PhD in Clinical Psychology Student Resources

Detailed information about the PhD Program in Clinical Psychology can be found in the Program Handbook.

If you have any questions about the program, please email the Director of Clinical Training (DCT), Dr. Christopher King, or the Psychology Department’s Coordinator for Graduate Student Advancement, Ms. Jen Wilenta Moriarty, at gradclinical@montclair.edu.

Many of the program’s activities take place in two buildings. The first is Dickson Hall, the home of the Psychology Department and research labs for many of the faculty who train students in the program. The second is the Montclair State Center for Clinical Services (CCS), which serves as a clinical training facility and resource for our students, being the home of some of the Psychology Department’s training clinics (e.g., in school psychology). CCS features classrooms, research labs, and 24 assessment/treatment rooms with state-of-the-art technology that allow faculty and students to directly observe real and simulated sessions in real time and record them for feedback and supervision.

We make every effort to fund students through their first four years of study, unless otherwise agreed to at the time of admission. Support is provided through mechanisms such as doctoral assistantships or outside research or clinical contracts.

Doctoral assistantships are 10-month contracts that provide a stipend and full tuition remission for approximately 20 hours of work per week.

Specific duties can vary depending on the particular assignment and the student’s year in the program. Typical responsibilities include coordinating a faculty member’s research program and team; variously assisting a faculty member with the courses they are teaching; teaching undergraduate courses oneself; and making progress on one’s dissertation and demonstrations of greater independent functioning as a researcher (including assembling one’s own research team and mentoring more junior undergraduate and graduate student researchers).

Any tuition and fees or costs beyond the fourth year typically incur to the student. In the fifth year and beyond, students typically rely on teaching contracts or internship salaries for income.

Information about tuition and fees or costs for graduate students at Montclair State can be found at Red Hawk Central. Information about the Montclair State Student Health Insurance Plan can also be found there.

In emphasizing the integration of science and practice, the program adheres to a training approach consistent with the scientist-practitioner model established at the Boulder Conference in 1949. Because the program trains students to be scientist-practitioners and understand how science and practice inform one another, students are prepared for positions in both research-oriented (e.g., research universities and academic medical centers) and practice-oriented (e.g., hospitals, schools, community mental health agencies, forensic settings, and private practice) settings. Consistent with this model, the program aims to accomplish the following.

• Provide students with the foundational knowledge and clinical skills to become competent scientist-practitioners in clinical psychology. This aim is accomplished by providing students with knowledge in the depth and breadth of scientific psychology, skills in evidence-based approaches to assessment and treatment, and an understanding of how to apply a scientific approach to clinical decision-making, case conceptualization, and evaluating clinical efficacy. Our approach to clinical training is guided by the American Psychological Association (APA)’s definition of evidence-based practice in psychology, as students are taught that clinical psychologists have a responsibility to provide services based on the best available knowledge while also using their clinical judgment to consider client characteristics and preferences.
• Produce students with the necessary research skills to contribute to the scholarly knowledge base. This aim is accomplished by providing students with grounding in the research process and skills needed to develop, critically evaluate, synthesize, and apply scientific knowledge. Our approach to research training prepares students to conduct original and meaningful research to better understand and address a range of clinical issues, problems, and populations. Students are trained to develop independent research questions based on a critical evaluation of empirical research, generate hypotheses, and test them using experimentation and statistical methods. Students are expected to disseminate their research through conference presentations and publications.
• Prepare students to be ethical, culturally-responsive, and professional scientist-practitioners. Students learn to conduct themselves in an ethical manner consistent with the principles and standards of the APA Ethics Code, as well as continually self-assess their competencies; recognize their limitations; and seek supervision, consultation, and training when needed. In addition, this aim is accomplished by ensuring that students develop awareness, respect, and sensitivity in regard to diversity in age, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and other individual differences. Students are encouraged to pursue leadership, innovation, and excellence in line with the profession-wide competency of individual and cultural diversity.

The program offers students the opportunity for specialized training in two areas of health service psychology: clinical child psychology and forensic psychology. The clinical child psychology emphasis focuses on the unique psychological needs of children and adolescents, as well as developmental considerations in psychopathology, assessment, and treatment, including the role of family and social contexts in psychological adjustment. The forensic psychology emphasis focuses on evidence-based services for individuals whose lives interface with the legal system. Students learn the unique legal and ethical parameters for the practice of psychology within the legal system, gain practical experience in forensic mental health assessment and the provision of treatment to offender and victim populations, and are exposed to current theories on family and interpersonal violence.

The program utilizes a mentor model of training. Each student has a faculty mentor (identified at the time of admission) with shared interests. Faculty mentors are expected to model the integration of science and practice and form collaborative relationships with their students, involving them in their research programs and opportunities for presentation and publications while promoting their development as goal-oriented, productive, and well-rounded clinical psychologists.

In addition, the program is comprised of faculty members with diverse and interdisciplinary research interests across a variety of areas which intersect with clinical psychology, including biological, cognitive, and developmental psychology. We encourage our prospective students to consider any of our core or associated faculty members as prospective mentors, and our students are free to pursue research projects related to any of the areas in which our faculty currently work.

The program is committed to promoting awareness, respect, and sensitivity in regard to diversity in age, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and other individual differences. Consistent with these efforts, faculty and students in the program strive to provide an open and supportive learning environment for all individuals, from faculty and student recruitment through to completion of the program.

Recruitment efforts for new faculty for the program include the welcoming of applications from professionals with a wide range of personal backgrounds, lived experiences, and perspectives; and search committees consisting of similarly diverse members. The program faculty also welcome applications from students with a wide range of personal backgrounds, lived experiences, and perspectives. Those with interests in and a commitment to advancing the profession-wide competency of individual and cultural diversity are strongly encouraged to apply.

Students are then encouraged throughout the curriculum to understand and appreciate the importance of cultural and individual differences in the theory, research, and practice of clinical psychology. In their clinical training, students have opportunities to work with clients from a wide range of backgrounds. In their research training, students consider issues of individual and cultural diversity throughout the research process, from study design to interpretation and reporting of results. Students also have opportunities for training with a number of program faculty who have clinical, research, and service interests specifically concerning individual and cultural diversity. Furthermore, students are encouraged to connect with the broader, diverse university community of which they are a part, including through the Montclair State Office of Student Belonging. Relatedly, the program remains mindful of Montclair State’s Human Relations Statement on Campus Climate for Civility and Human Dignity. Students and faculty with concerns or suggestions for opportunities for growth with respect to the program’s commitment to the profession-wide competency of individual and cultural diversity are encouraged to alert the Director of Clinical Training (DCT), either directly, or via faculty mentors and other program faculty, student cohort representatives, or student members of the Psychological Organization of Doctoral Students (PODS) Diversity Committee.

In fostering these opportunities, the program hopes to create leaders who value individual and cultural diversity; are innovative and committed to excellence; and promote human rights, fairness, and dignity for all people—both within and outside their academic and professional communities.

Rachel Bomysoad

Mentor: Chris King

Dissertation: Project Choices: An Experimental Serious Video Game for Performance-Based Risk Assessment

Internship: Albany Consortium/Albany Medical College

Postdoctoral position: Associate Psychologist, Capital District Psychiatric Center

Michelle Grazioli

Mentor: Peter Vietze

Dissertation: Predictors of Disordered Eating Among College Students: A Multimodal Approach

Internship: Immaculata University Psych Internship Consortium

Postdoctoral position: 

Leora Haller

Mentor: Shannon O’Connor

Dissertation: Exploring Individual Differences as Moderators of Perceived Peer Influence on Disordered Eating

Internship: Trinitas Regional Medical Center

Postdoctoral position: 

Arielle Hershkovich

Mentor: Jennifer Yang

Dissertation: Culturally Concordant DBT STEPS-A Intervention in Orthodox Jewish Schools

Internship: Center for Anxiety

Postdoctoral position:

Rachel McDonald

Mentor: Erin Kang

Dissertation: Electrophysiological Markers of Emotion Dysregulation in Autistic Youth

Internship: Alpert Medical School of Brown University

Postdoctoral position: 

Michelle Mui

Mentor: Josh Sandry

Dissertation: Ex-Gaussian Analysis of Inhibition in Chronic Moderate-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

Internship: VA St. Louis Health Care System

Postdoctoral position: Post-doctoral Fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology, University of Virginia Department of Psychiatry

Ryan Schneider

Mentor: Tina Zottoli

Dissertation: Discretion in Prosecutorial Decision-Making and its Effects on Sentencing Recommendations

Internship: Federal Medical Center, Rochester

Postdoctoral position: Forensic Mental Health Evaluator, Critical Assessments

Melissa Sital

Mentor: Jeremy Fox

Dissertation: Examining Strategies for the Recruitment and Retention of Students of Color in Health Service Psychology Doctoral Programs

Internship: Jewish Child Care Association

Postdoctoral position: Psychologist, Jewish Child Care Association

Jessica Wimmer

Mentor: Samantha Coyle-Eastwick

Dissertation: The TEAAM: The Development of a Trauma Assessment Measure for Late Adolescents and Emerging Adults

Internship: Charleston Area Medical Center

Postdoctoral position:

Kenny Gonzalez

Mentor: Chris King

Dissertation: Multicultural Competence in Police and Public Safety Evaluations

Internship: Bronx VA Medical Center

Postdoctoral position: Psychologist for a law enforcement agency

Sadaf Khawar

Mentor: Erin Kang

Dissertation: Trends and Barriers in Service Utilization in Underrrepresented Ethnoracial Groups with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the United States: A Mixed-Method Analysis

Internship: Kennedy Krieger/Johns Hopkins/Behavioral Psych

Postdoctoral position: Postdoctoral Associate, University of Minnesota Medical School, Department of Pediatrics

Emily Kline

Mentor: Carrie Masia

Dissertation: Engagement and Retention of College Students with Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in a Digital Mental Health Intervention Using a Brief Peer Support Model

Internship: Dartmouth Health

Postdoctoral position: Clinical Postdoctoral Fellow, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Sophia Lall

Mentor: Josh Sandry

Dissertation: Vulnerability of Semantic Networks in Multiple Sclerosis: An Analysis of Verbal Fluency Data

Internship: Coatesville VA Medical Center

Postdoctoral position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Mount Sinai, Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance

Farah Mahmud

Mentor: Carrie Masia

Dissertation: Exploring the Relationship between Cognitive Inflexibility and Anxiety Symptoms in Youth on the Autism Spectrum

Internship: Harvard Medical School/Boston Children’s Hospital

Postdoctoral position: Postdoctoral T32 Research Fellow, Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Karly Weinreb

Mentor: Samantha Coyle

Dissertation: Betrayal as a Moderator of COVID-19 Exposure and PTSD Symptoms

Internship: Coatesville VA Medical Center

Postdoctoral position: Postdoctoral Fellow, National Center for PTSD/Boston VA

Whitney Dartnell

Mentor: Nicole Lytle

Dissertation: Conversational Dynamics Between Caregivers and Children: The Role of Elaboration and Autonomy Support on Children’s Memory Reports

Internship: Nebraska Internship Consortium, Munroe-Meyer Rural Care Prog

Postdoctoral position: Pediatric Psychologist, Geisinger Health System

Lauren Grove

Mentor: Christopher King

Dissertation: An Analysis of the Sophistication–Maturity of Justice and Non-Justice Involved Youth and Young Adults

Internship: Superior Court of the District of Columbia

Postdoctoral position: Psychologist, South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice

Conor Hogan

Mentor: Tina Zottoli

Dissertation: Contextualizing the Guilty Plea Experiences of Individuals Charged with Sex Crimes

Internship: Rutgers Biomedical & Health Sciences

Postdoctoral position: Mental Health Clinician II, Rutgers University Correctional Healthcare at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center

Sowmya Kshtriya

Mentor: Paul Amhrein

Dissertation: Using Path Modeling to Investigate the Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Post-Traumatic Growth through Meaning-Making, Resilience, and PTSD Symptoms

Internship: Manhattan Psychiatric Center

Postdoctoral position: Postdoctoral Fellow in Clinical Psychology, Columbia University Counseling and Psychological Services

Brooke Stettler

Mentors: Jason Dickinson and Nicole Lytle

Dissertation: A Survey of Knowledge and Beliefs on Child Maltreatment

Internship: Miami VA Healthcare System

Postdoctoral position: Postdoctoral Resident, Center for Behavioral Medicine

Petty Tineo

Mentor: Jazmin Reyes-Portillo

Dissertation:The Impact of Acculturative Stress on Internalizing Problems Among Racially and Ethnically Minoritized Adolescents and Young Adults in the U.S. : A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Internship: Veterans Affairs New Jersey Health Care System

Postdoctoral position: Psychology Fellow, Veterans Affairs New Jersey Health Care System

Cody Weeks

Mentor: Jazmin Reyes-Portillo

Dissertation: The Association of Mindfulness, Passive Social Media Use, Social Comparisons, FoMO and Depression in College Students

Internship: University of Colorado School of Medicine

Postdoctoral position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Reaching HOPE, University of Colorado School of Medicine

Alaina Wodzinski

Mentor: Jeremy Fox

Dissertation: The Relationship between Poverty and Behavior Problems: Examining the Role of Family and Parental Factors from an Ecological Systems Perspective

Internship: Southwest Behavioral & Health Services

Postdoctoral position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Child and Family Therapy Clinic, Kennedy Krieger Institute

Jennifer Bartlett

Mentor: Tina Zottoli

Dissertation: Using a Novel Experimental Paradigm to Investigate Whether Individuals with Trauma Exposure are at an Increased Risk of Pleading Guilty Falsely

Internship: Trenton Psychiatric Hospital

Postdoctoral position: Central State Hospital

Jessica Bonumwezi

Mentors: Sarah Lowe and Sally Grapin

Dissertation: Mediation of Intergenerational Trauma Transmission by Family Variables in Children of Rwandan Survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi

Internship: Westchester Jewish Community Services

Postdoctoral position: Global Mental Health and Addiction Program at University of Maryland

DeVanté J. Cunningham

Mentor: Carrie Masia

Dissertation: The Relationship Between Racial Microaggressions, Mental Health, and Academic Self-Efficacy in Black College Students: Is a Supportive Mentor Protective?

Internship: VA NY Harbor Healthcare System, Manhattan Campus

Postdoctoral position: Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Jill Del Pozzo

Mentor: Christopher King

Dissertation: Multiple Risk Factors for Schizotypy in a Non-Clinical Population: Exploring the Continuum of Psychosis Two Years Later

Internship: VA New Jersey Health Care System

Postdoctoral position: Clinical Neuropsychology and Rehabilitation Research Fellowship Program at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and The Brain Injury Research Center

Tanya Singh

Mentor: Jazmin Reyes-Portillo

Dissertation: Factors Related to Formal and Online Help-Seeking Behaviors among Latinx College Students

Internship: Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, Adult – Outpatient

Postdoctoral position: The CBT Center for Anxiety and OCD

Zerbrina Valdespino-Hayden

Mentors: Sarah Lowe and Joshua Sandry

Dissertation: Rape Myth Acceptance and Acknowledgment: Predictors of Disclosing Sexual Assault and Service-Seeking

Internship: Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center, General Track

Postdoctoral position: Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship in the Road Home Program: Center for Veterans and Their Families at Rush University Medical Center