Apr 20, 2024  
2020-2021 Graduate Catalog 
    
2020-2021 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Psychology - Human Services (HSPS)


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ANNE BRODSKY, Chair
STEVEN C. PITTS
, Graduate Program Director

Degrees Offered

M.A., Ph.D. (Degree Types )

Faculty

Professors

BEDIAKO, SHAWN, Ph.D., Stony Brook University; Socio-cultural contexts of chronic illness, urban health behavior.
BRODSKY, ANNE, Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park; Clinical-community psychology.
CHEAH, CHARISSA, Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park; Children’s social and emotional development and culture.
DAHLQUIST, LYNNDA M., Ph.D., Purdue University; Child health, pain, chronic illness.
MATON, KENNETH, Ph.D., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Community psychology.
MURPHY, CHRISTOPHER M., Ph.D., State University of New York, Stony Brook; Clinical psychology.
RABIN, BERNARD M., Ph.D., State University of New York, Buffalo; Physiological psychology.
SCHIFFMAN, JASON, Ph.D., University of Southern California; Schizophrenia.
SONNENSCHEIN, SUSAN, Ph.D., State University of New York, Stony Brook; Cognitive and educational development.
WALDSTEIN, SHARI, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh; Behavioral medicine.

Associate Professors

BEATTY MOODY, DANIELLE, Ph.D. , City University of New York; Racial/ethnic disparities in cardiovascular disease risk.
BORRERO, JOHN, Ph.D., University of Florida; applied behavior analysis, single-subject research methods, caregiver-child interactions.
PITTS, STEVEN C. Ph.D., Arizona State University; Quantitative psychology, social psychology.
SCHULTZ, DAVID, Ph.D., University of Delaware; Emotional development.
SUN, SHUYAN, Ph.D., University of Cincinnati, Measurement, statistics and evaluation.
YOON, LIRA, Ph.D., Northwestern University; Interplay between cognition and emotion in the context of psychological disorders

Assistant Professors

CENGER, MIRELA, Ph.D., The Graduate Center, City University of New York; Behavior analysis, language
FOUNTAIN, ERIKA, Ph.D., Georgetown University; Human Development & Public Policy FRANZ, MOLLY, Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln; posttraumatic stress disorder and family functioning
GODWIN, KARRIE, Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University; Cognitive development: Attention, executive functioning, categorization, inductive reasoning
HUNTER, BRONWYN A., Ph.D., DePaul University; Community and Clinical Psychology
KHAMBATY, TASNEEM, Ph.D., Purdue University, Clinical Health Psychology
NNAWULEZI, NKIRU, Ph.D., Michigan State University, Community Psychology
QUITON, RAIMI, Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore; Neuroscience; neural basis of pain.
RAJARAMAN, ADITHYAN, Ph.D., Western New England University; behavior analysis, practical functional assessment
ROBINSON, THOMAS (Joint with Africana Studies), Ph.D., Howard University; Personality and physiological psychology.
SCHACHT, REBECCA, Ph.D., University of Washington, Clinical Psychology

Professor of Practice

LASSON, ELLIOT D., Ph.D., Wayne State University; I/O Psychology, Human Resources

Senior Lecturer

ALONSO, DIANE, Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park; Cognitive Psychology, Industrial/Organizational Psychology.
O’BRIEN, EILEEN, Ph.D., The Catholic University of America; Early-childhood development, women and children’s health policy, integrated behavioral health services.

Lecturer

ABOD, ELISSA, Ph.D., George Mason University; Industrial/Organizational Psychology
ANDERSON, ROBERT, Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Clinical Psychology.
ETOPIO, AUBREY, Ph.D., University of Nevada, Reno; fear of crime, gender and race, bystander intervention, program evaluation, qualitative methods.
KNIGHT, DONALD E., Ph.D., Western Michigan University; Counseling Psychology
ROSE, LAURA, Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Applied Developmental Psychology
YUFIK, TOMAS, Ph.D., State University of New York; posttraumatic stress disorder and personality assessment

Professor Emeritus

BAKER, LINDA, Ph.D., Rutgers University; Cognitive development and education.
CATANIA, A. CHARLES, Ph.D., Harvard University; Learning, verbal behavior, behavior analysis.
DEMOREST, MARILYN E., Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University; Measurement, statistics, data analysis.
DICLEMENTE, CARLO, Ph.D., University of Rhode Island; Addictive behaviors, psychotherapy, self-efficacy.
FELDSTEIN, STANLEY, Ph.D., Columbia University; Non-verbal behavior, clinical psychology.
SIEGMAN, ARON W., Ph.D., Columbia University; Behavioral medicine.

Associate Professor Emeritus

DELUTY, ROBERT H., Ph.D., State University of New York, Buffalo; Clinical psychology.
METZGER, MARY ANN, Ph.D., University of Connecticut; Developmental and mathematical psychology, nonlinear dynamics in psychology.

Adjunct Professors

ALLEN, JOHN, Ph.D., St. Louis University; Clinical psychology.
BELLACK, ALAN, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University; Clinical psychology.
BLACK, MAUREEN, Ph.D., Emory University; Child psychology.
SCHOENBAUM, GEOFFREY, Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Neurobiology.

Adjunct Associate Professors

DELEON, ISER G., Ph.D., University of Florida; Applied behavior analysis.
HAGOPIAN, LOUIS, Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Applied behavior analysis, severe behavioral disorders, anxiety disorders.
KATZEL, LESLIE, M.D., Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University; Geriatrics.
KAHNG, SUNGWOO, Ph.D., University of Florida; Applied behavior analysis.
KOP, WILLEM, Ph.D., University of Limburg; Medical psychology; behavioral cardiology.
SLIFER, KEITH, Ph.D., Florida State University; Applied behavior analysis.
TEPPER, VICKI J., Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore; Pediatrics Psychology.

Adjunct Assistant Professors

HUSSEY-GARDNER, BRENDA, Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park; Early-childhood special education.
JORDAN-GREEN, LISA, Ph.D., Michigan State University; Substance abuse treatment and prevention.
KURTZ, PATRICIA, Ph.D., Claremont Graduate School; Psychology.
REEVES, GLORIA, M.D., University of Maryland School of Medicine; Child Psychiatry.
RESTA, PETER, Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park; Human Development, Social Psychology.
SCHAEFFER, CINDY, Ph.D., University of Missouri; Multisystemic Family Therapy.
SOLLERS, III, JOHN J., Ph.D., University of Missouri-Columbia; Experimental psychology.
STEPHEN, SHARON, Ph.D., University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Clinical Psychology, School mental health.
ZWART, CHERYL, Ph.D., State University of New York, Binghamton; Clinical psychology.

Affiliate Associate Professors

MARTELLO, JOHN, Ph.D., Howard University; Human developmental psychology.

Program Description

Human Services Psychology (HSP) is composed of three interrelated and complementary tracks which provide training in Clinical Psychology (APA approved), Behavioral Medicine, and Community Psychology. Human Services Psychology offers a multidimensional and systemic perspective that reflects the complexity of the types of problems and contexts that our graduates are trained to address. We believe this approach fosters a more comprehensive and integrative approach to both research and professional practice. It also represents a more cost effective and flexible approach to professional training than most traditional single specialty professional training programs as it allows us to provide training for a number of specialties within the framework of a single program.

Human Services Psychology is defined as that sector of professional psychology concerned with the promotion of human well being through the acquisition and application of psychological knowledge and principles concerned with the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of psychological and physical disorders. Thus, the program is designed to prepare students to contribute to the growth of knowledge in this area, as well as to apply this knowledge to a broad range of human problems. Consequently, the program is based upon a scientist practitioner model of training (sometimes referred to as the Boulder Model) which aims to provide students with skills as both researchers and practitioners. We believe that, even though some students in the HSP Program may not plan to follow research careers, it is their training as scientists, as well as practitioners, which most fundamentally distinguishes them from other mental health professionals and human services providers.

The HSP Program uses a biopsychosocial approach as the integrative perspective for its training of human service providers and researchers. There is a commitment in course design and practicum experience to understand not only the unique contributions of biological, psychological, and social aspects of human functioning but also the substantial interactions of these three components in almost every problem area addressed by human services psychology. We believe that HSP students should espouse this broader, interactive perspective in designating program interests and developing their graduate program of studies. Thus, the HSP program encourages a focus on the boundaries of biopsychosocial interactions as well as a solid understanding of each individual aspect in order to promote a more holistic and integrated approach to psychology research, service and practice.

Within the HSP program’s conceptual framework, the specialty tracks are regarded as differing primarily in their particular focus within the human services matrix and in how they conceive of and approach the generic problems of diagnosing, treating and preventing psychological and physical disorders. Thus, clinical psychology focuses on problems involving behavioral and psychological functioning of adults, children and families, and it includes assessing and treating those problems. Behavioral medicine focuses on problems involving relations between behavioral and biological levels of human functioning, problems more typically seen in medical settings, and problems related to physical health. Community psychology focuses on the community settings, social resources and human services policies that influence the effective functioning of both individuals and communities. Students are able to combine tracks. For example, students may elect to combine clinical training with specialty training in behavioral medicine or training in community psychology.

Applied Behavior Analysis

The HSP Program also includes a distinct master’s track in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), offered by the Department of Psychology in collaboration with the Department of Behavioral Psychology of the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. Applied behavior analysis addresses significant problems at the level of the behavior of the individual. Its many applications include behavior problems in children, parent training, developmental disabilities, education and behavioral medicine. Mastery of applied behavior analysis calls for competence in the detailed knowledge base of learning theory and applications to behavior reduction and skill acquisition, statistical and measurement techniques for evaluating behavior and designing treatments, and the various skills essential to delivering services and maintaining their effectiveness.

 

Program Admission Requirements

Human Services Psychology, Ph.D.

Admission to the program is competitive and based on a review by the graduate admissions committee of each applicant’s complete profile, including the applicant’s grade point average in the baccalaureate degree; performance in relevant courses; a personal statement of interests and career goals; letters of recommendation; relevant research and practical experience; maturity; and identification of an area of research interest compatible with the research interests and competence of the program’s faculty. Students are required to meet the basic minimum standards for admission to the Graduate School. GRE tests (General or Subject) are NOT required and will not be considered if provided as part of the application. The graduate admissions committee may also consider other information presented by students relevant to their potential for successfully completing the program and the compatibility of their professional goals with those of the program and program faculty. Full-time enrollment is the standard in the HSP doctoral program. Individuals wishing to apply for admission should contact the human services psychology graduate program specialist, at hsp@umbc.edu for further information and internal application materials. Applicants should note that the deadline for application for admission to the doctoral program is December 1. All original application materials must be sent directly to the Graduate School, not the graduate program.

Applied Behavior Analysis, M.A.

The dimensions considered by the Application Committee include grades (GPA), three letters of recommendation (preferably including academic as well as work-related references), work experience related to applied behavior analysis, self-statements (including the applicant’s stated reasons for an interest in applied behavior analysis at UMBC, in response to items on the supplemental application) and other information presented by the applicant in the application or during interviews. The GRE test is not required. Where applicants cannot visit UMBC or the KKI facilities, interviews can be conducted by telephone. The decisions of the committee also take into account the applicant pool in combination with an applicant’s fit to available faculty members.

The application deadline for Applied Behavior Analysis is January 1.

Facilities and Special Resources

In addition to the department’s well-equipped laboratories in development and educational contexts, interpersonal communications, learning, cardiovascular psycho-physiology, addictive behaviors, child health psychology, relationship analysis, domestic violence, social development, culture, child and adolescent development, organizational behavioral management and community and applied social psychology, the department is able to draw upon the rich research and applied training resources found in the Baltimore-Washington corridor, especially in the Greater Baltimore area. Prominent among these are the Walter P. Carter Center, the University of Maryland Medical School, the Gerontology Research Center of the National Institute on Aging, the Kennedy Krieger Institute, the Laboratory of Psychology and Psychopathology of the National Institute of Mental Health, Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital, Children’s National Hospital, the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital, the Chase-Brexton Clinic and the Springfield and Spring Grove hospital centers.

 

Outplacement Success

Recent graduates from the HSP program have found initial career placements in a variety of settings that involve psychological services, teaching and research. The majority have found employment in a variety of state and university institutions as staff psychologists, research associates and assistant professors. Recent employment settings range from Johns Hopkins University, NIH, and medical schools, to community hospitals, schools or correctional institutions. Approximately 30 percent have moved into direct service provision in private practice settings

Financial Assistance

Funding is available in the form of graduate teaching and research assistantships. Students are accepted with a promise of 5 years of funding. Support from special needs funding programs and other grants through the department and the Graduate School is also available. Loan information is available through UMBC’s Office of Financial Aid.

Course Descriptions  

Programs

Courses

    Psychology

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