USF College of Behavioral & Community Sciences                                                   November 2 - 8, 2015

 

 
 

 
MHLP Research Associate Professor to Evaluate Drug Court

Kathleen Moore, PhD, received notification that she was awarded a three-year $150,000 contract to evaluate the Hillsborough County Marchman Act Drug Court as part of a SAMHSA grant received by the 13th Judicial Circuit Court of Hillsborough County. Collaborative treatment partners involved in this initiative include DACCO and Phoenix House. Dr. Moore, along with Research Assistant Melissa Barongi, will conduct a comprehensive mixed method evaluation of the Pinellas County Adult Drug Court focusing on both process measures and project outcomes. The process evaluation will consist of three primary activities: (1) interviews to examine the effectiveness of different components of the Marchman Act drug court program; (2) observation of drug court and treatment activities to examine fidelity, quality, and comprehensiveness of various program services, and identify potential areas for improvement; and (3) review of key program materials and records, including clinical and supervision records, status hearing reports, and written materials describing the drug court program. The outcome evaluation will consist of client interviews and examine the extent to which involvement in the Marchman Act drug court reduces substance use, as well as key outcome measures (i.e., mental health symptomatology, trauma symptoms, and quality of life).

Criminology Associate Professor Receives Award to Continue Fair and Impartial Policing Training
Lorie Fridell, PhD, has received a $302,000 Research Award from the Division of Sponsored Research here at USF for her Fair and Impartial Policing Training program. The purpose of the training is to "continue the advancement of community policing by increasing the skills and abilities of the Department of Justice's law enforcement officers to engage in fair and impartial policing practices." This award will allow Fridell and her team to provide anti-bias training to police departments nationwide and educate law enforcement officers on implicit bias.
Drs. Jennifer Bugos & Jerri Edwards Receive National Endowment for the Arts Grant

Jerri Edwards, PhD, Associate Professor in the School of Aging Studies, College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, is a Co-Investigator on a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant with Principal Investigator, Jennifer Bugos, PhD, Assistant Professor of Music Education, College of the Arts. Their study will examine the effects of piano training on the cognitive performance and psychosocial well-being of older adults. Not only does music have a well-recognized impact on an individual's emotional state, research shows that music training may also improve brain plasticity, potentially mitigating the effects of an aging brain, preventing cognitive decline and/or improving psychological health.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) promotes opportunities for people in communities across America to experience the arts and exercise their creativity. In partnership with the Hillsborough County Department of Aging Services, Drs. Bugos and Edwards will employ a randomized, controlled trial study design, comparing such outcome variables as verbal fluency, working memory, mood, self-efficacy, and physiological stress in older adults who receive piano training versus older adults who receive either computer-based auditory training or no treatment at all.


 



 

MSW Student Awarded ACS Grant

Elizabeth Barron, an Advanced Standing student in the Master of Social Work program, was the recipient of a Master's Training Grant in Clinical Oncology Social Work awarded by the American Cancer Society. This grant is awarded to a student who excels in their field placement at an institution that educates, and provides a high quality training program for oncology social workers. This grant seeks to reward students who are trained to provide services and interventions to diverse populations, including poor and medically underserved populations. Elizabeth is currently completing her field placement at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and will graduate in Spring 2016.

CFS Professor Appointed to Graduate Council

Donna Cohen, PhD, has been appointed to the USF Graduate Council for a three-year term (2015-2018), effective Fall 2015 semester. The USF Graduate Council advises the Provost and the Senior Vice President for USF Health or their designees on principles, policies, and procedures affecting graduate education at USF.

USF Florence Italy Study Abroad Program Gets Intimate with Relationships

What better location than Florence Italy to take an Intimate Relationships course? The course, which is taught by Rick Weinberg, PhD, Associate Professor in the USF Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling Program, is part of the USF in Florence Summer Study Abroad Program. One of the most popular among USF's approximately three-dozen summer study abroad programs, Florence surrounds students with incomparable art, architecture, ambiance and unique cuisine that have made it famous for centuries. Eighteen students took part in this summer's course which examined what love is, why people are attracted to one another, how people fall in love, then maintain or fail to maintain these relationships, how to survive with self-esteem intact when a person is dumped, why some partners cheat, how the bitter wounds of infidelity can heal, and what successful couples do to repair and improve their intimate relationships over time.

 

 

CSD Supports Childhood Apraxia Event

The Walk for Childhood Apraxia of Speech was held on Saturday, Oct 24 in St. Petersburg. Kathleen Sills, M.S., CCC-SLP, Clinical Instructor in Speech-Language Pathology, represented the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, along with NSSLHA students who served as volunteers for the children's games! The USF-CSD team raised over $500 in support of children with childhood apraxia, a neurological speech disorder that affects a child's ability to clearly and correctly produce syllables and words.

 

 

Glen Dunlap, PhD to Speak for Distinguished Lecture on Behavioral Health

CommuniqueGlen Dunlap, PhD, will present "Perspectives on Challenging Behavior: Past, Present and Future" on Thursday, November 5, 2015 from 3:00 - 5:00pm at the Gibbons Alumni Center (ALC 100). Formerly a professor with the University of South Florida, Dr. Glen Dunlap is internationally recognized for his contributions to science in the areas of applied behavior analysis, positive behavior support, early intervention, developmental disabilities and family support. Dr. Dunlap's legacy at the University of South Florida includes establishing the first Center for Autism and Related Disabilities and providing leadership in the development of numerous research, training, and technical assistance projects related to the implementation of Positive Behavior Support, early intervention, evidence-based practice, and improving runaway behavior. Flyer ... Registration

James Johnson, Jr, PhD, to Speak as Part of the 2015-16 Distinguished Lectureship in Aging

CommuniqueJames Johnson, Jr, PhD, will present "Bracing for the Silver Tsunami, the Silver Lining, and the Golden Dividends" on Friday, November 13, 2015 at 10:30am in USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Institute ALZ101. Dr. Johnson is the William Rand Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School and director of the Urban Investment Strategies Center at the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise. Dr. Johnson's center focuses on innovative approaches to revitalizing urban areas and on teaching government, community, and nonprofit leaders and managers to become more entrepreneurial and business-like in their operations and service delivery.

CBCS Doctoral Dissertation Defense
Title: "Neurophysiological Activity Related to Speech Production: An ERP Investigation"
Student: Adithya Chandregowda
Department: CSD
Date: Thursday, November 5, 2015
Time: 12:15pm
Location: PCD 4004
ABA Thesis Defenses
Title: "Evaluating Preference for Telehealth and In-Person Parent Training"
Student: Jennifer Stich
Date: Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Time: 11:00am
Location: MHC 2324

Title: "Evaluating the Effectiveness of Values Based Training to Impact Physical Activity in Adults"
Student: Jessica Sykes
Date: Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Time: 10:30am
Location: MHC 2301

Title: "The Evaluation of Tablets to Increase Compliance and Decrease Problem Behaviors in Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder"
Student: Hongchau Vo
Date: Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Time: 9:00am
Location: MHC 2324

Title: "Using Behavioral Skills Training and a Warning Sticker to Teach Children Household Poison Safety Skills"
Student: Jackalynne DeLong
Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Time: 11:45am
Location: MHC 2324

Title: "Investigating the Use of an Acceptance and Commitment Training to Enhance a Behavioral Parent Training with Parents of Children with Autism"
Student: Jillian DeFreitas
Date: Thursday, November 5, 2015
Time: 9:30am
Location: MHC 2324
CBCS In the News

Gun violence and mental health
Fox 13 News
USF is hosting a panel experts at an academic conference aimed at presenting facts and opening dialogue on this sometimes contentious issue.

 

Is the Ferguson Effect For Real?
Time Magazine
Researchers at the University of South Florida studied the Orlando police department's use of body cameras in 2014 and in findings published in October, they concluded that cameras produced better behavior and happier communities. By the end of the experiment, many officers who had been skeptical about the utility of body cameras became believers.

 

Positive behavior support grant for Nassau County School District
Fernandina Observer
This team works in partnership with the University of South Florida's Positive Behavioral Support Project and the Nassau Alcohol and Drug Abatement Coalition to implement the "Positive Behavioral Support" project.

 

Addressing solutions to gun violence
WTSP-TV
USF will host locally and nationally recognized experts for a community conversation on guns, violence and mental health

 

The intersection of mental health, guns and violence: a balancing act
TBO.com
USF faculty member Dr. Mary Armstrong is executive director of the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, part of USF's College of Behavioral & Community Sciences.

 

Body cameras provide new views of deputies' work
Tampa Bay Times
A recent University of South Florida study, which examined the effects of body cameras within the Orlando Police Department, found a 65 percent drop in complaints against officers who wore the cameras and a 53 percent reduction in officer use of force.

 

Expert: Gun violence not completely linked to mental health
WTSP-TV, Fox 13 News
When you google mass shootings, what pops up with it is mental health. Friday, the University of South Florida hosted an academic conference on the two issues and their relationship.

 

USF forum addresses gun violence, mental illness
Tampa Bay Times, TBO.com
On Friday, Tampa's former police chief was one of five featured speakers at a "Colloquium on Mental Health, Guns and Crime," which drew a crowd of about 200 near the University of South Florida. The focus was on the nexus of the three issues, and what law enforcement and public health officials can do to prevent violent crime.

 

USF addresses guns, violence, mental health
wtsp.com
As gun violence continues to plague our communities here in the Tampa Bay area and across the nation, the University of South Florida is hosting a community forum Friday to open up the dialogue on the intersection of guns, violence and mental health.

 

Experts shed light on mental illness, gun violence
fox13news.com
Swanson and many other mental health professionals spoke at the University of South Florida on Friday during an open dialog with the public on guns, violence, and mental health.

 

Gun rights for mentally ill a tricky issue, experts say at USF conference
tbo.com
That's not to say a conversation about the issue isn't going on, according to a panel of experts in law enforcement and behavioral sciences at a Friday conference hosted by the University of South Florida's College of Behavioral and Community Services.

 

Is there a connection between gun violence and mental illness?
wmnf.org
After a mass shooting it's common for analysts to examine the mental health of the suspect. But at a forum Friday hosted by the University of South Florida in Tampa, a behavioral sciences researcher downplayed the connection between gun violence and people with serious mental illnesses.

 

The Talker: 5 things on our radar today
tbo.com
Combating gun violence: With incidents of gun violence and mental health so prevalent throughout the country of late, the University of South Florida will gather national and local experts to present the most current research on the issue. Today's conference, from 9 a.m. to noon at the University Area Community Development Corporation at 14013 N. 22nd St., is free and open to the public.

New Publication
  1. Holup, A., Gassoumis, Z., Wilber, K., & Hyer, K. (2015) Community discharge of nursing home residents: the role of facility characteristics. Health Services Research. Advance online publication. doi.10.11/1475-6773.12340 PubMed Abstract
Adding News/Events/Publications to the CBCS Website and Newsletter

If you have news/events you would like posted on the CBCS website and/or newsletter, please send the details and any attachments to CBCS Marketing. (CBCSMarketing@usf.edu)

 

Be sure to include all pertinent information in the format you would like to have posted (title, date, times, location, event description and contact information). Please provide your information in editable digital text format.

 

Information on recent/upcoming publications should be forwarded to Ardis Hanson. (hanson@usf.edu)