Creativity and Engagement in Online Psychology Courses

Presenters' Biographies:  

Sue A. Kuba , Ph. D. is a professor of Psychology at AIU Fresno's Clinical PsyD Program. She also serves as the Associate Program Director for the Advanced Standing Online Clinical Program option. Her teaching, research and publications have focused upon eating disorders, gay and lesbian psychotherapy, women's health, the history of psychology, clinical supervision and diversity issues in higher education. Dr. Kuba's professional history includes eight years developing and managing a hospital-based eating disorders program for Community Hospitals of Central California, where she helped develop the APA-approved Central California Psychology Internship Consortium. She has also maintained an independent practice as a licensed psychologist since 1984 and has served as the President of the Fresno Area Psychological Association.

Dr. Rhoda Olkin is a distinguished professor in the PsyD clinical program at the Alliant San Francisco Bay campus. She is internationally recognized for her work in the field of disability and psychotherapy. She has published a single author book and numerous chapters on this topic. She is a member of six national professional organizations, from which she has received numerous awards. In addition she is an advocate for the disabled and has provided forensic testimony related to that advocacy. She sets an excellent example for students interested in professional practice.

Dr. Eddie Chiu is the director of the Psychological Service Center at the San Francisco Bay Campus of AIU. He brings international expertise in the fields of Asian American and Asian mental health delivery. His publications include Assessment and psychotherapy with Asian Americans and Cultural Bereavement and Sense of Coherence: Its Implications for Psychotherapy with Southeast Asian Populations. His role as director of a community clinic gives great realism to his teaching in ethics and ethical foundations of clinical practice.

Siobhan K. O'Toole, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University in Fresno, California. She received her BA from University of California, Santa Cruz and her PhD from CSPP. Dr. O'Toole has been teaching fully online courses for three and a half years. She teaches primarily research and statistics courses and has enjoyed the innovation required to move this material into an online environment.

Dr. O'Toole has presented at numerous conferences and her recent publications include The Ways of Coping Scale: A reliability generalizability study and Pilot trial of Memantine in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder. She is currently working on developing a method of assessing the degree of cultural competence attained by trainees.

Dr. Diane Zelman is an Associate professor in the PsyD clinical program at the Alliant San Francisco Bay campus. Recognized as an expert in health psychology, she has published many research articles related to the biopsychosocial understanding of human behavior. Examples include Sleep impairment in diabetic peripheral neuropathy and Steroids in sports: the cheaters, the losers and the liars. Her innovative use of online technology has created a demand for her courses throughout the Alliant International University system. In addition to her other duties, she is a regular member of the faculty teaching within the Post Master's psychopharmacology program, located at our SF Bay campus. She contributes a course in the Biological Foundations of Clinical Practice to the ASOC option.