FALL 2014
CLINICAL & SCHOOL psychology y 2014 Award Recipients
The following students in Curry’s Clinical & School Psychology programs received financial assistance from funds estab-
You are Invited to a
lished by donors.
Curry Homecoming Party
Richard Abidin Award for Clinical Excellence: Janelle S. Peifer Richard Abidin Award for Excellence in Research: Mathilde Logan Whalen Richard Abidin Scholarship:
Friday, October 24, 7-9 p.m. Food, drinks, music, tours Additional Homecoming Activities on Saturday, Oct. 25. Learn more at curry.virginia.edu/curryhomecoming
Andrea D. Xisto and Samantha Luden
Program News BY RONALD E. REEVE, PROFESSOR DIRECTOR, CLINICAL & SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAM
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he program is going through many exciting transitions. In November the APA informed us that we were fully approved as a Combined Program in Clinical and School Psychology, which means that we are considered to be both a clinical and a school psychology specialty program. This change takes us back to the roots of the program. In 1976 the program was only the third in the U.S. to be accredited as a combined program. APA’s approval was for the maximum amount of time, 7 years. Editor: Ron Reeve, Director Clinical and School Psychology Program Clinical & School Psychology is published by the Curry School of Education, P.O. Box 400268, Charlottesville, VA 22904 http://curry.virginia.edu/clinpsychnewsletter
Farewells Two valued core faculty are leaving the program. Michael Kofler accepted a faculty position at Florida State University, where he will continue his exciting research with individuals with ADHD. Michael and his wife have family obligations in Florida that necessitated his departure. We certainly appreciate his significant contributions during his too-brief time here. He says he will always be a Wahoo. Lisa Locke-Downer has stepped down as director of the Center for Clinical Psychology Services to work in private practice and chase the triplets. She has agreed to stick around a day a week to ease the transition. Many of her duties will be covered by a talented former post-doctoral fellow, Joyce Matthews-Rurak. We’ll certainly miss Lisa’s great talents and smiling face.
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New Faculty
Student Awards
Perhaps the biggest news is that the program’s search for a senior faculty member has successfully concluded. Jason Downer has agreed to a tenure track associate professor position. Jason has been a research associate professor and is director of the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning (CASTL) here at U.Va. He has a distinguished record of research and publication regarding children in school contexts, as well as a highly successful grant acquisition history. Jason’s integration into the program will be gradual, given his major commitments to his own and to CASTL’s other funded research projects. However, he will assume leadership of the program over time as I move toward retirement. Amanda Williford also has agreed to move to core faculty status. Amanda currently is a research assistant professor at CASTL. She brings particular expertise with young children in family and preschool settings. Both she and Jason have been research advisors for a number of program doctoral students. Amanda will strengthen our assessment and intervention coursework with children. She will oversee our Early Childhood practicum with Head Start, teach Personality Assessment, and continue to supervise the research experience of several program doctoral students in addition to running her federally funded research program through CASTL. Both Amanda and Jason are licensed clinical psychologists with excellent clinical skills in addition to their strong research records.
Seven amazing women received a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology on Sunday, August 24. Among their many accolades, Emily Nichols received the Bruce Gansneder Award for the outstanding Curry School quantitative dissertation of 2013-2014. Her research examined Incarceration in the Household: New Perspectives on Risk and Prevention. The award comes with $1,000, which is funded by donations to the Curry School Foundation. Emily’s advisor was Ann Loper. Janelle Peifer was one of only two students in Virginia to receive the State Doctoral Scholars Dissertation Award from the Southern Regional Education Board. The goal of the Doctoral Scholars Program is to produce more minority Ph.D students who seek careers as faculty on college campuses. It provides multiple layers of support, including financial assistance, academic/research funding, and career counseling and job postings. Peifer’s dissertation project is titled Connecting Across Differences: Examining the Role of Individual, Institutional, and Exposure Variables in College Students’ Cultural Competence Development.
Thank You! The
Curry
School
Foundation
recognizes the generosity of the following alumni from the Clinical and School Psychology programs who made donations in fiscal year 2014, which ended June 30: Julia A. Blodgett Karen K. Brockenbrough Sue M. Burkholder Constance Booth Caldwell John F. Callahan Joanna Castaldi Margaret Metcalf Dawson Thomas Jeffrey DeMaio Christos Paul Eleftherios Nancy Kassam-Adams Allison Knight Eddie Lee Kolb Lauren Kopans Sandra Jean McCoy Kramos Edith Catlin Lawrence Parthenia R. Randolph John T. Schroll Jeffrey Seltzer Theodore Siedlecki Jr. Saritha Mathew Vermeer These gifts directly benefit Curry students and the quality of their educational experiences.
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Join the Curry School of Education Alumni group on LinkedIn
Curry Homecoming I hope to see some of you at the Curry Homecoming event on October 24, which is timed around the completion of the Ruffner Hall renovation. If you are planning to go to the football game on Saturday the 25th, you may also want to attend the Cavalier Countdown tailgate at Alumni Hall. Curry Alumni will have a special space set aside on the patio for gathering and will receive a discount on food. For more information, see curry.virginia.edu/ curryhomecoming
Over 1,900 members strong
Current Faculty Julia Blodgett Jason Downer Edith “Winx” Lawrence Ann Loper Ron Reeve Peter Sheras Antoinette Thomas Patrick Tolan Amanda Williford 2
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/// Views of the newly renovated Ruffner Hall: (Left) Student seating area in the new cut-through befween east and west hallways on the first floor; (right) first floor hallway with carpet and new paint.
Read more about each of these alumni at curry.virginia.edu/clinpsychnewsletter
Alumni Spotlight This issue highlights some alumni working in major hospitals Katherine Driscoll M.Ed. ’03, Ph.D. ’07 Psychologist, Developmental Medicine Center Boston Children’s Hospital Instructor in Psychology Harvard Medical School What do you find most rewarding about your work? I work with young children and families in a developmental clinic. We conduct team evaluations with children with developmental delays, autism spectrum disorders, various genetic syndromes, complex medical histories, and so on. My direct work with children and families is certainly the most rewarding part of the job. In addition, I am learning every day and always feel challenged in this fast-paced setting. What did you find most valuable about your experience at the Curry School?
I especially appreciated the opportunity to obtain strong research and clinical training. I learned so much from my time working with Bob Pianta and colleagues at The Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning.
Lisa Jacobson Ph.D. ’08 Licensed Psychologist and Pediatric Neuropsychologist Department of Neuropsychology Kennedy Krieger Institute Assistant Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine What do you find most rewarding about your work? I particularly enjoy the challenges
of medically focused clinical work, training interns and postdoctoral fellows in neuropsychology and engaging in clinical research – all at the same time! There is always something new to do or to learn and being part of a large neuropsychology department allows for plenty of consultation and peer support. What did you find most valuable about your experience at the Curry School? I
appreciated the opportunities to work with patients across the age span and the flexibility to pursue my interests in neuropsychology with U.Va. hospital faculty. Given my current job expectations, I find the research experience and methodological training I gained through the
Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning and mentoring by Bob Pianta to be especially valuable.
Maureen Monaghan M.Ed. ’02 School Psych, Ph.D. ’06 Clin Psych Pediatric Psychologist and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences Children’s National Health System Washington, DC What do you find most rewarding about your work? Working in an academic medical center is incredibly stimulating and rewarding. I enjoy working as part of a multidisciplinary team to provide high quality, comprehensive medical and behavioral services to patients with diabetes and their families. In addition to providing clinical services, I conduct research, consult with medical providers, and provide training and supervision to students, interns, and fellows. Every day offers something different! What did you find most valuable about your experience at the Curry School? I
owe my success as a researcher and clinician to the outstanding training I received at Curry. I benefited immensely from the outstanding mentorship and guidance from faculty at U.Va., especially my faculty advisors Ronald Reeve and Bob Pianta. The rigorous research training I received developed my confidence and passion for clinical research and was instrumental in my success as a funded researcher. The exceptional training opportunities provided me with a strong foundation to work in a fastpaced, rigorous academic medical center. It is remarkable to me that the trajectories of Curry graduates are so diverse, yet we universally felt prepared...
Aileen Schast M.T. ’93, M.Ed. ’99, Ph.D. ’03 Manager of Quality Improvement Office of Clinical Quality Improvement The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia What do you find most rewarding about your work? I get to work with really smart
therapists, and other clinicians to directly improve the care we provide to children. What did you find most valuable about your experience at the Curry School? I appreciate most how much I was pushed to think about (children, problems, experiences) from different perspectives. My current work requires helping teams to think critically about the care they provide, identify opportunities for change, and then think about different ways we could achieve that change. The flexibility of thinking, understanding of systems, and respect for diverse roles needed for this job were certainly cultivated at Curry.
H. Kent Wilson M.Ed. ’04, Ph.D. ’08 Staff Psychologist Learning and Emotional Assessment Program (LEAP) Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital Instructor in Psychology Harvard Medical School What do you find most rewarding about your work? Clinical care and relationships.
Aside from the occasional drudgery of report writing, I continue to really enjoy assessment. It’s rewarding to work closely with children and adolescents and to be able to provide valuable insight to their families to help maximize their success. Now that I’ve been at LEAP for several years, I have seen many families return for reevaluations, and it’s nice to have those established relationships and be able to see the progress that has occurred. What did you find most valuable about your experience at the Curry School? I loved my time at U.Va. and greatly miss Charlottesville. I think that we received really well-rounded training, but for me, the assessment training was particularly incredible. I found when I went on internship that I had much more experience in assessment and depth of training than my colleagues, which allowed me to hit the ground running and go on to find a fellowship in assessment. I recently had the opportunity to serve as a practicum supervisor at LEAP for a fourth-year Curry student, and it was clear that the training continues to be incredibly strong as that student was more advanced than several of our post-doctoral fellows!
and invested physicians, nurses, pharmacists,
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NONPROFT ORG. POSTAGE & FEES PAID UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
Clinical & School Psychology
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P.O. Box 400268 417 Emmet Street South Charlottesville, VA 22904-4268
CLASS NOTES Jill (Haak) Bohnenkamp (M.Ed. ’08, Ph.D. ’12) lives in Washington, D.C., with her hus-
band Brian. She is an assistant professor at the Center for School Mental Health within the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Nicole Beadles (Ph.D. ’06) “After practicing as a school psychologist in Fairfax County Public Schools for nearly 10 years, I have taken a new position as the director of the School Psychology Program at George Mason University...” John Callahan (M.Ed. ’76, Ph.D. ’89) and Marie Callahan (M.Ed. ’74) have returned to Charlottesville. ...Marie has retired from 40 years of great teaching but will still tutor, ... John retired as Chief Psychologist at the Community Child Guidance Clinic in Connecticut, closed his independent practice, and wrapped up his adjunct faculty summer teaching at the University of Hartford for this relocation. He plans to set up practice in central Virginia and become involved in psychology in the area... Wendy Freedman (M.Ed. ’99, Ph.D. ’03) was honored to be appointed as the director of the Vassar College Counseling Service this year. “I am fortunate to have great colleagues and I’m excited to see what adventures lay ahead.” Cynthia Jenkins (Ph.D. ’94) “Hi Everyone! It’s quite an experience to think of the news since graduation in the mid-90s!..In 2009 we moved back to Virginia and I joined a small private practice where I have been working since...” Nancy Kassam-Adams (M.Ed. ’92, Ph.D. ’95) is president of the International Society 4
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Submit your class note at curry.virginia.edu/classnotes/submit for Traumatic Stress Studies, and in her position at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania, leads a program of research on child traumatic stress related to injury and other medical events. With kids grown and gone, she spends a lot of time at her home in lovely Nelson County, Va. Connie Masters (M.Ed. ’77) is the author of Things I Learned in School, a collection of essays about insights from a 30+ year career in the field of psychology. thingsilearnedinschool.com Wendy McKee (M.Ed. ’70, Ed.D. ’73) is still in private practice as a clinical psychologist and has no plans to retire as yet. She continues to enjoy this work and feels her education at U.Va. prepared her well for it. She wrote Cross the Atlantic? What Was I Thinking?!? Diary of a Four Year Sailing Adventure ... Janelle Peifer (M.Ed. ’11) is a predoctoral psychology intern at Vanderbilt University (see more in Program News). Tony Pisani (M.Ed. ’97, Ph.D. ’01) and Amy celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary on August 1. ...“I am an associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of Rochester, Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide...” Website: http:// commitmenttoliving.com John Reinhardt (M.Ed. ’74, Ph.D. ’79) is still working and has no plans for retirement! “The practice is going well. My kids are grown and gone. ...Mary and I are enjoying the lake when I have time off. Looking forward to returning to C’ville in October.” Camilla Rogers (Ph.D. ’81) is in private practice in Davidson, N.C.
Kristi Samuelson (M.Ed. ’94, Ph.D. ’98) was
recently promoted to professor at the California School of Professional Psychology in San Francisco. “I am also a research psychologist at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. ” Aileen Schast (M.T. ’93, M.Ed. ’99, Ph.D. ’03) ...”David and I live just outside of
Philadelphia and have plenty of room for visitors!” Mark Sullivan-Hanson (M.Ed. ’86, Ph.D. ’92) After many years of working in public
school settings and community agencies, Mark and Jean Sullivan Hanson (Ph.D. ’90) have opened their own private practice in Danvers, Mass. (Hanson Psychological Services, LLC). ...They recently moved to their dream house in Rockport, Mass. Earl Sutherland (Ph.D. ’83) retired from the Indian Health Service on the Crow Reservation and is now the medical director for a rural Federally Qualified Health Center in Hardin, Montana... Ellen Wilfong-Grush (Ph.D. ’89) “Well, life has moved into another landscape…in more ways than one! My husband Owen and I have relocated to southern Oregon, where I have a very small private practice. I also work in crisis intervention, both for a national provider agency and teaching Psychological First Aid to local emergency responders...” Read more. Some submissions were abbreviated due to space limitations. You can read complete class notes and view submitted photos online at curry.virginia. edu/clinpsychnewsletter