Etsi says she
has been very preoccupied with school-
work as well as with working two jobs
However she says working out at the gym
has been very close to a hobby for her
lately
When shersquos not in Richmond Mensah-Etsi
lives in Alexandria with her family We
asked her why she chose to settle in Rich-
mond and attend VCU and she jokingly
said it is because her two favorite colors
are black and yellow ldquoOn a serious noterdquo
she stated ldquoI just really fell in love with
the city when I visited so there was no
doubt in my mind that I wanted to attend
VCU I grew up in a city so this felt close
to homerdquo
A native of Togo in West Africa Mensah-
Etsi moved to the US in 2007 shortly be-
fore she turned 13 She says it wasnrsquot a
hard transition for her as she already
spoke French and Ewe (an ethnic lan-
guage) so English was quite easy to learn
by comparison She indeed misses the
spicy foods of Togo but also says that
while other people in Richmond may be
annoyed by the street sounds lights and
crooked sidewalks it makes her feel right
at home
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral stu-
dent in the health psychology program
Undergraduate Student Spotlight
Linda A Mensah-Etsi Class of lsquo15
Congratulations to David Rockman class of 2013 for receiving the Benjamin A Gilman Scholarship Rockman will receive $5000 to study in one country from four weeks to one academic year Named after retired Congressman Benjamin A Gilman from New York the programrsquos goal is to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go
This summer Paul Perrin PhD led six
VCU psychology doctoral students on a
month-long expedition to the University of
Deusto in Bilbao Spain to participate in a
research training program on racialethnic
disparities in health The trip was due in
large part to Perrinrsquos ongoing collabora-
tion with Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla
PhD a research professor in the Universi-
ty of Deustorsquos Department of Psychology
and former faculty member in VCUrsquos De-
partment of Physical Medicine and Reha-
bilitation Perrin and Arango-Lasprilla
spent the past year planning and coordi-
nating this unique opportunity for stu-
dents who worked with them on various
research projects meeting and collabo-
rating with researchers from all over the
world Among the group of 20 interna-
tional researchers contributing to and par-
ticipating in this training program were
psychology doctoral students Gillian Lei-
bach and Stephen Trapp of the counseling
program Sarah Doyle of the developmen-
tal program Shaina Gulin of the clinical
program and Alejandra Morlett Paredes
and Megan Sutter of the health program
The students worked with a team of inter-
national researchers spanning ten differ-
ent countries The purpose of the training
program was to teach students to conduct
health disparities research in an interna-
tional context and build collaborative
teams at various universities and rehabili-
tation facilities The specific focus was the
psychosocial functioning of individuals
from understudied global regions with
neurological conditions such as traumatic
brain injury dementia spinal cord injury
and multiple sclerosis Unpaid family care-
givers often provide the majority of the
informal care to individuals with these
conditions yet have very few resources in
order to meet their family and caregiving
needs Therefore a major goal of these
projects was to study the factors related
to mental and physical health of caregiv-
ers and to create culturally sensitive
health care recommendations for these
regions The team is accumulating evi-
dence for interventions that will improve
the quality of informal care for individuals
with neurological conditions in regions
such as Latin America where much of this
research is being conducted
Each of the VCU doctoral students had the
opportunity to take the lead on projects
studying the potential protective and risk
factors associated with caregiver mental
and physical health in either older adults
with dementia or in children with spinal
cord injuries and disorders They were
also able to propose potential future pro-
jects with existing data or completely new
data collections based in various under-
studied global regions such as in Neiva
Colombia Auckland New Zealand Copen-
hagen Denmark and Mexico City Mexico
among many others Perrin and the team
of international researchers offered a
number of seminars on advanced research
methods and statistics such as factor
analysis structural equation modeling
qualitative research methods meta-
analysis neuroimaging and scientific man-
uscript preparation
The
group
was able
to take
part in
many
cultural
experi-
ences
and enjoyed exploring the city of Bilbao
and the surrounding countryside and
beaches The researchers and students
spent most of their time in the countryrsquos
Basque region where they were able to
visit the iconic Guggenheim Museum of
modern and contemporary art innumera-
ble pintxo restaurants (a specialty of this
region similar to tapas) and a celebration
of Bilbaorsquos 713th anniversary
The group also traveled to many places
around the country including Bermeo and
San Sebastiaacuten which are located on the
Northern coast of Spain near the border of
France In Bermeo they made a trek to
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe a hermitage
that is accessed by hiking down a narrow
trail crossing a stone bridge and walking
up approximately 230 steps The group
felt the hike was definitely worth the
effort though andmdashas a legend in-
structsmdashgot to the peak rang a bell three
times and made three wishes Together
many of the researchers and students also
took a day trip to San Sebastiaacuten a coastal
town that rests on the Bay of Biscay fa-
mous for its renowned Basque food and
of course its shoreline They also got the
chance to venture to southern France and
Barcelona
Spotlight on International Research and Learning
Paul Perrin PhD
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student
in the health psychology program
ldquoA major goal of these
projects was to study the
factors related to mental
and physical health of
caregivers and to create
culturally sensitive health
care recommendations for
these regionsrdquo
ldquoI had a wonderful experience in Bilbao When I started graduate
school I certainly did not expect I would get to travel abroad to do
research It was a really unique opportunity getting to meet and work with well-known researchers from around the world Bilbao
is beautiful and I did quite a bit of exploring in and around the city
learning the areas rich cultural customs and history It is a good
feeling to know that our research has the potential to help im-prove the quality of life of patients with neurological conditions
and their caregiversrdquo
Shaina Gulin clinical psychology doctoral student
Back row [L to R] Javier Pentildea
(Spain) Hinemoa Elder (New Zea-
land) Nada Andelic (Norway)
Alfonso Caracuel (Spain) Hugo
Senra (Portugal) Stephen Trapp
(USA) Ivan Panyavin (Spain)
Anne Norup (Denmark) Charles
Hallmark (USA) Alejandra Morlett
(USA) Alexander Moreno
(Canada) Rociacuteo Del Pino Saacuteez
(Spain) Clara Isabel Gonzaacutelez
Berdugo (Spain) Maria Cristina
Quijano (Colombia) Yaneth Rodri-
guez (Mexico)
Front row [L to R] Juan Carlos
Arango-Lasprilla (Spain) Carlos de
los Reyes (Colombia) Megan
Sutter (USA) Sarah Doyle (USA)
Gillian Leibach (USA) Shaina Gulin
(USA) Naroa Ibarretxe (Spain)
Paul Perrin (USA)
Kristin Heron PhD from Penn State University visited the de-
partment early in the fall semester Heron is associate director
of the Dynamic Real-time Ecological Ambulatory Methodologies
Initiative at Penn States Survey Research Center In this posi-
tion she uses ecological momentary assessment and ecological
momentary intervention in her research focused on a range of
clinical health topics including eating behaviors body image
physical activity promotion and smoking cessation Ecological
momentary assessment broadly refers to the use of assess-
ments (eg questionnaires) that capture information about
people as they go about their daily lives in their natural environ-
ment (eg home) Ecological momentary intervention refers to
interventions or treat-
ments that are delivered
to individuals as they go
about their daily lives
Heron spent time training
students in Dr Robin
Everharts research lab on
ecological momentary
assessment for a pediatric
asthma study that will
allow families to use
smart phones as they re-
port on their childs asth-
ma care in real time
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
professor of psychology
at the University of Vir-
ginia presented a talk to
the department in Sep-
tember titled ldquoThe Psy-
chological Wealth of
Nationsrdquo
Here is the abstract
What is a good society
Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good
society is a happy society―namely a society in which most citi-
zens are happy and free from fear Since the publication of
ldquoThe Wealth of Nationsrdquo by Adam Smith in 1776 most econo-
mists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a material-
ly wealthy society Thus gross national product and related
indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of
nations from the 1950rsquos to date Recently however prominent
economists as well as political scientists sociologists and psy-
chologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materi-
ally wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust
one another have a sense of freedom and have close social re-
lationships The inquiry into the psychological wealth of na-
tions or the subjective well-being of nations helps answer a
fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for mil-
lennia lsquolsquoWhat is a good societyrsquo
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
Kristin Heron PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Benita Belvet
Jessica Brown
Suzzette Chopin
Lillian Christon Arnold
Ashley Dibble
Rebecca Hubbard
David Jennings
Nichole Kelly
Laurin Mack
Priscilla Powell
Molly Neff
Laura Slosky
Denicia Titchner
Stephanie Wolf
Bachelor of Science
Vanessa Agyeman
Hasen Alghamdi
Latessa Allums
Michael Amon
Sonja Ayers
Sweska Basnet
Kirstie Breland
Erica Brown
Ashley Callis
Jakwame Carey
Megan Cavanagh
Grace Charriez
Courtney Christian
Alicia Cook
Aldijana Cordic
Jonathan Cox
Mary Dean
Anne Fishback
Sherona Gardner
Andrew Gibbs
Myra Glorioso
Logan Gravitt
Lateisha Greene
Katelyn Gruber
Jamila Harris
Tiquana Hill
James Hovermale
Savonne Howard
Marshall Hunter
Kelley Hurdle
Arturo Iglesias
Lucas Keckley
Hira Khalid
Jamison Lancaster
Dana Larson
Russ Lawrence
Michele Mascatello
Rachel Mason
Tiffany Mayo
Natasha McCoy
Alexandra McDougall
Brandie Mckenzie
Xue Ju Meyer
Scott Misturini
Lindsay Mitchiner
Lea Moisa
Brooke Myers
Krislee Nelson
Paul Norton
Sierre Norton
Kristin Oravetz
Stephen Page
Ryan Pannell
Kevin Papile
Natalie Parks
Krishna Patel
Justin Payne
James Peacock
Quy Phan
Cecilia Presseau
Nathalie Rieder
Kylessia Ross
Faryal Shahid
Katelyn Sisk
Angel Slach
Indira Smajlagic
Natalie Taylor
Adrienne Tetreault
Brandon Tolbert
Tierraney Truss
James Vosti
Brenda Wei
Patrick Wiley
Alaysia Williams
Lyndsay Wilshaw
Christopher Wilson
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to
education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual
orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of Psychology
806 W Franklin St
PO Box 842018
Richmond VA 23284-2018
Phone 804-828-1193
Fax 804-828-2237
Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu
Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu
Virginia Commonwealth
University
Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology
A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine
Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from
bottom on far right
Over the past year the news has been filled with ongoing
legislative disputes in Washington Terms like fiscal cliff
debt ceiling and sequestration have become part of our vo-
cabulary With myriad predictions being made it can be
hard to decipher what impact recent government actions
could have here in our department
There are several recent government actions that could sub-
stantially influence research activity in Psychology The
first is known as sequestration or the ldquofiscal cliffrdquo This
was a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011 which im-
posed across-the-board cuts to defense and discretionary
programs in the event that Congress could not reach a com-
promise on the federal budget The Act was supposed to
motivate Congress to reach a solution as no one wanted or
expected to see sequestration implemented Unfortunately
Congress failed to reach a compromise and sequestration
went into effect on March 1 2013
Sequestration resulted in substantial budget cuts to our ma-
jor federal funders The National Institutes for Health Psy-
chologyrsquos largest funding source lost 5 of its total budget
amounting to $155 billion Since these were across-the-
board cuts no area of health research was spared As a
result we have received fewer new awards and our contin-
uing awards have been reduced VCU President Michael
Rao estimated in February that VCUrsquos grant portfolio could
see reductions of $12-$21 million by September 2013 as a
direct result of sequestration Luckily we have not seen
this dire outcome just yetmdashVCUrsquos grant award portfolio
showed excellent performance in fiscal year 2013mdashbut that
does not mean that effects will not be felt later
For example at the department level fewer new grant
awards could result in a lack of replacement funding for
projects slated to end soon Individuals paid from those
projects would likely be laid off if no source of new fund-
ing could be found Reduced budgets for continuing pro-
jects could result in cuts to the number of people a given
project could support Sequestration will also make it hard-
er for new faculty to get their first grants as grant programs
become increasingly competitive This in turn makes it
harder for them to support graduate students and postdoc-
toral associates There could also be an impact on federally
funded fellowships scholarships and student aid The fed-
eral work-study program for example could lose up to $50
million dollars as a result of sequestration That represents
a substantial number of students who would have to find
other sources of income
As if that were not enough sequestration is only one piece
of the puzzle Other government actions have the potential
to compound the impacts One such action is the Afforda-
ble Care Act otherwise known as ldquoObamacarerdquo Aside
from the obvious controversy the ACA has had some unin-
tended consequences In Virginia it resulted in the Man-
power Control Act or the 29-Hour Rule This law limits
part-time and hourly employees to a total of 29 hours per
week This has resulted in loss of income for students and
other part-time employees some of whom have historically
held multiple jobs at the university Multiple university
jobs are no longer allowed under the Manpower Control
Act In addition since the rule applies to adjunct faculty
too it has resulted in a reduction in the number of credit
hours they can teach This means an additional burden on
the already overloaded full-time faculty who must make up
The Impact of Recent US Government Actions on the
Departmentrsquos Research Mission
Brigette S Pfister MHRD CRA
Page 9
the shortfall in credit hours taught in addition to their ex-
isting responsibilitiesmdashlike grant writing This could fur-
ther depress our new award activity over the next few
years
The recent government shutdown adds another dimension
of complexity The government shutdown was brought
about by circumstances similar to those of sequestration
Once again legislators needed to compromise on the feder-
al budget in order to avert disaster This time the point of
contention was the Affordable Care Act Republicans
wanted to defund the ACA as a condition of passing the
Continuing Resolution that would keep the government
operational Democrats refused to approve any bill that
attempted to defund or otherwise nullify the ACA Once
again no compromise was reached and the government
shutdown took effect on October 1 2013
Immediately many federal systems were taken of-
fline We could not submit new proposals progress reports
or even establish new accounts Awards already delayed
and reduced by sequestration stopped altogether for the
duration of the shutdown Though there is widespread
conjecture on the subject no one really knows what the
long term impact will be on university research
During the shutdown work on existing projects was al-
lowed to continue provided that funding had already been
made available However we were unable to draw down
funds from the federal government In other words if we
didnrsquot already have it then we couldnrsquot spend it If the
shutdown had gone on longer even existing projects would
have probably had to lay off grant funded personnel and in
some cases completely stop work Also the government
doesnrsquot process passports and visas during the shutdown
so projects that depend on foreign travel were held up con-
siderably
The situation could worsen if Congress fails to devise a
workable long-term solution when the current debt ceiling
expires on February 7 If there is failure to compromise
the United States could default on our national debt There
is no clear picture of what the impacts of that would be but
we know they would not be positive
Since our overall grant portfolio at VCU did not appear to
suffer in fiscal year 2013 it might be tempting to disregard
some of the more dire warnings However it is important
to recognize that incoming awards are based on proposals
submitted in fiscal year 2012 or earlier so many of those
funding decisions were made prior to the most current cri-
sis We probably wont see the true impact of all of the
above until fiscal year 2014 or thereafter At minimum
the cessation of all proposal activity during the shutdown
will result in delayed resumption of award activity in addi-
tion to the delays and budget cuts already happening be-
cause of sequestration This will likely cause our total
awarded dollars to decrease over the next few years
Overall the impact on VCU research may not be disas-
trous but at the department level grant projects and the
individuals working on those projects could suffer signifi-
cant impact from the cumulative effects
Brigette S Pfister is director of sponsored programs for the
College of Humanities and Sciences at VCU
Dome United States Capitol Washington DC
Architect of the Capitol
Adriana Rodriguez graduated from the
University of California Berkeley in 2008
with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and
a minor in ethnic studies Following grad-
uation Rodriguez obtained a research as-
sistant position with Bruce Chorpita
PhD at UCLA helping to advance the
effectiveness of mental health treatment
for children and adolescents Her work
with Chorpita further solidified her aspira-
tion to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical
psychology working specifically with racial
andor ethnic minority youth
Rodriguez joined the Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD research laboratory as a
doctoral student in clinical psychology in
the fall of 2010 When asked why Rodri-
guez decided to attend VCU she stated
that she felt inspired and motivated by the
energy and innovation that Southam-
Gerow brings to the field of psychology
ldquoIt was the best decision I could have
maderdquo
In reflecting on her experience at VCU
Rodriguez is struck by how collaborative
the department in general and her lab in
particular are Her research interests lie
broadly in the dissemination and imple-
mentation of mental health treatment for
children and adolescents She is also in-
terested in cultural and linguistic adapta-
tions of assessments to minority popula-
tions in real-world clinic settings Recent-
ly Rodriguez was able to collaborate with
Rosalie Corona PhD of the clinical psy-
chology program whose work focuses on
health promotion and risk reduction
among ethnic minority populations In
working with Latina college students Ro-
driguez notes ldquoI understand the difficul-
ties that this population is facing from a
policy perspective and also through my
personal experiencehellip I was that kid who
didnrsquot have enough money for the bus
farerdquo
Born to a working-class Mexican family
Rodriguez is the first to receive a college
education let alone pursue a graduate
degree Her work is driven in part by a
desire to empower her family and culture
while forging her own identity
When asked about career aspirations she
responds ldquoI want to keep goinghellip go as far
as I canrdquo Rodriguez is molding herself for
a research position in academia where she
would ideally like to serve at the public
policy level of mental health treatment
dissemination and implementation
In her spare time she enjoys running long
distances around Richmondrsquos Byrd Park
and Brownrsquos Island She also spends time
drawing particularly individuals with pro-
nounced facial expressions Rodriguez
jokes that this interest probably stems
from all the time she has spent coding vid-
eotapes in the Southam-Gerow lab
Graduate Student Spotlight
Adriana Rodriguez MS Clinical Psychology program
The Global Bridges Project is a community engaged research pro-ject directed by Maghboeba Mosavel PhD of VCUrsquos Department of Social and Behavioral Health School of Medicine This summer Mosavel led a small team of six students to the University of Kwa-Zulu-Natalmdasha VCU international partner universitymdashin Durban South Africa to conduct community engaged research in the Ken-neth Gardens public housing community in Durban Jasmine Abrams and Morgan Maxwell were two of those students A third student Carrie Miller is a second year master of public health student who has previously worked for the Department of Psychol-ogy as project coordinator for Clarissa Holmes PhD Abrams and Maxwell chronicled their work in Durban on this blog httpbuilding-global-bridgesblogspotcom Itrsquos a great read
Submitted by Annie Rabinovitz doctoral
student in the clinical psychology program
Abrams Maxwell
Linda A Mensah-Etsi (see front cover) a
junior psychology major is a recent recipi-
ent of the Melvin V Lubman Scholarship
in Psychology The Melvin V Lubman
Scholarship was established by Mrs Golde
Lubman Feldman to honor her husbandrsquos
dedication and service as a professor in
the Department of Psychology Mensah-
Etsi reports that the scholarship will help
her greatly with her tuition and fees
When asked why she chose psychology as
a major Mensah-Etsi said that she is curi-
ous about many things and psychology
was the one subject that kept her interest
piqued at all times She said ldquoI like how I
can always be surprised by all the different
topics covered under psychology alonerdquo
Surely her constant interest is in part due
to her two ldquoall-time favoriterdquo classesmdash
Statistical Applications in the Psychology
Field with Linda Zyzniewski PhD and
Abnormal Psychology with adjunct profes-
sor Jessica Brown Mensah-Etsi picked
these as her favorites because she likes
the mathematical focus of statistics and
admitted to having an ldquoobsessionrdquo with
mental illnesses
Continuing her love for the subject Men-
sah-Etsi has decided to further her skills by
applying for several internships through-
out the department After narrowing
down her choices for internships this fall
from three options she is excited to have
begun her new internship at VCUrsquos Clark
Hill Institute for Positive Youth
Development She says she chose this op-
portunity because ldquonot only is it in the
field in which I am currently interested
the internship will give me the opportunity
to learn a valuable coding skill that I might
eventually need to userdquo
A former volunteer elementary school
teachers aide she has a clear interest in
working with children and teens and
would like to pursue another volunteer
opportunity with the organization Stop
Child Abuse Now here in Richmond
With time on her side Mensah-Etsi cer-
tainly has plenty of opportunities to
change her career path She hopes she
can get a job with her degree or perhaps
continue on to graduate school and even
sees a career in research as a possibility
Ultimately though she is interested in
counseling young children or teens who
have experienced trauma Her goal is to
help kids ldquounderstand that at least one
person is on their side even if it seems that
they have to deal with it on their ownrdquo
One of the many interesting aspects of
this junior is that she is only 18 years old
She was a mere 16 years of age when she
first enrolled at VCU and proves daily that
age has nothing to do with capacity for
success A very hard worker when asked
about her free time Mensah-Etsi says she
has been very preoccupied with school-
work as well as with working two jobs
However she says working out at the gym
has been very close to a hobby for her
lately
When shersquos not in Richmond Mensah-Etsi
lives in Alexandria with her family We
asked her why she chose to settle in Rich-
mond and attend VCU and she jokingly
said it is because her two favorite colors
are black and yellow ldquoOn a serious noterdquo
she stated ldquoI just really fell in love with
the city when I visited so there was no
doubt in my mind that I wanted to attend
VCU I grew up in a city so this felt close
to homerdquo
A native of Togo in West Africa Mensah-
Etsi moved to the US in 2007 shortly be-
fore she turned 13 She says it wasnrsquot a
hard transition for her as she already
spoke French and Ewe (an ethnic lan-
guage) so English was quite easy to learn
by comparison She indeed misses the
spicy foods of Togo but also says that
while other people in Richmond may be
annoyed by the street sounds lights and
crooked sidewalks it makes her feel right
at home
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral stu-
dent in the health psychology program
Undergraduate Student Spotlight
Linda A Mensah-Etsi Class of lsquo15
Congratulations to David Rockman class of 2013 for receiving the Benjamin A Gilman Scholarship Rockman will receive $5000 to study in one country from four weeks to one academic year Named after retired Congressman Benjamin A Gilman from New York the programrsquos goal is to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go
This summer Paul Perrin PhD led six
VCU psychology doctoral students on a
month-long expedition to the University of
Deusto in Bilbao Spain to participate in a
research training program on racialethnic
disparities in health The trip was due in
large part to Perrinrsquos ongoing collabora-
tion with Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla
PhD a research professor in the Universi-
ty of Deustorsquos Department of Psychology
and former faculty member in VCUrsquos De-
partment of Physical Medicine and Reha-
bilitation Perrin and Arango-Lasprilla
spent the past year planning and coordi-
nating this unique opportunity for stu-
dents who worked with them on various
research projects meeting and collabo-
rating with researchers from all over the
world Among the group of 20 interna-
tional researchers contributing to and par-
ticipating in this training program were
psychology doctoral students Gillian Lei-
bach and Stephen Trapp of the counseling
program Sarah Doyle of the developmen-
tal program Shaina Gulin of the clinical
program and Alejandra Morlett Paredes
and Megan Sutter of the health program
The students worked with a team of inter-
national researchers spanning ten differ-
ent countries The purpose of the training
program was to teach students to conduct
health disparities research in an interna-
tional context and build collaborative
teams at various universities and rehabili-
tation facilities The specific focus was the
psychosocial functioning of individuals
from understudied global regions with
neurological conditions such as traumatic
brain injury dementia spinal cord injury
and multiple sclerosis Unpaid family care-
givers often provide the majority of the
informal care to individuals with these
conditions yet have very few resources in
order to meet their family and caregiving
needs Therefore a major goal of these
projects was to study the factors related
to mental and physical health of caregiv-
ers and to create culturally sensitive
health care recommendations for these
regions The team is accumulating evi-
dence for interventions that will improve
the quality of informal care for individuals
with neurological conditions in regions
such as Latin America where much of this
research is being conducted
Each of the VCU doctoral students had the
opportunity to take the lead on projects
studying the potential protective and risk
factors associated with caregiver mental
and physical health in either older adults
with dementia or in children with spinal
cord injuries and disorders They were
also able to propose potential future pro-
jects with existing data or completely new
data collections based in various under-
studied global regions such as in Neiva
Colombia Auckland New Zealand Copen-
hagen Denmark and Mexico City Mexico
among many others Perrin and the team
of international researchers offered a
number of seminars on advanced research
methods and statistics such as factor
analysis structural equation modeling
qualitative research methods meta-
analysis neuroimaging and scientific man-
uscript preparation
The
group
was able
to take
part in
many
cultural
experi-
ences
and enjoyed exploring the city of Bilbao
and the surrounding countryside and
beaches The researchers and students
spent most of their time in the countryrsquos
Basque region where they were able to
visit the iconic Guggenheim Museum of
modern and contemporary art innumera-
ble pintxo restaurants (a specialty of this
region similar to tapas) and a celebration
of Bilbaorsquos 713th anniversary
The group also traveled to many places
around the country including Bermeo and
San Sebastiaacuten which are located on the
Northern coast of Spain near the border of
France In Bermeo they made a trek to
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe a hermitage
that is accessed by hiking down a narrow
trail crossing a stone bridge and walking
up approximately 230 steps The group
felt the hike was definitely worth the
effort though andmdashas a legend in-
structsmdashgot to the peak rang a bell three
times and made three wishes Together
many of the researchers and students also
took a day trip to San Sebastiaacuten a coastal
town that rests on the Bay of Biscay fa-
mous for its renowned Basque food and
of course its shoreline They also got the
chance to venture to southern France and
Barcelona
Spotlight on International Research and Learning
Paul Perrin PhD
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student
in the health psychology program
ldquoA major goal of these
projects was to study the
factors related to mental
and physical health of
caregivers and to create
culturally sensitive health
care recommendations for
these regionsrdquo
ldquoI had a wonderful experience in Bilbao When I started graduate
school I certainly did not expect I would get to travel abroad to do
research It was a really unique opportunity getting to meet and work with well-known researchers from around the world Bilbao
is beautiful and I did quite a bit of exploring in and around the city
learning the areas rich cultural customs and history It is a good
feeling to know that our research has the potential to help im-prove the quality of life of patients with neurological conditions
and their caregiversrdquo
Shaina Gulin clinical psychology doctoral student
Back row [L to R] Javier Pentildea
(Spain) Hinemoa Elder (New Zea-
land) Nada Andelic (Norway)
Alfonso Caracuel (Spain) Hugo
Senra (Portugal) Stephen Trapp
(USA) Ivan Panyavin (Spain)
Anne Norup (Denmark) Charles
Hallmark (USA) Alejandra Morlett
(USA) Alexander Moreno
(Canada) Rociacuteo Del Pino Saacuteez
(Spain) Clara Isabel Gonzaacutelez
Berdugo (Spain) Maria Cristina
Quijano (Colombia) Yaneth Rodri-
guez (Mexico)
Front row [L to R] Juan Carlos
Arango-Lasprilla (Spain) Carlos de
los Reyes (Colombia) Megan
Sutter (USA) Sarah Doyle (USA)
Gillian Leibach (USA) Shaina Gulin
(USA) Naroa Ibarretxe (Spain)
Paul Perrin (USA)
Kristin Heron PhD from Penn State University visited the de-
partment early in the fall semester Heron is associate director
of the Dynamic Real-time Ecological Ambulatory Methodologies
Initiative at Penn States Survey Research Center In this posi-
tion she uses ecological momentary assessment and ecological
momentary intervention in her research focused on a range of
clinical health topics including eating behaviors body image
physical activity promotion and smoking cessation Ecological
momentary assessment broadly refers to the use of assess-
ments (eg questionnaires) that capture information about
people as they go about their daily lives in their natural environ-
ment (eg home) Ecological momentary intervention refers to
interventions or treat-
ments that are delivered
to individuals as they go
about their daily lives
Heron spent time training
students in Dr Robin
Everharts research lab on
ecological momentary
assessment for a pediatric
asthma study that will
allow families to use
smart phones as they re-
port on their childs asth-
ma care in real time
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
professor of psychology
at the University of Vir-
ginia presented a talk to
the department in Sep-
tember titled ldquoThe Psy-
chological Wealth of
Nationsrdquo
Here is the abstract
What is a good society
Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good
society is a happy society―namely a society in which most citi-
zens are happy and free from fear Since the publication of
ldquoThe Wealth of Nationsrdquo by Adam Smith in 1776 most econo-
mists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a material-
ly wealthy society Thus gross national product and related
indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of
nations from the 1950rsquos to date Recently however prominent
economists as well as political scientists sociologists and psy-
chologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materi-
ally wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust
one another have a sense of freedom and have close social re-
lationships The inquiry into the psychological wealth of na-
tions or the subjective well-being of nations helps answer a
fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for mil-
lennia lsquolsquoWhat is a good societyrsquo
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
Kristin Heron PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Benita Belvet
Jessica Brown
Suzzette Chopin
Lillian Christon Arnold
Ashley Dibble
Rebecca Hubbard
David Jennings
Nichole Kelly
Laurin Mack
Priscilla Powell
Molly Neff
Laura Slosky
Denicia Titchner
Stephanie Wolf
Bachelor of Science
Vanessa Agyeman
Hasen Alghamdi
Latessa Allums
Michael Amon
Sonja Ayers
Sweska Basnet
Kirstie Breland
Erica Brown
Ashley Callis
Jakwame Carey
Megan Cavanagh
Grace Charriez
Courtney Christian
Alicia Cook
Aldijana Cordic
Jonathan Cox
Mary Dean
Anne Fishback
Sherona Gardner
Andrew Gibbs
Myra Glorioso
Logan Gravitt
Lateisha Greene
Katelyn Gruber
Jamila Harris
Tiquana Hill
James Hovermale
Savonne Howard
Marshall Hunter
Kelley Hurdle
Arturo Iglesias
Lucas Keckley
Hira Khalid
Jamison Lancaster
Dana Larson
Russ Lawrence
Michele Mascatello
Rachel Mason
Tiffany Mayo
Natasha McCoy
Alexandra McDougall
Brandie Mckenzie
Xue Ju Meyer
Scott Misturini
Lindsay Mitchiner
Lea Moisa
Brooke Myers
Krislee Nelson
Paul Norton
Sierre Norton
Kristin Oravetz
Stephen Page
Ryan Pannell
Kevin Papile
Natalie Parks
Krishna Patel
Justin Payne
James Peacock
Quy Phan
Cecilia Presseau
Nathalie Rieder
Kylessia Ross
Faryal Shahid
Katelyn Sisk
Angel Slach
Indira Smajlagic
Natalie Taylor
Adrienne Tetreault
Brandon Tolbert
Tierraney Truss
James Vosti
Brenda Wei
Patrick Wiley
Alaysia Williams
Lyndsay Wilshaw
Christopher Wilson
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to
education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual
orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of Psychology
806 W Franklin St
PO Box 842018
Richmond VA 23284-2018
Phone 804-828-1193
Fax 804-828-2237
Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu
Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu
Virginia Commonwealth
University
Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology
A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine
Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from
bottom on far right
Page 9
the shortfall in credit hours taught in addition to their ex-
isting responsibilitiesmdashlike grant writing This could fur-
ther depress our new award activity over the next few
years
The recent government shutdown adds another dimension
of complexity The government shutdown was brought
about by circumstances similar to those of sequestration
Once again legislators needed to compromise on the feder-
al budget in order to avert disaster This time the point of
contention was the Affordable Care Act Republicans
wanted to defund the ACA as a condition of passing the
Continuing Resolution that would keep the government
operational Democrats refused to approve any bill that
attempted to defund or otherwise nullify the ACA Once
again no compromise was reached and the government
shutdown took effect on October 1 2013
Immediately many federal systems were taken of-
fline We could not submit new proposals progress reports
or even establish new accounts Awards already delayed
and reduced by sequestration stopped altogether for the
duration of the shutdown Though there is widespread
conjecture on the subject no one really knows what the
long term impact will be on university research
During the shutdown work on existing projects was al-
lowed to continue provided that funding had already been
made available However we were unable to draw down
funds from the federal government In other words if we
didnrsquot already have it then we couldnrsquot spend it If the
shutdown had gone on longer even existing projects would
have probably had to lay off grant funded personnel and in
some cases completely stop work Also the government
doesnrsquot process passports and visas during the shutdown
so projects that depend on foreign travel were held up con-
siderably
The situation could worsen if Congress fails to devise a
workable long-term solution when the current debt ceiling
expires on February 7 If there is failure to compromise
the United States could default on our national debt There
is no clear picture of what the impacts of that would be but
we know they would not be positive
Since our overall grant portfolio at VCU did not appear to
suffer in fiscal year 2013 it might be tempting to disregard
some of the more dire warnings However it is important
to recognize that incoming awards are based on proposals
submitted in fiscal year 2012 or earlier so many of those
funding decisions were made prior to the most current cri-
sis We probably wont see the true impact of all of the
above until fiscal year 2014 or thereafter At minimum
the cessation of all proposal activity during the shutdown
will result in delayed resumption of award activity in addi-
tion to the delays and budget cuts already happening be-
cause of sequestration This will likely cause our total
awarded dollars to decrease over the next few years
Overall the impact on VCU research may not be disas-
trous but at the department level grant projects and the
individuals working on those projects could suffer signifi-
cant impact from the cumulative effects
Brigette S Pfister is director of sponsored programs for the
College of Humanities and Sciences at VCU
Dome United States Capitol Washington DC
Architect of the Capitol
Adriana Rodriguez graduated from the
University of California Berkeley in 2008
with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and
a minor in ethnic studies Following grad-
uation Rodriguez obtained a research as-
sistant position with Bruce Chorpita
PhD at UCLA helping to advance the
effectiveness of mental health treatment
for children and adolescents Her work
with Chorpita further solidified her aspira-
tion to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical
psychology working specifically with racial
andor ethnic minority youth
Rodriguez joined the Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD research laboratory as a
doctoral student in clinical psychology in
the fall of 2010 When asked why Rodri-
guez decided to attend VCU she stated
that she felt inspired and motivated by the
energy and innovation that Southam-
Gerow brings to the field of psychology
ldquoIt was the best decision I could have
maderdquo
In reflecting on her experience at VCU
Rodriguez is struck by how collaborative
the department in general and her lab in
particular are Her research interests lie
broadly in the dissemination and imple-
mentation of mental health treatment for
children and adolescents She is also in-
terested in cultural and linguistic adapta-
tions of assessments to minority popula-
tions in real-world clinic settings Recent-
ly Rodriguez was able to collaborate with
Rosalie Corona PhD of the clinical psy-
chology program whose work focuses on
health promotion and risk reduction
among ethnic minority populations In
working with Latina college students Ro-
driguez notes ldquoI understand the difficul-
ties that this population is facing from a
policy perspective and also through my
personal experiencehellip I was that kid who
didnrsquot have enough money for the bus
farerdquo
Born to a working-class Mexican family
Rodriguez is the first to receive a college
education let alone pursue a graduate
degree Her work is driven in part by a
desire to empower her family and culture
while forging her own identity
When asked about career aspirations she
responds ldquoI want to keep goinghellip go as far
as I canrdquo Rodriguez is molding herself for
a research position in academia where she
would ideally like to serve at the public
policy level of mental health treatment
dissemination and implementation
In her spare time she enjoys running long
distances around Richmondrsquos Byrd Park
and Brownrsquos Island She also spends time
drawing particularly individuals with pro-
nounced facial expressions Rodriguez
jokes that this interest probably stems
from all the time she has spent coding vid-
eotapes in the Southam-Gerow lab
Graduate Student Spotlight
Adriana Rodriguez MS Clinical Psychology program
The Global Bridges Project is a community engaged research pro-ject directed by Maghboeba Mosavel PhD of VCUrsquos Department of Social and Behavioral Health School of Medicine This summer Mosavel led a small team of six students to the University of Kwa-Zulu-Natalmdasha VCU international partner universitymdashin Durban South Africa to conduct community engaged research in the Ken-neth Gardens public housing community in Durban Jasmine Abrams and Morgan Maxwell were two of those students A third student Carrie Miller is a second year master of public health student who has previously worked for the Department of Psychol-ogy as project coordinator for Clarissa Holmes PhD Abrams and Maxwell chronicled their work in Durban on this blog httpbuilding-global-bridgesblogspotcom Itrsquos a great read
Submitted by Annie Rabinovitz doctoral
student in the clinical psychology program
Abrams Maxwell
Linda A Mensah-Etsi (see front cover) a
junior psychology major is a recent recipi-
ent of the Melvin V Lubman Scholarship
in Psychology The Melvin V Lubman
Scholarship was established by Mrs Golde
Lubman Feldman to honor her husbandrsquos
dedication and service as a professor in
the Department of Psychology Mensah-
Etsi reports that the scholarship will help
her greatly with her tuition and fees
When asked why she chose psychology as
a major Mensah-Etsi said that she is curi-
ous about many things and psychology
was the one subject that kept her interest
piqued at all times She said ldquoI like how I
can always be surprised by all the different
topics covered under psychology alonerdquo
Surely her constant interest is in part due
to her two ldquoall-time favoriterdquo classesmdash
Statistical Applications in the Psychology
Field with Linda Zyzniewski PhD and
Abnormal Psychology with adjunct profes-
sor Jessica Brown Mensah-Etsi picked
these as her favorites because she likes
the mathematical focus of statistics and
admitted to having an ldquoobsessionrdquo with
mental illnesses
Continuing her love for the subject Men-
sah-Etsi has decided to further her skills by
applying for several internships through-
out the department After narrowing
down her choices for internships this fall
from three options she is excited to have
begun her new internship at VCUrsquos Clark
Hill Institute for Positive Youth
Development She says she chose this op-
portunity because ldquonot only is it in the
field in which I am currently interested
the internship will give me the opportunity
to learn a valuable coding skill that I might
eventually need to userdquo
A former volunteer elementary school
teachers aide she has a clear interest in
working with children and teens and
would like to pursue another volunteer
opportunity with the organization Stop
Child Abuse Now here in Richmond
With time on her side Mensah-Etsi cer-
tainly has plenty of opportunities to
change her career path She hopes she
can get a job with her degree or perhaps
continue on to graduate school and even
sees a career in research as a possibility
Ultimately though she is interested in
counseling young children or teens who
have experienced trauma Her goal is to
help kids ldquounderstand that at least one
person is on their side even if it seems that
they have to deal with it on their ownrdquo
One of the many interesting aspects of
this junior is that she is only 18 years old
She was a mere 16 years of age when she
first enrolled at VCU and proves daily that
age has nothing to do with capacity for
success A very hard worker when asked
about her free time Mensah-Etsi says she
has been very preoccupied with school-
work as well as with working two jobs
However she says working out at the gym
has been very close to a hobby for her
lately
When shersquos not in Richmond Mensah-Etsi
lives in Alexandria with her family We
asked her why she chose to settle in Rich-
mond and attend VCU and she jokingly
said it is because her two favorite colors
are black and yellow ldquoOn a serious noterdquo
she stated ldquoI just really fell in love with
the city when I visited so there was no
doubt in my mind that I wanted to attend
VCU I grew up in a city so this felt close
to homerdquo
A native of Togo in West Africa Mensah-
Etsi moved to the US in 2007 shortly be-
fore she turned 13 She says it wasnrsquot a
hard transition for her as she already
spoke French and Ewe (an ethnic lan-
guage) so English was quite easy to learn
by comparison She indeed misses the
spicy foods of Togo but also says that
while other people in Richmond may be
annoyed by the street sounds lights and
crooked sidewalks it makes her feel right
at home
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral stu-
dent in the health psychology program
Undergraduate Student Spotlight
Linda A Mensah-Etsi Class of lsquo15
Congratulations to David Rockman class of 2013 for receiving the Benjamin A Gilman Scholarship Rockman will receive $5000 to study in one country from four weeks to one academic year Named after retired Congressman Benjamin A Gilman from New York the programrsquos goal is to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go
This summer Paul Perrin PhD led six
VCU psychology doctoral students on a
month-long expedition to the University of
Deusto in Bilbao Spain to participate in a
research training program on racialethnic
disparities in health The trip was due in
large part to Perrinrsquos ongoing collabora-
tion with Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla
PhD a research professor in the Universi-
ty of Deustorsquos Department of Psychology
and former faculty member in VCUrsquos De-
partment of Physical Medicine and Reha-
bilitation Perrin and Arango-Lasprilla
spent the past year planning and coordi-
nating this unique opportunity for stu-
dents who worked with them on various
research projects meeting and collabo-
rating with researchers from all over the
world Among the group of 20 interna-
tional researchers contributing to and par-
ticipating in this training program were
psychology doctoral students Gillian Lei-
bach and Stephen Trapp of the counseling
program Sarah Doyle of the developmen-
tal program Shaina Gulin of the clinical
program and Alejandra Morlett Paredes
and Megan Sutter of the health program
The students worked with a team of inter-
national researchers spanning ten differ-
ent countries The purpose of the training
program was to teach students to conduct
health disparities research in an interna-
tional context and build collaborative
teams at various universities and rehabili-
tation facilities The specific focus was the
psychosocial functioning of individuals
from understudied global regions with
neurological conditions such as traumatic
brain injury dementia spinal cord injury
and multiple sclerosis Unpaid family care-
givers often provide the majority of the
informal care to individuals with these
conditions yet have very few resources in
order to meet their family and caregiving
needs Therefore a major goal of these
projects was to study the factors related
to mental and physical health of caregiv-
ers and to create culturally sensitive
health care recommendations for these
regions The team is accumulating evi-
dence for interventions that will improve
the quality of informal care for individuals
with neurological conditions in regions
such as Latin America where much of this
research is being conducted
Each of the VCU doctoral students had the
opportunity to take the lead on projects
studying the potential protective and risk
factors associated with caregiver mental
and physical health in either older adults
with dementia or in children with spinal
cord injuries and disorders They were
also able to propose potential future pro-
jects with existing data or completely new
data collections based in various under-
studied global regions such as in Neiva
Colombia Auckland New Zealand Copen-
hagen Denmark and Mexico City Mexico
among many others Perrin and the team
of international researchers offered a
number of seminars on advanced research
methods and statistics such as factor
analysis structural equation modeling
qualitative research methods meta-
analysis neuroimaging and scientific man-
uscript preparation
The
group
was able
to take
part in
many
cultural
experi-
ences
and enjoyed exploring the city of Bilbao
and the surrounding countryside and
beaches The researchers and students
spent most of their time in the countryrsquos
Basque region where they were able to
visit the iconic Guggenheim Museum of
modern and contemporary art innumera-
ble pintxo restaurants (a specialty of this
region similar to tapas) and a celebration
of Bilbaorsquos 713th anniversary
The group also traveled to many places
around the country including Bermeo and
San Sebastiaacuten which are located on the
Northern coast of Spain near the border of
France In Bermeo they made a trek to
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe a hermitage
that is accessed by hiking down a narrow
trail crossing a stone bridge and walking
up approximately 230 steps The group
felt the hike was definitely worth the
effort though andmdashas a legend in-
structsmdashgot to the peak rang a bell three
times and made three wishes Together
many of the researchers and students also
took a day trip to San Sebastiaacuten a coastal
town that rests on the Bay of Biscay fa-
mous for its renowned Basque food and
of course its shoreline They also got the
chance to venture to southern France and
Barcelona
Spotlight on International Research and Learning
Paul Perrin PhD
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student
in the health psychology program
ldquoA major goal of these
projects was to study the
factors related to mental
and physical health of
caregivers and to create
culturally sensitive health
care recommendations for
these regionsrdquo
ldquoI had a wonderful experience in Bilbao When I started graduate
school I certainly did not expect I would get to travel abroad to do
research It was a really unique opportunity getting to meet and work with well-known researchers from around the world Bilbao
is beautiful and I did quite a bit of exploring in and around the city
learning the areas rich cultural customs and history It is a good
feeling to know that our research has the potential to help im-prove the quality of life of patients with neurological conditions
and their caregiversrdquo
Shaina Gulin clinical psychology doctoral student
Back row [L to R] Javier Pentildea
(Spain) Hinemoa Elder (New Zea-
land) Nada Andelic (Norway)
Alfonso Caracuel (Spain) Hugo
Senra (Portugal) Stephen Trapp
(USA) Ivan Panyavin (Spain)
Anne Norup (Denmark) Charles
Hallmark (USA) Alejandra Morlett
(USA) Alexander Moreno
(Canada) Rociacuteo Del Pino Saacuteez
(Spain) Clara Isabel Gonzaacutelez
Berdugo (Spain) Maria Cristina
Quijano (Colombia) Yaneth Rodri-
guez (Mexico)
Front row [L to R] Juan Carlos
Arango-Lasprilla (Spain) Carlos de
los Reyes (Colombia) Megan
Sutter (USA) Sarah Doyle (USA)
Gillian Leibach (USA) Shaina Gulin
(USA) Naroa Ibarretxe (Spain)
Paul Perrin (USA)
Kristin Heron PhD from Penn State University visited the de-
partment early in the fall semester Heron is associate director
of the Dynamic Real-time Ecological Ambulatory Methodologies
Initiative at Penn States Survey Research Center In this posi-
tion she uses ecological momentary assessment and ecological
momentary intervention in her research focused on a range of
clinical health topics including eating behaviors body image
physical activity promotion and smoking cessation Ecological
momentary assessment broadly refers to the use of assess-
ments (eg questionnaires) that capture information about
people as they go about their daily lives in their natural environ-
ment (eg home) Ecological momentary intervention refers to
interventions or treat-
ments that are delivered
to individuals as they go
about their daily lives
Heron spent time training
students in Dr Robin
Everharts research lab on
ecological momentary
assessment for a pediatric
asthma study that will
allow families to use
smart phones as they re-
port on their childs asth-
ma care in real time
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
professor of psychology
at the University of Vir-
ginia presented a talk to
the department in Sep-
tember titled ldquoThe Psy-
chological Wealth of
Nationsrdquo
Here is the abstract
What is a good society
Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good
society is a happy society―namely a society in which most citi-
zens are happy and free from fear Since the publication of
ldquoThe Wealth of Nationsrdquo by Adam Smith in 1776 most econo-
mists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a material-
ly wealthy society Thus gross national product and related
indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of
nations from the 1950rsquos to date Recently however prominent
economists as well as political scientists sociologists and psy-
chologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materi-
ally wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust
one another have a sense of freedom and have close social re-
lationships The inquiry into the psychological wealth of na-
tions or the subjective well-being of nations helps answer a
fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for mil-
lennia lsquolsquoWhat is a good societyrsquo
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
Kristin Heron PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Benita Belvet
Jessica Brown
Suzzette Chopin
Lillian Christon Arnold
Ashley Dibble
Rebecca Hubbard
David Jennings
Nichole Kelly
Laurin Mack
Priscilla Powell
Molly Neff
Laura Slosky
Denicia Titchner
Stephanie Wolf
Bachelor of Science
Vanessa Agyeman
Hasen Alghamdi
Latessa Allums
Michael Amon
Sonja Ayers
Sweska Basnet
Kirstie Breland
Erica Brown
Ashley Callis
Jakwame Carey
Megan Cavanagh
Grace Charriez
Courtney Christian
Alicia Cook
Aldijana Cordic
Jonathan Cox
Mary Dean
Anne Fishback
Sherona Gardner
Andrew Gibbs
Myra Glorioso
Logan Gravitt
Lateisha Greene
Katelyn Gruber
Jamila Harris
Tiquana Hill
James Hovermale
Savonne Howard
Marshall Hunter
Kelley Hurdle
Arturo Iglesias
Lucas Keckley
Hira Khalid
Jamison Lancaster
Dana Larson
Russ Lawrence
Michele Mascatello
Rachel Mason
Tiffany Mayo
Natasha McCoy
Alexandra McDougall
Brandie Mckenzie
Xue Ju Meyer
Scott Misturini
Lindsay Mitchiner
Lea Moisa
Brooke Myers
Krislee Nelson
Paul Norton
Sierre Norton
Kristin Oravetz
Stephen Page
Ryan Pannell
Kevin Papile
Natalie Parks
Krishna Patel
Justin Payne
James Peacock
Quy Phan
Cecilia Presseau
Nathalie Rieder
Kylessia Ross
Faryal Shahid
Katelyn Sisk
Angel Slach
Indira Smajlagic
Natalie Taylor
Adrienne Tetreault
Brandon Tolbert
Tierraney Truss
James Vosti
Brenda Wei
Patrick Wiley
Alaysia Williams
Lyndsay Wilshaw
Christopher Wilson
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to
education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual
orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of Psychology
806 W Franklin St
PO Box 842018
Richmond VA 23284-2018
Phone 804-828-1193
Fax 804-828-2237
Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu
Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu
Virginia Commonwealth
University
Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology
A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine
Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from
bottom on far right
Adriana Rodriguez graduated from the
University of California Berkeley in 2008
with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and
a minor in ethnic studies Following grad-
uation Rodriguez obtained a research as-
sistant position with Bruce Chorpita
PhD at UCLA helping to advance the
effectiveness of mental health treatment
for children and adolescents Her work
with Chorpita further solidified her aspira-
tion to pursue a doctoral degree in clinical
psychology working specifically with racial
andor ethnic minority youth
Rodriguez joined the Michael Southam-
Gerow PhD research laboratory as a
doctoral student in clinical psychology in
the fall of 2010 When asked why Rodri-
guez decided to attend VCU she stated
that she felt inspired and motivated by the
energy and innovation that Southam-
Gerow brings to the field of psychology
ldquoIt was the best decision I could have
maderdquo
In reflecting on her experience at VCU
Rodriguez is struck by how collaborative
the department in general and her lab in
particular are Her research interests lie
broadly in the dissemination and imple-
mentation of mental health treatment for
children and adolescents She is also in-
terested in cultural and linguistic adapta-
tions of assessments to minority popula-
tions in real-world clinic settings Recent-
ly Rodriguez was able to collaborate with
Rosalie Corona PhD of the clinical psy-
chology program whose work focuses on
health promotion and risk reduction
among ethnic minority populations In
working with Latina college students Ro-
driguez notes ldquoI understand the difficul-
ties that this population is facing from a
policy perspective and also through my
personal experiencehellip I was that kid who
didnrsquot have enough money for the bus
farerdquo
Born to a working-class Mexican family
Rodriguez is the first to receive a college
education let alone pursue a graduate
degree Her work is driven in part by a
desire to empower her family and culture
while forging her own identity
When asked about career aspirations she
responds ldquoI want to keep goinghellip go as far
as I canrdquo Rodriguez is molding herself for
a research position in academia where she
would ideally like to serve at the public
policy level of mental health treatment
dissemination and implementation
In her spare time she enjoys running long
distances around Richmondrsquos Byrd Park
and Brownrsquos Island She also spends time
drawing particularly individuals with pro-
nounced facial expressions Rodriguez
jokes that this interest probably stems
from all the time she has spent coding vid-
eotapes in the Southam-Gerow lab
Graduate Student Spotlight
Adriana Rodriguez MS Clinical Psychology program
The Global Bridges Project is a community engaged research pro-ject directed by Maghboeba Mosavel PhD of VCUrsquos Department of Social and Behavioral Health School of Medicine This summer Mosavel led a small team of six students to the University of Kwa-Zulu-Natalmdasha VCU international partner universitymdashin Durban South Africa to conduct community engaged research in the Ken-neth Gardens public housing community in Durban Jasmine Abrams and Morgan Maxwell were two of those students A third student Carrie Miller is a second year master of public health student who has previously worked for the Department of Psychol-ogy as project coordinator for Clarissa Holmes PhD Abrams and Maxwell chronicled their work in Durban on this blog httpbuilding-global-bridgesblogspotcom Itrsquos a great read
Submitted by Annie Rabinovitz doctoral
student in the clinical psychology program
Abrams Maxwell
Linda A Mensah-Etsi (see front cover) a
junior psychology major is a recent recipi-
ent of the Melvin V Lubman Scholarship
in Psychology The Melvin V Lubman
Scholarship was established by Mrs Golde
Lubman Feldman to honor her husbandrsquos
dedication and service as a professor in
the Department of Psychology Mensah-
Etsi reports that the scholarship will help
her greatly with her tuition and fees
When asked why she chose psychology as
a major Mensah-Etsi said that she is curi-
ous about many things and psychology
was the one subject that kept her interest
piqued at all times She said ldquoI like how I
can always be surprised by all the different
topics covered under psychology alonerdquo
Surely her constant interest is in part due
to her two ldquoall-time favoriterdquo classesmdash
Statistical Applications in the Psychology
Field with Linda Zyzniewski PhD and
Abnormal Psychology with adjunct profes-
sor Jessica Brown Mensah-Etsi picked
these as her favorites because she likes
the mathematical focus of statistics and
admitted to having an ldquoobsessionrdquo with
mental illnesses
Continuing her love for the subject Men-
sah-Etsi has decided to further her skills by
applying for several internships through-
out the department After narrowing
down her choices for internships this fall
from three options she is excited to have
begun her new internship at VCUrsquos Clark
Hill Institute for Positive Youth
Development She says she chose this op-
portunity because ldquonot only is it in the
field in which I am currently interested
the internship will give me the opportunity
to learn a valuable coding skill that I might
eventually need to userdquo
A former volunteer elementary school
teachers aide she has a clear interest in
working with children and teens and
would like to pursue another volunteer
opportunity with the organization Stop
Child Abuse Now here in Richmond
With time on her side Mensah-Etsi cer-
tainly has plenty of opportunities to
change her career path She hopes she
can get a job with her degree or perhaps
continue on to graduate school and even
sees a career in research as a possibility
Ultimately though she is interested in
counseling young children or teens who
have experienced trauma Her goal is to
help kids ldquounderstand that at least one
person is on their side even if it seems that
they have to deal with it on their ownrdquo
One of the many interesting aspects of
this junior is that she is only 18 years old
She was a mere 16 years of age when she
first enrolled at VCU and proves daily that
age has nothing to do with capacity for
success A very hard worker when asked
about her free time Mensah-Etsi says she
has been very preoccupied with school-
work as well as with working two jobs
However she says working out at the gym
has been very close to a hobby for her
lately
When shersquos not in Richmond Mensah-Etsi
lives in Alexandria with her family We
asked her why she chose to settle in Rich-
mond and attend VCU and she jokingly
said it is because her two favorite colors
are black and yellow ldquoOn a serious noterdquo
she stated ldquoI just really fell in love with
the city when I visited so there was no
doubt in my mind that I wanted to attend
VCU I grew up in a city so this felt close
to homerdquo
A native of Togo in West Africa Mensah-
Etsi moved to the US in 2007 shortly be-
fore she turned 13 She says it wasnrsquot a
hard transition for her as she already
spoke French and Ewe (an ethnic lan-
guage) so English was quite easy to learn
by comparison She indeed misses the
spicy foods of Togo but also says that
while other people in Richmond may be
annoyed by the street sounds lights and
crooked sidewalks it makes her feel right
at home
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral stu-
dent in the health psychology program
Undergraduate Student Spotlight
Linda A Mensah-Etsi Class of lsquo15
Congratulations to David Rockman class of 2013 for receiving the Benjamin A Gilman Scholarship Rockman will receive $5000 to study in one country from four weeks to one academic year Named after retired Congressman Benjamin A Gilman from New York the programrsquos goal is to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go
This summer Paul Perrin PhD led six
VCU psychology doctoral students on a
month-long expedition to the University of
Deusto in Bilbao Spain to participate in a
research training program on racialethnic
disparities in health The trip was due in
large part to Perrinrsquos ongoing collabora-
tion with Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla
PhD a research professor in the Universi-
ty of Deustorsquos Department of Psychology
and former faculty member in VCUrsquos De-
partment of Physical Medicine and Reha-
bilitation Perrin and Arango-Lasprilla
spent the past year planning and coordi-
nating this unique opportunity for stu-
dents who worked with them on various
research projects meeting and collabo-
rating with researchers from all over the
world Among the group of 20 interna-
tional researchers contributing to and par-
ticipating in this training program were
psychology doctoral students Gillian Lei-
bach and Stephen Trapp of the counseling
program Sarah Doyle of the developmen-
tal program Shaina Gulin of the clinical
program and Alejandra Morlett Paredes
and Megan Sutter of the health program
The students worked with a team of inter-
national researchers spanning ten differ-
ent countries The purpose of the training
program was to teach students to conduct
health disparities research in an interna-
tional context and build collaborative
teams at various universities and rehabili-
tation facilities The specific focus was the
psychosocial functioning of individuals
from understudied global regions with
neurological conditions such as traumatic
brain injury dementia spinal cord injury
and multiple sclerosis Unpaid family care-
givers often provide the majority of the
informal care to individuals with these
conditions yet have very few resources in
order to meet their family and caregiving
needs Therefore a major goal of these
projects was to study the factors related
to mental and physical health of caregiv-
ers and to create culturally sensitive
health care recommendations for these
regions The team is accumulating evi-
dence for interventions that will improve
the quality of informal care for individuals
with neurological conditions in regions
such as Latin America where much of this
research is being conducted
Each of the VCU doctoral students had the
opportunity to take the lead on projects
studying the potential protective and risk
factors associated with caregiver mental
and physical health in either older adults
with dementia or in children with spinal
cord injuries and disorders They were
also able to propose potential future pro-
jects with existing data or completely new
data collections based in various under-
studied global regions such as in Neiva
Colombia Auckland New Zealand Copen-
hagen Denmark and Mexico City Mexico
among many others Perrin and the team
of international researchers offered a
number of seminars on advanced research
methods and statistics such as factor
analysis structural equation modeling
qualitative research methods meta-
analysis neuroimaging and scientific man-
uscript preparation
The
group
was able
to take
part in
many
cultural
experi-
ences
and enjoyed exploring the city of Bilbao
and the surrounding countryside and
beaches The researchers and students
spent most of their time in the countryrsquos
Basque region where they were able to
visit the iconic Guggenheim Museum of
modern and contemporary art innumera-
ble pintxo restaurants (a specialty of this
region similar to tapas) and a celebration
of Bilbaorsquos 713th anniversary
The group also traveled to many places
around the country including Bermeo and
San Sebastiaacuten which are located on the
Northern coast of Spain near the border of
France In Bermeo they made a trek to
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe a hermitage
that is accessed by hiking down a narrow
trail crossing a stone bridge and walking
up approximately 230 steps The group
felt the hike was definitely worth the
effort though andmdashas a legend in-
structsmdashgot to the peak rang a bell three
times and made three wishes Together
many of the researchers and students also
took a day trip to San Sebastiaacuten a coastal
town that rests on the Bay of Biscay fa-
mous for its renowned Basque food and
of course its shoreline They also got the
chance to venture to southern France and
Barcelona
Spotlight on International Research and Learning
Paul Perrin PhD
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student
in the health psychology program
ldquoA major goal of these
projects was to study the
factors related to mental
and physical health of
caregivers and to create
culturally sensitive health
care recommendations for
these regionsrdquo
ldquoI had a wonderful experience in Bilbao When I started graduate
school I certainly did not expect I would get to travel abroad to do
research It was a really unique opportunity getting to meet and work with well-known researchers from around the world Bilbao
is beautiful and I did quite a bit of exploring in and around the city
learning the areas rich cultural customs and history It is a good
feeling to know that our research has the potential to help im-prove the quality of life of patients with neurological conditions
and their caregiversrdquo
Shaina Gulin clinical psychology doctoral student
Back row [L to R] Javier Pentildea
(Spain) Hinemoa Elder (New Zea-
land) Nada Andelic (Norway)
Alfonso Caracuel (Spain) Hugo
Senra (Portugal) Stephen Trapp
(USA) Ivan Panyavin (Spain)
Anne Norup (Denmark) Charles
Hallmark (USA) Alejandra Morlett
(USA) Alexander Moreno
(Canada) Rociacuteo Del Pino Saacuteez
(Spain) Clara Isabel Gonzaacutelez
Berdugo (Spain) Maria Cristina
Quijano (Colombia) Yaneth Rodri-
guez (Mexico)
Front row [L to R] Juan Carlos
Arango-Lasprilla (Spain) Carlos de
los Reyes (Colombia) Megan
Sutter (USA) Sarah Doyle (USA)
Gillian Leibach (USA) Shaina Gulin
(USA) Naroa Ibarretxe (Spain)
Paul Perrin (USA)
Kristin Heron PhD from Penn State University visited the de-
partment early in the fall semester Heron is associate director
of the Dynamic Real-time Ecological Ambulatory Methodologies
Initiative at Penn States Survey Research Center In this posi-
tion she uses ecological momentary assessment and ecological
momentary intervention in her research focused on a range of
clinical health topics including eating behaviors body image
physical activity promotion and smoking cessation Ecological
momentary assessment broadly refers to the use of assess-
ments (eg questionnaires) that capture information about
people as they go about their daily lives in their natural environ-
ment (eg home) Ecological momentary intervention refers to
interventions or treat-
ments that are delivered
to individuals as they go
about their daily lives
Heron spent time training
students in Dr Robin
Everharts research lab on
ecological momentary
assessment for a pediatric
asthma study that will
allow families to use
smart phones as they re-
port on their childs asth-
ma care in real time
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
professor of psychology
at the University of Vir-
ginia presented a talk to
the department in Sep-
tember titled ldquoThe Psy-
chological Wealth of
Nationsrdquo
Here is the abstract
What is a good society
Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good
society is a happy society―namely a society in which most citi-
zens are happy and free from fear Since the publication of
ldquoThe Wealth of Nationsrdquo by Adam Smith in 1776 most econo-
mists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a material-
ly wealthy society Thus gross national product and related
indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of
nations from the 1950rsquos to date Recently however prominent
economists as well as political scientists sociologists and psy-
chologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materi-
ally wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust
one another have a sense of freedom and have close social re-
lationships The inquiry into the psychological wealth of na-
tions or the subjective well-being of nations helps answer a
fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for mil-
lennia lsquolsquoWhat is a good societyrsquo
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
Kristin Heron PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Benita Belvet
Jessica Brown
Suzzette Chopin
Lillian Christon Arnold
Ashley Dibble
Rebecca Hubbard
David Jennings
Nichole Kelly
Laurin Mack
Priscilla Powell
Molly Neff
Laura Slosky
Denicia Titchner
Stephanie Wolf
Bachelor of Science
Vanessa Agyeman
Hasen Alghamdi
Latessa Allums
Michael Amon
Sonja Ayers
Sweska Basnet
Kirstie Breland
Erica Brown
Ashley Callis
Jakwame Carey
Megan Cavanagh
Grace Charriez
Courtney Christian
Alicia Cook
Aldijana Cordic
Jonathan Cox
Mary Dean
Anne Fishback
Sherona Gardner
Andrew Gibbs
Myra Glorioso
Logan Gravitt
Lateisha Greene
Katelyn Gruber
Jamila Harris
Tiquana Hill
James Hovermale
Savonne Howard
Marshall Hunter
Kelley Hurdle
Arturo Iglesias
Lucas Keckley
Hira Khalid
Jamison Lancaster
Dana Larson
Russ Lawrence
Michele Mascatello
Rachel Mason
Tiffany Mayo
Natasha McCoy
Alexandra McDougall
Brandie Mckenzie
Xue Ju Meyer
Scott Misturini
Lindsay Mitchiner
Lea Moisa
Brooke Myers
Krislee Nelson
Paul Norton
Sierre Norton
Kristin Oravetz
Stephen Page
Ryan Pannell
Kevin Papile
Natalie Parks
Krishna Patel
Justin Payne
James Peacock
Quy Phan
Cecilia Presseau
Nathalie Rieder
Kylessia Ross
Faryal Shahid
Katelyn Sisk
Angel Slach
Indira Smajlagic
Natalie Taylor
Adrienne Tetreault
Brandon Tolbert
Tierraney Truss
James Vosti
Brenda Wei
Patrick Wiley
Alaysia Williams
Lyndsay Wilshaw
Christopher Wilson
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to
education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual
orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of Psychology
806 W Franklin St
PO Box 842018
Richmond VA 23284-2018
Phone 804-828-1193
Fax 804-828-2237
Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu
Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu
Virginia Commonwealth
University
Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology
A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine
Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from
bottom on far right
Linda A Mensah-Etsi (see front cover) a
junior psychology major is a recent recipi-
ent of the Melvin V Lubman Scholarship
in Psychology The Melvin V Lubman
Scholarship was established by Mrs Golde
Lubman Feldman to honor her husbandrsquos
dedication and service as a professor in
the Department of Psychology Mensah-
Etsi reports that the scholarship will help
her greatly with her tuition and fees
When asked why she chose psychology as
a major Mensah-Etsi said that she is curi-
ous about many things and psychology
was the one subject that kept her interest
piqued at all times She said ldquoI like how I
can always be surprised by all the different
topics covered under psychology alonerdquo
Surely her constant interest is in part due
to her two ldquoall-time favoriterdquo classesmdash
Statistical Applications in the Psychology
Field with Linda Zyzniewski PhD and
Abnormal Psychology with adjunct profes-
sor Jessica Brown Mensah-Etsi picked
these as her favorites because she likes
the mathematical focus of statistics and
admitted to having an ldquoobsessionrdquo with
mental illnesses
Continuing her love for the subject Men-
sah-Etsi has decided to further her skills by
applying for several internships through-
out the department After narrowing
down her choices for internships this fall
from three options she is excited to have
begun her new internship at VCUrsquos Clark
Hill Institute for Positive Youth
Development She says she chose this op-
portunity because ldquonot only is it in the
field in which I am currently interested
the internship will give me the opportunity
to learn a valuable coding skill that I might
eventually need to userdquo
A former volunteer elementary school
teachers aide she has a clear interest in
working with children and teens and
would like to pursue another volunteer
opportunity with the organization Stop
Child Abuse Now here in Richmond
With time on her side Mensah-Etsi cer-
tainly has plenty of opportunities to
change her career path She hopes she
can get a job with her degree or perhaps
continue on to graduate school and even
sees a career in research as a possibility
Ultimately though she is interested in
counseling young children or teens who
have experienced trauma Her goal is to
help kids ldquounderstand that at least one
person is on their side even if it seems that
they have to deal with it on their ownrdquo
One of the many interesting aspects of
this junior is that she is only 18 years old
She was a mere 16 years of age when she
first enrolled at VCU and proves daily that
age has nothing to do with capacity for
success A very hard worker when asked
about her free time Mensah-Etsi says she
has been very preoccupied with school-
work as well as with working two jobs
However she says working out at the gym
has been very close to a hobby for her
lately
When shersquos not in Richmond Mensah-Etsi
lives in Alexandria with her family We
asked her why she chose to settle in Rich-
mond and attend VCU and she jokingly
said it is because her two favorite colors
are black and yellow ldquoOn a serious noterdquo
she stated ldquoI just really fell in love with
the city when I visited so there was no
doubt in my mind that I wanted to attend
VCU I grew up in a city so this felt close
to homerdquo
A native of Togo in West Africa Mensah-
Etsi moved to the US in 2007 shortly be-
fore she turned 13 She says it wasnrsquot a
hard transition for her as she already
spoke French and Ewe (an ethnic lan-
guage) so English was quite easy to learn
by comparison She indeed misses the
spicy foods of Togo but also says that
while other people in Richmond may be
annoyed by the street sounds lights and
crooked sidewalks it makes her feel right
at home
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral stu-
dent in the health psychology program
Undergraduate Student Spotlight
Linda A Mensah-Etsi Class of lsquo15
Congratulations to David Rockman class of 2013 for receiving the Benjamin A Gilman Scholarship Rockman will receive $5000 to study in one country from four weeks to one academic year Named after retired Congressman Benjamin A Gilman from New York the programrsquos goal is to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go
This summer Paul Perrin PhD led six
VCU psychology doctoral students on a
month-long expedition to the University of
Deusto in Bilbao Spain to participate in a
research training program on racialethnic
disparities in health The trip was due in
large part to Perrinrsquos ongoing collabora-
tion with Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla
PhD a research professor in the Universi-
ty of Deustorsquos Department of Psychology
and former faculty member in VCUrsquos De-
partment of Physical Medicine and Reha-
bilitation Perrin and Arango-Lasprilla
spent the past year planning and coordi-
nating this unique opportunity for stu-
dents who worked with them on various
research projects meeting and collabo-
rating with researchers from all over the
world Among the group of 20 interna-
tional researchers contributing to and par-
ticipating in this training program were
psychology doctoral students Gillian Lei-
bach and Stephen Trapp of the counseling
program Sarah Doyle of the developmen-
tal program Shaina Gulin of the clinical
program and Alejandra Morlett Paredes
and Megan Sutter of the health program
The students worked with a team of inter-
national researchers spanning ten differ-
ent countries The purpose of the training
program was to teach students to conduct
health disparities research in an interna-
tional context and build collaborative
teams at various universities and rehabili-
tation facilities The specific focus was the
psychosocial functioning of individuals
from understudied global regions with
neurological conditions such as traumatic
brain injury dementia spinal cord injury
and multiple sclerosis Unpaid family care-
givers often provide the majority of the
informal care to individuals with these
conditions yet have very few resources in
order to meet their family and caregiving
needs Therefore a major goal of these
projects was to study the factors related
to mental and physical health of caregiv-
ers and to create culturally sensitive
health care recommendations for these
regions The team is accumulating evi-
dence for interventions that will improve
the quality of informal care for individuals
with neurological conditions in regions
such as Latin America where much of this
research is being conducted
Each of the VCU doctoral students had the
opportunity to take the lead on projects
studying the potential protective and risk
factors associated with caregiver mental
and physical health in either older adults
with dementia or in children with spinal
cord injuries and disorders They were
also able to propose potential future pro-
jects with existing data or completely new
data collections based in various under-
studied global regions such as in Neiva
Colombia Auckland New Zealand Copen-
hagen Denmark and Mexico City Mexico
among many others Perrin and the team
of international researchers offered a
number of seminars on advanced research
methods and statistics such as factor
analysis structural equation modeling
qualitative research methods meta-
analysis neuroimaging and scientific man-
uscript preparation
The
group
was able
to take
part in
many
cultural
experi-
ences
and enjoyed exploring the city of Bilbao
and the surrounding countryside and
beaches The researchers and students
spent most of their time in the countryrsquos
Basque region where they were able to
visit the iconic Guggenheim Museum of
modern and contemporary art innumera-
ble pintxo restaurants (a specialty of this
region similar to tapas) and a celebration
of Bilbaorsquos 713th anniversary
The group also traveled to many places
around the country including Bermeo and
San Sebastiaacuten which are located on the
Northern coast of Spain near the border of
France In Bermeo they made a trek to
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe a hermitage
that is accessed by hiking down a narrow
trail crossing a stone bridge and walking
up approximately 230 steps The group
felt the hike was definitely worth the
effort though andmdashas a legend in-
structsmdashgot to the peak rang a bell three
times and made three wishes Together
many of the researchers and students also
took a day trip to San Sebastiaacuten a coastal
town that rests on the Bay of Biscay fa-
mous for its renowned Basque food and
of course its shoreline They also got the
chance to venture to southern France and
Barcelona
Spotlight on International Research and Learning
Paul Perrin PhD
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student
in the health psychology program
ldquoA major goal of these
projects was to study the
factors related to mental
and physical health of
caregivers and to create
culturally sensitive health
care recommendations for
these regionsrdquo
ldquoI had a wonderful experience in Bilbao When I started graduate
school I certainly did not expect I would get to travel abroad to do
research It was a really unique opportunity getting to meet and work with well-known researchers from around the world Bilbao
is beautiful and I did quite a bit of exploring in and around the city
learning the areas rich cultural customs and history It is a good
feeling to know that our research has the potential to help im-prove the quality of life of patients with neurological conditions
and their caregiversrdquo
Shaina Gulin clinical psychology doctoral student
Back row [L to R] Javier Pentildea
(Spain) Hinemoa Elder (New Zea-
land) Nada Andelic (Norway)
Alfonso Caracuel (Spain) Hugo
Senra (Portugal) Stephen Trapp
(USA) Ivan Panyavin (Spain)
Anne Norup (Denmark) Charles
Hallmark (USA) Alejandra Morlett
(USA) Alexander Moreno
(Canada) Rociacuteo Del Pino Saacuteez
(Spain) Clara Isabel Gonzaacutelez
Berdugo (Spain) Maria Cristina
Quijano (Colombia) Yaneth Rodri-
guez (Mexico)
Front row [L to R] Juan Carlos
Arango-Lasprilla (Spain) Carlos de
los Reyes (Colombia) Megan
Sutter (USA) Sarah Doyle (USA)
Gillian Leibach (USA) Shaina Gulin
(USA) Naroa Ibarretxe (Spain)
Paul Perrin (USA)
Kristin Heron PhD from Penn State University visited the de-
partment early in the fall semester Heron is associate director
of the Dynamic Real-time Ecological Ambulatory Methodologies
Initiative at Penn States Survey Research Center In this posi-
tion she uses ecological momentary assessment and ecological
momentary intervention in her research focused on a range of
clinical health topics including eating behaviors body image
physical activity promotion and smoking cessation Ecological
momentary assessment broadly refers to the use of assess-
ments (eg questionnaires) that capture information about
people as they go about their daily lives in their natural environ-
ment (eg home) Ecological momentary intervention refers to
interventions or treat-
ments that are delivered
to individuals as they go
about their daily lives
Heron spent time training
students in Dr Robin
Everharts research lab on
ecological momentary
assessment for a pediatric
asthma study that will
allow families to use
smart phones as they re-
port on their childs asth-
ma care in real time
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
professor of psychology
at the University of Vir-
ginia presented a talk to
the department in Sep-
tember titled ldquoThe Psy-
chological Wealth of
Nationsrdquo
Here is the abstract
What is a good society
Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good
society is a happy society―namely a society in which most citi-
zens are happy and free from fear Since the publication of
ldquoThe Wealth of Nationsrdquo by Adam Smith in 1776 most econo-
mists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a material-
ly wealthy society Thus gross national product and related
indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of
nations from the 1950rsquos to date Recently however prominent
economists as well as political scientists sociologists and psy-
chologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materi-
ally wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust
one another have a sense of freedom and have close social re-
lationships The inquiry into the psychological wealth of na-
tions or the subjective well-being of nations helps answer a
fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for mil-
lennia lsquolsquoWhat is a good societyrsquo
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
Kristin Heron PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Benita Belvet
Jessica Brown
Suzzette Chopin
Lillian Christon Arnold
Ashley Dibble
Rebecca Hubbard
David Jennings
Nichole Kelly
Laurin Mack
Priscilla Powell
Molly Neff
Laura Slosky
Denicia Titchner
Stephanie Wolf
Bachelor of Science
Vanessa Agyeman
Hasen Alghamdi
Latessa Allums
Michael Amon
Sonja Ayers
Sweska Basnet
Kirstie Breland
Erica Brown
Ashley Callis
Jakwame Carey
Megan Cavanagh
Grace Charriez
Courtney Christian
Alicia Cook
Aldijana Cordic
Jonathan Cox
Mary Dean
Anne Fishback
Sherona Gardner
Andrew Gibbs
Myra Glorioso
Logan Gravitt
Lateisha Greene
Katelyn Gruber
Jamila Harris
Tiquana Hill
James Hovermale
Savonne Howard
Marshall Hunter
Kelley Hurdle
Arturo Iglesias
Lucas Keckley
Hira Khalid
Jamison Lancaster
Dana Larson
Russ Lawrence
Michele Mascatello
Rachel Mason
Tiffany Mayo
Natasha McCoy
Alexandra McDougall
Brandie Mckenzie
Xue Ju Meyer
Scott Misturini
Lindsay Mitchiner
Lea Moisa
Brooke Myers
Krislee Nelson
Paul Norton
Sierre Norton
Kristin Oravetz
Stephen Page
Ryan Pannell
Kevin Papile
Natalie Parks
Krishna Patel
Justin Payne
James Peacock
Quy Phan
Cecilia Presseau
Nathalie Rieder
Kylessia Ross
Faryal Shahid
Katelyn Sisk
Angel Slach
Indira Smajlagic
Natalie Taylor
Adrienne Tetreault
Brandon Tolbert
Tierraney Truss
James Vosti
Brenda Wei
Patrick Wiley
Alaysia Williams
Lyndsay Wilshaw
Christopher Wilson
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to
education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual
orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of Psychology
806 W Franklin St
PO Box 842018
Richmond VA 23284-2018
Phone 804-828-1193
Fax 804-828-2237
Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu
Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu
Virginia Commonwealth
University
Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology
A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine
Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from
bottom on far right
This summer Paul Perrin PhD led six
VCU psychology doctoral students on a
month-long expedition to the University of
Deusto in Bilbao Spain to participate in a
research training program on racialethnic
disparities in health The trip was due in
large part to Perrinrsquos ongoing collabora-
tion with Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla
PhD a research professor in the Universi-
ty of Deustorsquos Department of Psychology
and former faculty member in VCUrsquos De-
partment of Physical Medicine and Reha-
bilitation Perrin and Arango-Lasprilla
spent the past year planning and coordi-
nating this unique opportunity for stu-
dents who worked with them on various
research projects meeting and collabo-
rating with researchers from all over the
world Among the group of 20 interna-
tional researchers contributing to and par-
ticipating in this training program were
psychology doctoral students Gillian Lei-
bach and Stephen Trapp of the counseling
program Sarah Doyle of the developmen-
tal program Shaina Gulin of the clinical
program and Alejandra Morlett Paredes
and Megan Sutter of the health program
The students worked with a team of inter-
national researchers spanning ten differ-
ent countries The purpose of the training
program was to teach students to conduct
health disparities research in an interna-
tional context and build collaborative
teams at various universities and rehabili-
tation facilities The specific focus was the
psychosocial functioning of individuals
from understudied global regions with
neurological conditions such as traumatic
brain injury dementia spinal cord injury
and multiple sclerosis Unpaid family care-
givers often provide the majority of the
informal care to individuals with these
conditions yet have very few resources in
order to meet their family and caregiving
needs Therefore a major goal of these
projects was to study the factors related
to mental and physical health of caregiv-
ers and to create culturally sensitive
health care recommendations for these
regions The team is accumulating evi-
dence for interventions that will improve
the quality of informal care for individuals
with neurological conditions in regions
such as Latin America where much of this
research is being conducted
Each of the VCU doctoral students had the
opportunity to take the lead on projects
studying the potential protective and risk
factors associated with caregiver mental
and physical health in either older adults
with dementia or in children with spinal
cord injuries and disorders They were
also able to propose potential future pro-
jects with existing data or completely new
data collections based in various under-
studied global regions such as in Neiva
Colombia Auckland New Zealand Copen-
hagen Denmark and Mexico City Mexico
among many others Perrin and the team
of international researchers offered a
number of seminars on advanced research
methods and statistics such as factor
analysis structural equation modeling
qualitative research methods meta-
analysis neuroimaging and scientific man-
uscript preparation
The
group
was able
to take
part in
many
cultural
experi-
ences
and enjoyed exploring the city of Bilbao
and the surrounding countryside and
beaches The researchers and students
spent most of their time in the countryrsquos
Basque region where they were able to
visit the iconic Guggenheim Museum of
modern and contemporary art innumera-
ble pintxo restaurants (a specialty of this
region similar to tapas) and a celebration
of Bilbaorsquos 713th anniversary
The group also traveled to many places
around the country including Bermeo and
San Sebastiaacuten which are located on the
Northern coast of Spain near the border of
France In Bermeo they made a trek to
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe a hermitage
that is accessed by hiking down a narrow
trail crossing a stone bridge and walking
up approximately 230 steps The group
felt the hike was definitely worth the
effort though andmdashas a legend in-
structsmdashgot to the peak rang a bell three
times and made three wishes Together
many of the researchers and students also
took a day trip to San Sebastiaacuten a coastal
town that rests on the Bay of Biscay fa-
mous for its renowned Basque food and
of course its shoreline They also got the
chance to venture to southern France and
Barcelona
Spotlight on International Research and Learning
Paul Perrin PhD
Submitted by Megan Sutter doctoral student
in the health psychology program
ldquoA major goal of these
projects was to study the
factors related to mental
and physical health of
caregivers and to create
culturally sensitive health
care recommendations for
these regionsrdquo
ldquoI had a wonderful experience in Bilbao When I started graduate
school I certainly did not expect I would get to travel abroad to do
research It was a really unique opportunity getting to meet and work with well-known researchers from around the world Bilbao
is beautiful and I did quite a bit of exploring in and around the city
learning the areas rich cultural customs and history It is a good
feeling to know that our research has the potential to help im-prove the quality of life of patients with neurological conditions
and their caregiversrdquo
Shaina Gulin clinical psychology doctoral student
Back row [L to R] Javier Pentildea
(Spain) Hinemoa Elder (New Zea-
land) Nada Andelic (Norway)
Alfonso Caracuel (Spain) Hugo
Senra (Portugal) Stephen Trapp
(USA) Ivan Panyavin (Spain)
Anne Norup (Denmark) Charles
Hallmark (USA) Alejandra Morlett
(USA) Alexander Moreno
(Canada) Rociacuteo Del Pino Saacuteez
(Spain) Clara Isabel Gonzaacutelez
Berdugo (Spain) Maria Cristina
Quijano (Colombia) Yaneth Rodri-
guez (Mexico)
Front row [L to R] Juan Carlos
Arango-Lasprilla (Spain) Carlos de
los Reyes (Colombia) Megan
Sutter (USA) Sarah Doyle (USA)
Gillian Leibach (USA) Shaina Gulin
(USA) Naroa Ibarretxe (Spain)
Paul Perrin (USA)
Kristin Heron PhD from Penn State University visited the de-
partment early in the fall semester Heron is associate director
of the Dynamic Real-time Ecological Ambulatory Methodologies
Initiative at Penn States Survey Research Center In this posi-
tion she uses ecological momentary assessment and ecological
momentary intervention in her research focused on a range of
clinical health topics including eating behaviors body image
physical activity promotion and smoking cessation Ecological
momentary assessment broadly refers to the use of assess-
ments (eg questionnaires) that capture information about
people as they go about their daily lives in their natural environ-
ment (eg home) Ecological momentary intervention refers to
interventions or treat-
ments that are delivered
to individuals as they go
about their daily lives
Heron spent time training
students in Dr Robin
Everharts research lab on
ecological momentary
assessment for a pediatric
asthma study that will
allow families to use
smart phones as they re-
port on their childs asth-
ma care in real time
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
professor of psychology
at the University of Vir-
ginia presented a talk to
the department in Sep-
tember titled ldquoThe Psy-
chological Wealth of
Nationsrdquo
Here is the abstract
What is a good society
Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good
society is a happy society―namely a society in which most citi-
zens are happy and free from fear Since the publication of
ldquoThe Wealth of Nationsrdquo by Adam Smith in 1776 most econo-
mists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a material-
ly wealthy society Thus gross national product and related
indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of
nations from the 1950rsquos to date Recently however prominent
economists as well as political scientists sociologists and psy-
chologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materi-
ally wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust
one another have a sense of freedom and have close social re-
lationships The inquiry into the psychological wealth of na-
tions or the subjective well-being of nations helps answer a
fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for mil-
lennia lsquolsquoWhat is a good societyrsquo
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
Kristin Heron PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Benita Belvet
Jessica Brown
Suzzette Chopin
Lillian Christon Arnold
Ashley Dibble
Rebecca Hubbard
David Jennings
Nichole Kelly
Laurin Mack
Priscilla Powell
Molly Neff
Laura Slosky
Denicia Titchner
Stephanie Wolf
Bachelor of Science
Vanessa Agyeman
Hasen Alghamdi
Latessa Allums
Michael Amon
Sonja Ayers
Sweska Basnet
Kirstie Breland
Erica Brown
Ashley Callis
Jakwame Carey
Megan Cavanagh
Grace Charriez
Courtney Christian
Alicia Cook
Aldijana Cordic
Jonathan Cox
Mary Dean
Anne Fishback
Sherona Gardner
Andrew Gibbs
Myra Glorioso
Logan Gravitt
Lateisha Greene
Katelyn Gruber
Jamila Harris
Tiquana Hill
James Hovermale
Savonne Howard
Marshall Hunter
Kelley Hurdle
Arturo Iglesias
Lucas Keckley
Hira Khalid
Jamison Lancaster
Dana Larson
Russ Lawrence
Michele Mascatello
Rachel Mason
Tiffany Mayo
Natasha McCoy
Alexandra McDougall
Brandie Mckenzie
Xue Ju Meyer
Scott Misturini
Lindsay Mitchiner
Lea Moisa
Brooke Myers
Krislee Nelson
Paul Norton
Sierre Norton
Kristin Oravetz
Stephen Page
Ryan Pannell
Kevin Papile
Natalie Parks
Krishna Patel
Justin Payne
James Peacock
Quy Phan
Cecilia Presseau
Nathalie Rieder
Kylessia Ross
Faryal Shahid
Katelyn Sisk
Angel Slach
Indira Smajlagic
Natalie Taylor
Adrienne Tetreault
Brandon Tolbert
Tierraney Truss
James Vosti
Brenda Wei
Patrick Wiley
Alaysia Williams
Lyndsay Wilshaw
Christopher Wilson
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to
education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual
orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of Psychology
806 W Franklin St
PO Box 842018
Richmond VA 23284-2018
Phone 804-828-1193
Fax 804-828-2237
Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu
Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu
Virginia Commonwealth
University
Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology
A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine
Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from
bottom on far right
ldquoI had a wonderful experience in Bilbao When I started graduate
school I certainly did not expect I would get to travel abroad to do
research It was a really unique opportunity getting to meet and work with well-known researchers from around the world Bilbao
is beautiful and I did quite a bit of exploring in and around the city
learning the areas rich cultural customs and history It is a good
feeling to know that our research has the potential to help im-prove the quality of life of patients with neurological conditions
and their caregiversrdquo
Shaina Gulin clinical psychology doctoral student
Back row [L to R] Javier Pentildea
(Spain) Hinemoa Elder (New Zea-
land) Nada Andelic (Norway)
Alfonso Caracuel (Spain) Hugo
Senra (Portugal) Stephen Trapp
(USA) Ivan Panyavin (Spain)
Anne Norup (Denmark) Charles
Hallmark (USA) Alejandra Morlett
(USA) Alexander Moreno
(Canada) Rociacuteo Del Pino Saacuteez
(Spain) Clara Isabel Gonzaacutelez
Berdugo (Spain) Maria Cristina
Quijano (Colombia) Yaneth Rodri-
guez (Mexico)
Front row [L to R] Juan Carlos
Arango-Lasprilla (Spain) Carlos de
los Reyes (Colombia) Megan
Sutter (USA) Sarah Doyle (USA)
Gillian Leibach (USA) Shaina Gulin
(USA) Naroa Ibarretxe (Spain)
Paul Perrin (USA)
Kristin Heron PhD from Penn State University visited the de-
partment early in the fall semester Heron is associate director
of the Dynamic Real-time Ecological Ambulatory Methodologies
Initiative at Penn States Survey Research Center In this posi-
tion she uses ecological momentary assessment and ecological
momentary intervention in her research focused on a range of
clinical health topics including eating behaviors body image
physical activity promotion and smoking cessation Ecological
momentary assessment broadly refers to the use of assess-
ments (eg questionnaires) that capture information about
people as they go about their daily lives in their natural environ-
ment (eg home) Ecological momentary intervention refers to
interventions or treat-
ments that are delivered
to individuals as they go
about their daily lives
Heron spent time training
students in Dr Robin
Everharts research lab on
ecological momentary
assessment for a pediatric
asthma study that will
allow families to use
smart phones as they re-
port on their childs asth-
ma care in real time
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
professor of psychology
at the University of Vir-
ginia presented a talk to
the department in Sep-
tember titled ldquoThe Psy-
chological Wealth of
Nationsrdquo
Here is the abstract
What is a good society
Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good
society is a happy society―namely a society in which most citi-
zens are happy and free from fear Since the publication of
ldquoThe Wealth of Nationsrdquo by Adam Smith in 1776 most econo-
mists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a material-
ly wealthy society Thus gross national product and related
indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of
nations from the 1950rsquos to date Recently however prominent
economists as well as political scientists sociologists and psy-
chologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materi-
ally wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust
one another have a sense of freedom and have close social re-
lationships The inquiry into the psychological wealth of na-
tions or the subjective well-being of nations helps answer a
fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for mil-
lennia lsquolsquoWhat is a good societyrsquo
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
Kristin Heron PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Benita Belvet
Jessica Brown
Suzzette Chopin
Lillian Christon Arnold
Ashley Dibble
Rebecca Hubbard
David Jennings
Nichole Kelly
Laurin Mack
Priscilla Powell
Molly Neff
Laura Slosky
Denicia Titchner
Stephanie Wolf
Bachelor of Science
Vanessa Agyeman
Hasen Alghamdi
Latessa Allums
Michael Amon
Sonja Ayers
Sweska Basnet
Kirstie Breland
Erica Brown
Ashley Callis
Jakwame Carey
Megan Cavanagh
Grace Charriez
Courtney Christian
Alicia Cook
Aldijana Cordic
Jonathan Cox
Mary Dean
Anne Fishback
Sherona Gardner
Andrew Gibbs
Myra Glorioso
Logan Gravitt
Lateisha Greene
Katelyn Gruber
Jamila Harris
Tiquana Hill
James Hovermale
Savonne Howard
Marshall Hunter
Kelley Hurdle
Arturo Iglesias
Lucas Keckley
Hira Khalid
Jamison Lancaster
Dana Larson
Russ Lawrence
Michele Mascatello
Rachel Mason
Tiffany Mayo
Natasha McCoy
Alexandra McDougall
Brandie Mckenzie
Xue Ju Meyer
Scott Misturini
Lindsay Mitchiner
Lea Moisa
Brooke Myers
Krislee Nelson
Paul Norton
Sierre Norton
Kristin Oravetz
Stephen Page
Ryan Pannell
Kevin Papile
Natalie Parks
Krishna Patel
Justin Payne
James Peacock
Quy Phan
Cecilia Presseau
Nathalie Rieder
Kylessia Ross
Faryal Shahid
Katelyn Sisk
Angel Slach
Indira Smajlagic
Natalie Taylor
Adrienne Tetreault
Brandon Tolbert
Tierraney Truss
James Vosti
Brenda Wei
Patrick Wiley
Alaysia Williams
Lyndsay Wilshaw
Christopher Wilson
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to
education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual
orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of Psychology
806 W Franklin St
PO Box 842018
Richmond VA 23284-2018
Phone 804-828-1193
Fax 804-828-2237
Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu
Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu
Virginia Commonwealth
University
Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology
A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine
Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from
bottom on far right
Kristin Heron PhD from Penn State University visited the de-
partment early in the fall semester Heron is associate director
of the Dynamic Real-time Ecological Ambulatory Methodologies
Initiative at Penn States Survey Research Center In this posi-
tion she uses ecological momentary assessment and ecological
momentary intervention in her research focused on a range of
clinical health topics including eating behaviors body image
physical activity promotion and smoking cessation Ecological
momentary assessment broadly refers to the use of assess-
ments (eg questionnaires) that capture information about
people as they go about their daily lives in their natural environ-
ment (eg home) Ecological momentary intervention refers to
interventions or treat-
ments that are delivered
to individuals as they go
about their daily lives
Heron spent time training
students in Dr Robin
Everharts research lab on
ecological momentary
assessment for a pediatric
asthma study that will
allow families to use
smart phones as they re-
port on their childs asth-
ma care in real time
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
professor of psychology
at the University of Vir-
ginia presented a talk to
the department in Sep-
tember titled ldquoThe Psy-
chological Wealth of
Nationsrdquo
Here is the abstract
What is a good society
Philosophers from Plato to Bentham have argued that a good
society is a happy society―namely a society in which most citi-
zens are happy and free from fear Since the publication of
ldquoThe Wealth of Nationsrdquo by Adam Smith in 1776 most econo-
mists have implicitly assumed that a happy society is a material-
ly wealthy society Thus gross national product and related
indices became the most popular indicators of the well-being of
nations from the 1950rsquos to date Recently however prominent
economists as well as political scientists sociologists and psy-
chologists have shown that a happy society is not only a materi-
ally wealthy society but also a society in which citizens can trust
one another have a sense of freedom and have close social re-
lationships The inquiry into the psychological wealth of na-
tions or the subjective well-being of nations helps answer a
fundamental question in philosophy and social sciences for mil-
lennia lsquolsquoWhat is a good societyrsquo
Shigehiro Oishi PhD
Kristin Heron PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Benita Belvet
Jessica Brown
Suzzette Chopin
Lillian Christon Arnold
Ashley Dibble
Rebecca Hubbard
David Jennings
Nichole Kelly
Laurin Mack
Priscilla Powell
Molly Neff
Laura Slosky
Denicia Titchner
Stephanie Wolf
Bachelor of Science
Vanessa Agyeman
Hasen Alghamdi
Latessa Allums
Michael Amon
Sonja Ayers
Sweska Basnet
Kirstie Breland
Erica Brown
Ashley Callis
Jakwame Carey
Megan Cavanagh
Grace Charriez
Courtney Christian
Alicia Cook
Aldijana Cordic
Jonathan Cox
Mary Dean
Anne Fishback
Sherona Gardner
Andrew Gibbs
Myra Glorioso
Logan Gravitt
Lateisha Greene
Katelyn Gruber
Jamila Harris
Tiquana Hill
James Hovermale
Savonne Howard
Marshall Hunter
Kelley Hurdle
Arturo Iglesias
Lucas Keckley
Hira Khalid
Jamison Lancaster
Dana Larson
Russ Lawrence
Michele Mascatello
Rachel Mason
Tiffany Mayo
Natasha McCoy
Alexandra McDougall
Brandie Mckenzie
Xue Ju Meyer
Scott Misturini
Lindsay Mitchiner
Lea Moisa
Brooke Myers
Krislee Nelson
Paul Norton
Sierre Norton
Kristin Oravetz
Stephen Page
Ryan Pannell
Kevin Papile
Natalie Parks
Krishna Patel
Justin Payne
James Peacock
Quy Phan
Cecilia Presseau
Nathalie Rieder
Kylessia Ross
Faryal Shahid
Katelyn Sisk
Angel Slach
Indira Smajlagic
Natalie Taylor
Adrienne Tetreault
Brandon Tolbert
Tierraney Truss
James Vosti
Brenda Wei
Patrick Wiley
Alaysia Williams
Lyndsay Wilshaw
Christopher Wilson
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to
education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual
orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of Psychology
806 W Franklin St
PO Box 842018
Richmond VA 23284-2018
Phone 804-828-1193
Fax 804-828-2237
Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu
Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu
Virginia Commonwealth
University
Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology
A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine
Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from
bottom on far right
Doctor of Philosophy
Benita Belvet
Jessica Brown
Suzzette Chopin
Lillian Christon Arnold
Ashley Dibble
Rebecca Hubbard
David Jennings
Nichole Kelly
Laurin Mack
Priscilla Powell
Molly Neff
Laura Slosky
Denicia Titchner
Stephanie Wolf
Bachelor of Science
Vanessa Agyeman
Hasen Alghamdi
Latessa Allums
Michael Amon
Sonja Ayers
Sweska Basnet
Kirstie Breland
Erica Brown
Ashley Callis
Jakwame Carey
Megan Cavanagh
Grace Charriez
Courtney Christian
Alicia Cook
Aldijana Cordic
Jonathan Cox
Mary Dean
Anne Fishback
Sherona Gardner
Andrew Gibbs
Myra Glorioso
Logan Gravitt
Lateisha Greene
Katelyn Gruber
Jamila Harris
Tiquana Hill
James Hovermale
Savonne Howard
Marshall Hunter
Kelley Hurdle
Arturo Iglesias
Lucas Keckley
Hira Khalid
Jamison Lancaster
Dana Larson
Russ Lawrence
Michele Mascatello
Rachel Mason
Tiffany Mayo
Natasha McCoy
Alexandra McDougall
Brandie Mckenzie
Xue Ju Meyer
Scott Misturini
Lindsay Mitchiner
Lea Moisa
Brooke Myers
Krislee Nelson
Paul Norton
Sierre Norton
Kristin Oravetz
Stephen Page
Ryan Pannell
Kevin Papile
Natalie Parks
Krishna Patel
Justin Payne
James Peacock
Quy Phan
Cecilia Presseau
Nathalie Rieder
Kylessia Ross
Faryal Shahid
Katelyn Sisk
Angel Slach
Indira Smajlagic
Natalie Taylor
Adrienne Tetreault
Brandon Tolbert
Tierraney Truss
James Vosti
Brenda Wei
Patrick Wiley
Alaysia Williams
Lyndsay Wilshaw
Christopher Wilson
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to
education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual
orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of Psychology
806 W Franklin St
PO Box 842018
Richmond VA 23284-2018
Phone 804-828-1193
Fax 804-828-2237
Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu
Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu
Virginia Commonwealth
University
Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology
A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine
Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from
bottom on far right
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity affirmative action university providing access to
education and employment without regard to age race color national origin gender religion sexual
orientation veteranrsquos status political affiliation or disability
College of Humanities and Sciences
Department of Psychology
806 W Franklin St
PO Box 842018
Richmond VA 23284-2018
Phone 804-828-1193
Fax 804-828-2237
Web address wwwpsychologyvcuedu
Newsmagazine comments Jennifer Elswick jlelswickvcuedu
Virginia Commonwealth
University
Photo by Elijah Christman fiscal technician in the Department of Psychology
A few spirited Psychology undergraduate and graduate students gather in front of White House with assistant director of academic advising Katharine
Stoddard MEd NCC second row from bottom on far right and director of undergraduate studies Linda Zyniewski PhD third row from
bottom on far right
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