Tag: College of Psychology

College of Psychology Joins Forces with Pines Charter School

College of Psychology students

The post-COVID return to the classroom has been challenging for many schools. In order to re-engaged students returning to Pembroke Pines Charter High School, school administrator Cindhia Velez was tasked with leading the school’s new social-emotional learning (SEL) initiative.  As a parent, NSU College of Psychology Associate Professor Timothy Razza, Psy.D., has served on several parent advisory boards for the Pembroke Pines charter system and was asked to serve as the parent representative for the SEL team.  The result was a collaboration between Razza’s PSYC 4810 course and the high school. The course offered through the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, titled Practicum in Community Psychology, allows NSU students to apply their knowledge of psychology principles in real-world settings. In this case, Razza’s students would assist Pembroke Pines Charter High School staff with the social emotional learning program starting in the Winter 2022 semester.

Pembroke Pines Charter High School already had implemented an initiative titled Mindfulness Mondays, however its impact left students with little interest in its content. One high school student remarked that the videos and discussions were “boring” using this model. Based on student feedback, the PSYC 4810 students, or the SEL facilitators, enhanced the initiative by providing information and activities that were both engaging and collaborative. SEL or Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is regarded as one of the most important skills students need to learn developmentally. The SEL team consisted of ten College of Psychology undergraduate students. They were Jozef Cruz, Aimee Villar, Ally Shah, Emily Martinez, Evelyn Pinto, Kylah Michel, Meagan Fernandez, Megan Alicea, Neida Rangel, and Quinn Tompkins.

NSU students provided classroom presentation and discussion based on themes selected by the school and teachers. Themes included stress management, dealing with depression, setting priorities, learning to accept emotions, demonstrating respect to others, and related topics. Presentations were made to all high school and some middle school grades. The team presented throughout each week in order to interact with as many students as possible.

Due to this outreach, the feedback has been extremely positive. Parents, teachers, administrators, and most importantly, students have welcomed these presentations and have shown greater interest in the themes presented. With the positive impact on students, some teachers have requested additional visits from the team. One welcomed outcome from the SEL team’s presentation is that students can openly discuss mental health with their peers. It is hoped, that because of these open conversations, there will be less hesitancy in seeking help regarding mental health issues. The success of the program has also been highlighted in the high school’s newspaper. Click HERE to read the article.

With the success of this initiative, the high school and College of Psychology plan to continue it in the fall 2022 semester.

Posted 05/08/22

Interdisciplinary NSU Team Presents Research in Philadelphia

Group photo in front of the Love Statue in Center City Philadelphia. Bottom Row (left to right): Akshata Sastry, Alina Poothurail, Emily Schmitt Lavin, Luzcarime Saco Vertiz, Caroline Roy, Sanjana Vadlamudi, and Isadora Rocha De Abreu. Top Row (left to right): Varun Andrews, Ryan Luib, Espélancia Bell, Pujita Julakanti, Carol Manikkuttiyil, Rajin Persaud, Alexander Lavin.

A team of 23 NSU delegates representing the College of Psychology neuroscience major, Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine public health major, Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine, Halmos College of Arts and Sciences (HCAS) biology and chemistry majors, Farquhar Honors College and the Nova (K-12) Public Schools traveled together to present their research as part of the NSU Chapter of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB).

They joined thousands of presenters including coauthors from Grandview University, Xavier University, Ursinus College, Rochester Institute of Technology, and University of Florida. The conference brought together five national scientific societies at the 2022 Experimental Biology conference held in Philadelphia, Pa. (April 2-5) https://www.experimentalbiology.org/. Research was presented at a variety of poster sessions and at a Spotlight Session on Teaching Strategies and Lessons Learned During COVID-19 chaired by HCAS Assistant Professor Arthur Sikora.

HCAS biology major Rachel Keating received the ASBMB Society Travel Award. Projects were funded by the National Science Foundation Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Initiative and the Sigma Xi Science, Math, and Engineering Education Grant. HCAS Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions, Megan Troy, presented the Master of Science in Biological Sciences Health Studies and Research Concentrations at graduate program fairs held by the ASBMB and the American Physiology Society (APS).

The projects presented by the team were the following:

  • Arthur Sikora, Bonnie Hall, Steven Mills, Rebecca Roberts, and Paul Craig. You gotta work, BASIL! Reimagining an established CURE to provide high-quality digital learning experiences that are intentionally equitable, inclusion and accessible for all students.
  • Emily Schmitt Lavin, Varun Andrews, Espélancia Bell, Kenneth Bui, Vincent Do, Neha Joshi, Alexander Lavin, Carol Manikkuttiyil, Shashank Nutalapati, Alina Poothurail, Caroline Roy, Sanjana Vadlamudi, Shawn McQuaid , Michele Parsons, Aarti Raja . The Nova Hydroculture Project: Bringing a community of science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) learners together to grow a unique garden.
  • Isadora Rocha De Abreu, Allison Barkdull, Travis Craddock. A computational analysis of colchicine structural analogs as potential microtubule destabilizing agents.
  • Rachel Keating , Luzcarime Saco Vertiz, Victor Manly, Akshata Sastry, Santanu De , Arthur Sikora. Quantification of Learning Gains in a Science CURE: Leveraging learning objectives to substantiate and validate the benefits of experiential education.
  • Emily Schmitt Lavin, Lyla Abbas, Aisha Abdool, Jordan Nichole Carreras, Jose Diaz, Seethal Doki, Rachel Harris, Heidi Hellenbrand, Pujita Julakanti, Brianna Lacasse, Sanjana Likki, Ryan Luib, Rathika Manikandan, Carol Manikkuttiyil, Saimi Reyes, Isadora Rocha De Abreu, Vibha Sankavaram, Tassnime Sebaei, Chino Villanueva, Arthur Sikora. Creating a learning model where students practice the scientific process through protein modeling.

NSU had additional research presented by groups from the College of Pharmacy (Abstract 532.8) and the Rumbaugh-Goodwin Institute for Cancer Research (Abstract 576.6) at the Conference.

Posted 04/24/22

Psychology Professor Received Distinguished Professor Honor

Jaime Tartar, Ph.D.

Jaime Tartar, Ph.D., the College of Psychology Professor of the Year, was awarded the NSU President’s Distinguished Professor of the Year.

This Award of Excellence recognizes superior professional achievement and encourages the ongoing pursuit of excellence. The award is conferred upon faculty who have achieved prominence and have earned a distinguished reputation through significant contributions to research and scholarship and exceptional instruction.

After joining NSU, Tartar chaired the psychology undergraduate major, after which she established and directed the behavioral neuroscience undergraduate major, renamed to neuroscience. This new program filled an important need. The U.S. Department of Labor Statistics projects a high demand for occupations related to neuroscience. As director of research and the neuroscience program, she grew enrollment and helped recruit strong faculty to the college who are highly engaged in teaching, mentoring, and research.  Many of our neuroscience majors have gone on to medical school and other health professions, research, and related careers.

Tartar presents regularly at NSU, to national conferences, and to the community (e.g., Society for Neuroscience, NSU Convocation and Commencement, Ambassadors Board, Planned Giving Council, Circle of Friends, Rotary Club, Shark Chats, etc.) to high marks.  She is an excellent collaborator, who brought together faculty from other disciplines and co-founded the Society for NeuroSports, an academic society.

This effort has attracted national attention, bringing faculty, practitioners, and students together to their annual conference. Collaborations led to creation of The Journal of The Society for NeuroSports (https://nsuworks.nova.edu/neurosports/.

Posted 04/27/22

Three Generations Visit the College of Psychology

On Monday, April 4, College of Psychology alumni Caryn Wachsler, Psy.D., and her daughter, Jana Wachsler, Psy.D., visited the College. The purpose of their visit was to introduce Jana Wachsler’s daughter, Emilie, to the school.

During the visit, the family met with Dean Grosby, several faculty including Charles Golden and Tom Kennedy, and college staff. They toured the Maxwell Maltz building and learned about the College’s graduate programs. While reminiscing about her time at NSU, Jana Wachsler remarked that she was pregnant with Emilie when she was a student in the Clinical Psychology Psy.D. program.

In addition to earning her Psy.D. from NSU, she also completed her MS in Mental Health Counseling from the school. Dr. Jana Wachsler operates a practice in Canandaigua, N.Y. Her mother, Dr. Caryn Wachsler, earned her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from NSU in 1991 and operates a practice in Boca Raton.

Posted 04/10/22

Psychology Professor’s Book Chosen as Awards Finalist

Boucher Gill

We are pleased to announce Big Brain Book: How It Works and All Its Quirks by College of Psychology Professor Leanne Boucher Gill, Ph.D., has been recognized as a Finalist in the 24th annual Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards.

In the Big Brain Book, readers are welcomed to Lobe Labs and Dr. Brain activities in a brightly illustrated, highly engaging book that uses science to answer interesting questions that tweens, teens, and adults have about the brain and human behavior. This is a fun primer on psychology and neuroscience that makes complex psychological phenomena and neural mechanisms relatable to the reader through illustrations, interesting factoids, and more. Chapters include: What is the brain made up of and how does it work? Why can’t I tickle myself? Why do they shine a light in my eyes when I hit my head in the game? Answers draw from both psychology and neuroscience, giving ample examples of how the science is relevant to the question and to the reader’s life experiences.

The Big Brain Book and its companion picture book for younger readers, Lobe Your Brain: What Matters About Your Grey Matter, were published by Magination Press Children’s Books, the children’s book imprint of the American Psychological Association, in June 2021.

As part of its mission to discover, review, and share the best books from university and independent publishers, Foreword Magazine, Inc. hosts an annual awards program each year. Finalists represent the best books published in 2021. After more than 2,500 individual titles spread across 55 genres were submitted for consideration, the Finalistswere determined by Foreword’s editorial team. Winners will be decided by an expert team of booksellers and librarians—representing Foreword’s trade readership—from across the country.

The complete list of Finalists can be found at:

https://www.forewordreviews.com/awards/finalists/2021/

Boucher Gill has been on the faculty at NSU for 12 years teaching classes in psychology and neuroscience. She has a passion for communicating science with the public and often includes her students in library and museum STEAM outreach programs on brain science. Her research focuses on how cognition can be affected by movement. In this line of research, Boucher Gill examines how different forms of exercise (walking, running, bike riding, SCUBA diving) or fidgeting movements can affect one’s inhibitory control, working memory, learning, and attentional focus. She works with many students who have presented their research at local and national conferences.

Posted 04/10/22

NSU Program Addresses Youth Suicide Awareness/Prevention

Scott Poland, Ed.D.

NSU will be rolling out a new program, “STEPS” (School Toolkit for Educators to Prevent Suicide) that directly addresses the need for awareness to help stem the tide of mental health struggles and youth suicide. STEPS will now be shared across Florida, thanks to a three-year grant from the Florida Blue Foundation, and will train 500 administrators or school mental health professionals a year for the next three years. After the training, each participant will receive the 186-page toolkit.

This program was created by Scott Poland, Ed.D., a professor in NSU’s College of Psychology. The program is based on his more than 40 years of experience working on youth suicide prevention in schools. Poland is also the director of the Suicide and Violence Prevention Office at NSU.

Learn more about the program.

Posted 03/25/22

Out of Darkness Walk Addresses Suicide Prevention

On November 7, Nova Southeastern University’s Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc. partnered with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to hold the Out of Darkness Community Walk. Scott Poland, Ed.D., professor at the College of Psychology and director of the Suicide and Violence Prevention Office at NSU, provided the opening address. The Out of Darkness walks are dedicated to providing a supportive community for those who have lost a friend or loved one to suicide, and to raising funds for suicide awareness and prevention.

The event represented a welcome return to in-person community walks after a year of social-distanced activities. More than750 participants took part, individually or as teams. Thanks to the hard work of participants, volunteers, and staff, the event raised more than $75,000. These funds will be used for research, education, advocacy, and support for those impacted by suicide. In addition to the incredible work of the sorority, several NSU organizations including NSPIRE (Nova Students for the Prevention and Intervention of Suicide and Response to Emergencies), the Office of Suicide and Violence Prevention, and MIND (Mental Illness New Directions) tabled at the event to raise awareness regarding mental health difficulties.

NSU’s dedication to suicide prevention continues year-round. For more information, visit NSU’s Office of Suicide and Violence Prevention website to find resources, publications, and upcoming events.

Posted 12/12/21

Psychology Alumnus Raises Funds for Cancer Awareness

Matthew Jalazo and Crystal Ortner

Matthew Jalazo, a College of Psychology alumnus, is seeking widespread support throughout Nova Southeastern University for his national virtual walk on December 4 to benefit the Colon Cancer Coalition and its efforts to promote awareness of the importance of early screenings.

“I believe that this advocacy movement (borne from my close friendship with Crystal, a fellow NSU alum and psychologist who was stricken with Stage 4 colon cancer) can help many people, given the universally positive reception it has received throughout the South Florida community and across the country,” Jalazo said.

Crystal Ortner and Jalazo, both cancer survivors, have forged a strong friendship through the years.

To date, Jalazo has raised more than $11,000 for charity and hopes to raise significantly more by the time his fundraising efforts conclude next month.
“Crystal and I are on a lifesaving mission. We hope to make a powerful difference nationwide, and make our university proud!” he said.

Posted 11/14/21

 

Psychology Alumna Gets VP Position at Memorial Healthcare

Tammy Tucker

Nova Southeastern University alumna Tammy Tucker was recently promoted to vice president of Behavioral Health Services for the Memorial Healthcare System.

Tucker started her career at Memorial in 1992 as a clinical director of The Starting Place where she obtained invaluable experience in pediatric behavioral health. Subsequently, she has held positions at the Veterans Administration Hospital, Nova Southeastern University and progressed through the ranks at Memorial holding the positions of associate administrator of behavioral health and most recently, associate administrator at Memorial Regional Hospital.

Tucker received both her Master of Science in Psychology and Doctorate of Clinical Psychology degrees from NSU, her Bachelor of Science degree from Georgia Southern University, and she is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE).

With a history of community involvement, Tucker has been involved in numerous committees and boards throughout her career, including The Florida Hospital Association Behavioral Health Committee (member), Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA) HB945 CSU High Utilizers Workgroup, The Governor’s Task Force on Involuntary Commitment for Minors, The United Way of Broward County Commission on Behavioral Health and Drug Prevention (chair), The South Florida State Hospital (Board Member) and The Broward Behavioral Health Coalition (board member).

NSU Psychology Graduate Publishes Book

Jonathan Perle, Ph.D.

Jonathan Perle, Ph.D., ABPP, graduate of NSU’s Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program, recently published “A Mental Health Provider’s Guide to Telehealth: Providing Outpatient Videoconferencing Services”. This book was written to serve as a videoconferencing guide for psychological providers.

Perle explained that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many health care providers to rely more on technology than ever before. While this transition to telehealth services has been made, it has not been without challenges. He added that “telehealth has certainly exploded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic” and he does not see the trend reversing anytime soon. Therefore, “a provider should be knowledgeable on both the positives and drawbacks of telehealth use in order to ensure optimal practice.”

Reminiscing about this time at NSU, Perle noted that while he was completing his degree, “telehealth wasn’t really discussed”. His main influencer of this line of work was NSU College of Psychology professor Barry Nierenberg. “Looking back, it was really Dr. Nierenberg who supported my telehealth work by encouraging me to learn more about the topic, and who later chaired my telehealth-focused dissertation. Together, we published numerous articles on the topic in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Nierenberg introduced me to several well-known American Psychological Association (APA) telehealth experts which allowed me to become part of a select group of students to have contributed to the APA’s Telepsychology Guidelines. He is one of the biggest reasons why I have continued this line of work.”

Concerning his book, Perle explained that it is a culmination of about 10 years of personal study, use, and teaching about telehealth topics. The book combines research literature with professional experiences to create a videoconferencing guide for psychological providers. The purpose of this endeavor was to present a broad, simplified, and practical overview of pertinent factors through relatively brief and directly applicable chapters. The book provides readers with foundational knowledge including terminology, background research on the use of videoconferencing, and presents an overview of existing practices with guidebooks. Specific recommendations for ethical and legal factors are also presented. In the book, Perle also details numerous essential factors of a videoconferencing-based practice, including considerations of one’s computer system, video camera, display screen, microphone, videoconferencing platform, bandwidth and latency, room setup, documentation methods, and self-care practices. Multiple appendices and checklists are also provided to assist the reader.

Perle graduated from the Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology program in 2013. Additional information about his book can be found here: https://www.routledge.com/A-Mental-Health-Providers-Guide-to-Telehealth-Providing-Outpatient-Videoconferencing/Perle/p/book/9780367713577

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