Clinical Health Psychology Institute-Expanding Psychology Practice to Primary Health Care-Evidence, Skills, and Issues

Presenters' Biographies:  

Alexander Blount, EdD

Dr. Blount is a psychologist who is Professor of Clinical Family Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, MA.  He is a non-physician who has observed thousands of hours of primary care medical visits. In his daily work he teaches the psychosocial skills needed in primary care to resident physicians and teaches psychologists how to work in a primary care setting.  His previous books are Integrated Primary Care: the Future of Medical and Mental Health Collaboration published by W. W. Norton and Knowledge Acquisition, written with James Brule’, published by McGraw-Hill.  He has been a national leader in bringing behavioral health services into primary care. He is Chair of the Collaborative Family Healthcare Association, a multi-disciplinary organization of health professionals working to provide health care for the whole person.  In his over thirty years of experience he has been a clinician, teacher, administrator, consultant and lecturer in the US and abroad.

William B. Gunn Jr., PhD

Dr. Gunn has been on the faculty of family medicine residency programs for the past twenty years.  He has coordinated the curriculum for residents and psychology pre-doctoral students in Fort Collins, Colorado, Duke University, and at the NH/Dartmouth Family Medicine program.  He is a co-author of Models of Collaboration, a book focused on presenting models of care for mental health professionals working in medical settings.  He has presented regionally and nationally on the subject of integrated care.

Christopher L. Hunter, PhD, ABPP

Dr. Hunter is board certified in clinical health psychology, ABPP, and is currently in charge of the outpatient behavioral health clinic and the integrated primary care behavioral health service at Bolling Medical Clinic.  From 2000-2003 he was the Chief of the Primary Care Psychology Service at Wilford Hall Medical Center.  During this time he trained and supervised over 50 psychology interns, psychologist and social workers to effectively work in a primary care setting using a behavioral health consultant model.  He has given national presentations and workshops on the integration of behavioral health in primary care and has significant training and experience in treating tobacco dependence, obesity, sleep problems and chronic pain conditions in both specialty and primary care settings. He has research experience in primary care on the assessment of depression, barriers to tobacco cessation, insomnia treatment and a population health approach for treating obesity.  He did his graduate work at the University of Memphis with a specialization in behavioral medicine.

Barry Nierenberg, PhD, ABPP

Dr. Nierenberg is an Assistant Professor at the University of Miami School of Medicine.  His primary appointment is within the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health where he currently directs the Division of Behavioral Medicine.  He holds secondary appointments in the Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics.  He is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology and is Past President of the Division of Rehabilitation Psychology of the American Psychological Association.  Most recently he presented an invited symposium on “Spirituality and Health:  What is the Database?” at the 3rd Annual Seminar on Spirituality and Health at Florida International University and presented a symposium at the American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Psychologists and Social Workers on “Children and Spinal Cord Injury:  A Developmental Perspective.”  His most recent publication is currently in press as one of the coauthors of "Treatment of Menopausal Symptoms in Family Medicine Settings Following the Women’s Health Initiative Findings" In the Journal of the American Board of Family Practice.

Barbara B. Walker, PhD

Dr. Walker began her interest in Integrated Primary Care while serving as the Director of Behavioral Medicine at The Miriam Hospital which is affiliated with the Brown University School of Medicine. While in Rhode Island, she developed a wide range of integrated care services and served as a member of the Rhode Island Allied Advocacy Group for Collaborative Care to develop state-wide policies that would encourage and support integrated care.  In 2002, she chaired a symposium on Integrated Primary Care at the Society of Behavioral Medicine which led to the formation of a Special Interest Group in Integrated Care of which she is currently the Chair. She has presented numerous workshops and presentations in the area of integrated care, and is currently teaching at Indiana University and working on developing evidence-based integrated care programs in the state of Indiana.

 

Workshop Organizers:

Rodger S. Kessler, PhD, ABPP

Dr. Kessler is a clinical health psychologist practicing in family medicine at Berlin Family Health in Montpelier, Vermont. He is on the staff at Central Vermont Medical Center. He has been involved in integrated medical/psychological care for 20 years. Amongst his efforts, he created the Behavioral Health in Medicine Integration Project; a five medical site practice where behavioral health practitioners are located within medical offices and physicians and behavioral health clinicians are trained to deliver evidence based integrated medical psychological care. His current research focuses on patient compliance with psychological referral in integrated practice, and the impact of integrated medical psychological care on medical outcomes.  He has published over 20 papers and book chapters. His paper, Psychological and Hypnotic Preparation for Surgery and Invasive Medical Procedures:  An Individual Differences Perspective, was given the Dorcus award for the best paper published in the field of clinical hypnosis in 1998 by the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. He is currently working on a book, Collaborative Family Medicine Case Studies.

Beverly E. Thorn, PhD

Dr. Thorn is Professor and Director of the PhD program in Clinical Psychology at the University of Alabama. She received her PhD in bioclinical psychology from Southern Illinois University in 1980, satisfying the degree requirements for a PhD in clinical psychology as well as physiological psychology. Her research involves psychological assessment and treatment outcome research in the area of pain management. Most recently, she has been involved in research investigating the important components of cognitive-behavioral treatment for chronic painful conditions, and specifically, assessing and restructuring maladaptive cognitions associated with painful states. She has held research grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke. She is a fellow in the Society of Behavioral Medicine and the Division of Health Psychology in the American Psychological Association, and she is board certified in clinical health psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology. She has over 60 publications in refereed journals, including a 2004 book entitled Cognitive Therapy for Chronic Pain:  A Step-by-Step Approach, published by Guilford Publications.