Faculty Mentors

Clinical Psychology PhD Program – Core Faculty Research Teams

Each first-year graduate student is matched with a core faculty member in the program who will serve as an advisor and research mentor during the course of the program. Upon entering the program, the faculty mentor works closely with each student to develop and guide their research projects. To facilitate this pairing, we require that each applicant select one to two core faculty in the Clinical Psychology PhD Program based on shared research and clinical interests, and describe in their application why they would like to be part of these research teams.

Below is a list of the core faculty members who will be accepting one or more new students during the upcoming admissions cycle.

Lori Day, Ph.D., Professor – Dr. Day is the director of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Child Resilience Center. Current research interests include: adaptation of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) for deaf youth, as well as trauma- and behavioral-based psychological measures for deaf children and their families. Students on Dr. Day’s research team have recently completed or are in the process of developing their projects on the following topics:

• Adaptation of PCIT for deaf families
• Childhood language experiences and emotional regulation within the Deaf community
• Substance use and trauma among deaf and hard of hearing BIPOC youth
• Facilitators enabling hearing caregivers access to Deaf culture-based resources

Cara Miller, Ph.D., Professor – Dr. Miller’s research interests include applications of research and science on the psychology of human-animal interaction; gender and sexuality; and trauma and post-traumatic growth among adult populations. Students on Dr. Miller’s team are currently working on the following projects:

• Deaf and hard of hearing individuals with developmental disorders
• Asian-American Deaf adults help-seeking behaviors
• Psychologist experiences working with clients and their service dogs
• Socioemotional experiences of deaf and hard of hearing adults who attended summer campus using ASL

Lawrence Pick, Ph.D., ABPP, Professor & Director of Clinical Training – Dr. Pick’s research program primarily examines cultural neuropsychology in relation to Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals across the lifespan with a focus on the influence of language experience, intersectional identities, and acculturative stress. Additional projects examine the training and professional experiences of Deaf and Hard of Hearing behavioral health providers. Current students are working on a variety of projects including the following:

• Evaluation of working memory and executive functioning among bilingual emerging deaf adults
• Psychometric properties of concussion measures for use with deaf and hard of hearing athletes
• Language and communication acculturative stress and well-being among Deaf adults
• Early language and communication experiences in relation to IPV, head/neck injuries, and cognition among deaf and hard of hearing adults

Kathryn Wagner, Ph.D., Associate Professor – Dr. Wagner’s current research interests include qualitative approaches to examining the lives and experiences of deaf, hard of hearing, and blind psychotherapists, and the healthcare resources and related access for LGBTQ+ people identifying with disabilities. Current students on Dr. Wagner’s research team are examining the following:

• Romantic relationships among cisgendered gay men with disabilities
• Application of mindfulness techniques during clinical encounters for deaf adults
• Gaming as a therapeutic tool among deaf and hard of hearing adults
• Alcohol use among deaf adults

Dr. Corbett will not be accepting new students during the upcoming admissions cycle.

Carolyn A. Corbett, Ph.D., Professor – Dr. Corbett’s current research interests are in the areas of mental health issues of minority deaf individuals, as well as related ethical issues when conducting research in small communities. Dr. Corbett’s research team has projects including:

• Persistence among Black Deaf doctoral students
• Training among Spanish speaking psychologists
• High risk behaviors among Deaf adolescents
• Posttraumatic growth and perceived success among immigrants of Kurdish descent