Douglas Woods, Ph.D. - US grants

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The aim of this project is to enhance the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's (UWM) American Psychological Association (APA)-approved Ph.D. training curriculum in Clinical Psychology. These changes are in line with the NIMH's call for the development of curricula to train clinician scientists who can develop, test, and implement effective empirically supported interventions (ESIs) for those with various mental health conditions (RFA-MH-08-080). The UWM Clinical Psychology program is a scientist-practitioner program with existing strengths in training the use of ESIs and in integrating science and practice. This project will capitalize on the program's existing training structure as well as existing faculty clinical-research strengths in habit reversal training (HRT) for tic disorders (TD) and trichotillomania (TTM) and behavioral activation (BA) for depression. Two curricular modifications will be implemented. First, with expert consultation, developmentally sequenced training programs for both HRT and BA, and multimodal competency-based assessments to evaluate competency in each intervention, will be created and integrated into the required curriculum. Second, a required course in clinical research methods and related multi-modal competency-based assessments will be developed. The competency assessments will demonstrate that students are adequately trained to (a) incorporate research findings into clinical practice, (b) utilize clinical practice to generate research, and (c) effectively communicate their research ideas into fundable grant applications. A plan for evaluating both the short and long-term effects of the curricular modification is described and a dissemination plan is offered.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Trichotillomania (TTM) is a chronic impulse-control disorder involving the repetitive pulling and removal of one's hair that results in notable hair loss. A growing body of research has noted the public health significance of the disorder. TTM can result in a variety of debilitating physical, psychosocial, occupational and educational consequences. Empirical support for the efficacy of both pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions for TTM is extremely limited, and there is growing recognition that traditional behavior therapy alone is likely insufficient. At a scientific meeting jointly sponsored by the National Institutes of Mental Health and the Trichotillomania Learning Center (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/scientificmeetings/trichotillomania.pdf), the paucity of treatment outcome research on TTM was noted and a specific recommendation made for researchers to conduct "larger randomized clinical trials to evaluate enhancement to current behavior therapy relative to treatment as usual..." To guide the enhancement of behavior therapy procedures, research on the psychopathology of TTM has discovered at least two distinct processes that may underlie the disorder. These include a habitual or "automatic" process and an emotional/cognitive regulatory or "focused" process. Preliminary feasibility and pilot studies conducted by the PI suggest that a treatment designed to address both of these processes (Acceptance-Enhanced Behavior Therapy for TTM;AEBT-T) may be an effective intervention for adults with the disorder. The current application proposes to compare a 10 session manualized version of AEBT-T to a manualized psychoeducation and supportive therapy (PST) in adults with TTM. Primary outcome variables will be assessed by blind independent evaluators, using a multi-element assessment battery. The relative efficacy of AEBT-T and PST for alleviating TTM-related distress and impairment will also be assessed, and treatment gains will be monitored over a six month follow-up. The primary aim of this study is to compare the benefits of AEBT-T to PST for reducing TTM severity in 84 children and adults (age 18-65) with TTM over a 12-week (10 session) acute treatment period. A secondary aim of the study is to examine the durability of both treatments in acute-phase treatment responders over a 6-month follow-up interval. In addition, a number of exploratory analyses are proposed to explore potential predictors of treatment response. Trichotillomania (TTM) is a disorder that has negative physical, social, occupational, academic and psychological effects. Despite its profound consequences, there exists no well-supported empirically based intervention to treat those with the disorder. The current study addresses the mission of the NIMH by determining if children and adults with TTM can benefit from behaviorally oriented treatment to decrease pulling severity and related distress.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The aim of this project is to enhance the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's (UWM) American Psychological Association (APA)-approved Ph.D. training curriculum in Clinical Psychology. These changes are in line with the NIMH's call for the development of curricula to train clinician scientists who can develop, test, and implement effective empirically supported interventions (ESIs) for those with various mental health conditions (RFA-MH-08-080). The UWM Clinical Psychology program is a scientist-practitioner program with existing strengths in training the use of ESIs and in integrating science and practice. This project will capitalize on the program's existing training structure as well as existing faculty clinical-research strengths in habit reversal training (HRT) for tic disorders (TD) and trichotillomania (TTM) and behavioral activation (BA) for depression. Two curricular modifications will be implemented. First, with expert consultation, developmentally sequenced training programs for both HRT and BA, and multimodal competency-based assessments to evaluate competency in each intervention, will be created and integrated into the required curriculum. Second, a required course in clinical research methods and related multi-modal competency-based assessments will be developed. The competency assessments will demonstrate that students are adequately trained to (a) incorporate research findings into clinical practice, (b) utilize clinical practice to generate research, and (c) effectively communicate their research ideas into fundable grant applications. A plan for evaluating both the short and long-term effects of the curricular modification is described and a dissemination plan is offered.