Doctoral Student Accomplishments

Eilon Atar, M.A.
Presented three papers at the Association for Psychoanalysis of Culture and Society (APCS) Annual Conference at Rutgers University in October 2012. The papers were entitled 1) “The Trauma of Gender and the Gender of Trauma,” 2) “The Eye of the Story: Film Genre and Technique in the Analytic Session,” and 3) “Dr. Derner: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Institute.” Eilon also proposed his dissertation, “Schizoanalysis?” in November 2012.

Marie Barnett, M.A.
Proposed her dissertation, “To Disclose or Not to Disclose: Cancer-Related Self-Disclosure Among Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors” in December 2012.

Sevan Basil, M.A.
Coauthored a paper with colleagues from the NYU Child Study Center entitled “What Latina Mothers Think of Evidence-Based Parenting Practices: A Qualitative Study of Treatment Acceptability,” which was published in Cognitive and Behavioral Practice in September 2012.

Franz Buker, M.A.
Proposed his dissertation, “Subliminally-Induced Transcendence: Can Subliminal Primes Help Alleviate Death Anxiety and Decrease Ethnocentrism?” in October 2012. He also submitted a paper for publication entitled “Transcendence Without Awareness: The Effects of Death and Life-Related Subliminal Stimuli on Ethnocentric Views,” with Dr. Joel Weinberger in December 2012.

Wei-Jean Chung, M.A.
Proposed her dissertation, “Interpersonal Dependency and Detachment as Moderators of Treatment Outcome in Psychiatric Inpatients,” in October 2012.

Hazel Collins, M.F.A.
Presented a paper, “The Space of an Hour: Spatial Metaphor in Analytic Theory,” at the Association for Psychoanalysis of Culture and Society (APCS) Annual Conference at Rutgers University in October 2012.

Christy Denckla, M.A.
Was appointed President-Elect of the Society of Clinical Psychology (APA Division 12), Section 10 (Graduate Students and Early Career Psychologists). Her term begins in January 2013. She presented a poster, “Distinguishing Adaptive Detachment from Dysfunctional Avoidance in Coping with Negative Life Events,” at the APA Annual Convention in Orlando, FL in August 2012, for which she won a Presentation Award: Best APA convention presentation by a graduate student or early career psychologist (Section 10, Division 12). She presented another poster at the APA convention, entitled “Deficits in Healthy Dependency are Associated with Prolonged Grief over and above Attachment Style.” In November 2012, she presented a poster, “A novel adaptation of DBT skills group training among military Veterans: The distress tolerance drop-in group at the Manhattan Veterans Affairs Medical Center,” at the Conference of the International Society for the Improvement and Teaching of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (ISIDBT) in Washington, DC. Additionally, Christy recently coauthored a book chapter, “Multimethod Assessment of Resilience,” in the upcoming book “Multimethod Clinical Assessment,” coedited by Dr. Robert Bornstein.

Avigail Gordon, M.A.
Proposed her dissertation, “Expanding the Conversation: A Consideration of Subjective and Objective Definitions of Trauma,” in November 2012.

Clara Hungr, M.A.
Coauthored a paper, “Physical Self-Similarity Enhances the Gaze Cueing Effect,” that was published in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology in April 2012. She also coauthored a chapter with Dr. Chris Muran entitled “Power Plays, Negotiation and Mutual Recognition in the Therapeutic Alliance: “I Never Met a Patient I Didn’t Like…Eventually” in Dr. Muran’s book “Transforming Negative Reactions to Clients: From Frustration to Compassion” in August 2012. Additionally, she presented a poster, “Relationship of patient interpersonal functioning to the alliance and outcome of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy,” at the annual meeting of the Society for Psychotherapy Research in June 2012 in Virginia Beach.

Schenike Massie, M.A.
Proposed her dissertation, “The Relations Between Discrimination and Marital Commitment Among Black Couples,” in November 2012.

Terri Houston, M.A.
Proposed her dissertation, “Can Psychoeducation Affect Change in Attitudes Toward Parenting in African- American Women?” in November 2012.

Cassie Kaufmann, M.A.
Proposed her dissertation, “Simultaneous Broadcast: Artistic Creativity and Models of the Unconscious,” in March 2012. She also chaired a panel at the Association for the Psychoanalysis of Culture and Society (APCS) called, “I See You 😉 Psychoanalysis and the Visual.” Her paper was entitled “The imaginary, the symbolic, and visual imagination: Lacanian theory and art criticism.”

Maggie Klein, M.A.
Proposed her dissertation, “The Psychological Effects of Having a Romantic Partner who Experiences a Psychotic Episode,” in November 2012.

Stephanie Lyon, M.A.
Presented a poster, “The Roles of Social Support and “Outness” in the Mental Health of Sexual Minority Young Adults,” at the APA Convention in Orlando, FL in August 2012. She also proposed her dissertation, “Beyond Teen Angst: How Stress and Trauma During Adolescence Relates to the Mental Health of Sexual Minority Young Adults,” in November 2012.

Amy McCue, M.A.
Presented a paper on a panel entitled “Assessing the Impact of Rupture Resolution Training on Patient and Therapist Rated Alliance” at the annual meeting of the Society for Psychotherapy Research in June 2012. In October 2012, Amy proposed her dissertation, “Assessing the Impact of an Alliance-Focused Training on Patient and Therapist Rated Alliance.”

Anthony Mullin, M.Sc, M.A.
Coauthored a paper with Dr. Mark Hilsenroth entitled “Relationship Between Patient Pre-Treatment Object Relations Functioning and Psychodynamic Techniques Early in Treatment,” which was accepted for publication in Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy in December 2012.

Jaysree Roberts, M.A.
Proposed her dissertation, “Therapist Personality, Creativity & Therapeutic Activities” in October 2012.

Avi Sanders, M.A.
This semester has been extremely productive and exciting for Avi, who is currently in his fourth year. Under the mentorship of Dr. Kate Szymanski, he recently coauthored two papers and a book chapter. His papers are entitled “Emotional Intelligence in Siblings of Patients Diagnosed with a Mental Disorder” and “Siblings of People Diagnosed with a Mental Disorder and Posttraumatic Growth,” and were published in the Social Work in Mental Health Journal and Community Mental Health Journal, respectively. His book chapter is entitled “Having a Relative with Mental Illness: Beyond the Traditional Definition of Trauma” and was published in “Expressions of the Unspeakable: Narratives of Trauma,” coedited by Dr. Szymanski. Additionally, Avi presented a poster, “Siblings of the Mentally Ill: Impact on Attachment with Parents,” at the Midwestern Psychological Association Annual Conference in Chicago, in May 2012. He also presented a poster, “Family Roles Played by Siblings of People Diagnosed with a Mental Disorder,” at the APA Annual Convention in Orlando, FL in August 2012. In September 2012, Avi successfully defended his dissertation, “Siblings of People Diagnosed with a Mental Disorder: Positive Outcomes and Family Dynamics.

Jocelyn Shaw, M.A.
Proposed her dissertation, “Early Development of the Interaction of Language and Movement and its Effects,” in November 2012.

Susanna Stephens, M.A.
Proposed her dissertation, “Unexplored Psychic Paradoxes: An Inquiry into Suicide Among Fiction Writers,” in October 2012.

Valentina Stoycheva, M.A.
Presented two papers at the Association for Psychoanalysis of Culture and Society (APCS) Annual Conference at Rutgers University in October 2012. The papers were entitled 1) “To Truly Leap: Exploring Inability to Play as a Malfunction of Ordinary Dissociation,” and 2) “The Inventory of Countertransference Behavior: Development, Properties, and Utility.”

Nell Ugwumba, M.A.
Presented a poster, “Changes in Academic Commitment in Bullies and Victims during the Transition to High School,” at the National Conference in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (APA Division 53) in Lawrence, KS in October 2012.