Philosophy of Graduate Training

My aim in training graduate students is to elicit their own goals as they develop their professional interests, teach them how to outline a path of professional development, and help them monitor their progress effectively. Although many students begin their graduate training by using my large-scale grant data for research, some then move off into other topics in clinical health psychology, such as studying children with sickle cell disease or teen attitudes toward breast-feeding. I enjoy these opportunities to expand my interests into new areas.

I particularly enjoy helping students find ways to shine. Many of my previous and current students have won sizable awards, including NIH funding for their research. Awards such as these help students build the kinds of CVs that obtain further training opportunities down the road. I try to help students balance their clinical and research training, and I have never had a student fail to match for internship.

I'm fortunate to have had a career that has included both the practice of clinical health psychology and extensive research. Because I've lived and worked in Memphis since 1985, I have extensive connections with psychologists throughout the city. These connections help me search out unique training opportunities for students with special interests.