Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psycho-social intervention that aims to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression and anxiety disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most effective means of treatment for substance abuse and co-occurring mental health disorders. CBT focuses on challenging and changing cognitive distortions and their associated behaviors to improve emotional regulation and develop personal coping strategies that target solving current problems. Though it was originally designed to treat depression, its uses have been expanded to include many issues and the treatment of many mental health conditions, including anxiety, substance use disorders, marital problems, ADHD, and eating disorders. CBT includes a number of cognitive or behavioral psychotherapies that treat defined psychopathologies using evidence-based techniques and strategies.
The Yale–Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) is a test to rate the severity of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms.
Leonard A. Jason is a professor of psychology at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, where he also directs the Center for Community Research. His chief professional interests include the study of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), violence prevention, smoking cessation, and Oxford House recovery homes for substance abuse. Jason's interest in chronic fatigue syndrome began when he was diagnosed with the condition in 1990 after having mononucleosis.
Terrie Edith Moffitt is an American-British clinical psychologist who is best known for her pioneering research on the development of antisocial behavior and for her collaboration with colleague and partner Avshalom Caspi in research on gene-environment interactions in mental disorders.
Wendee M. Wechsberg is an American social science researcher. Wechsberg's research focuses on developing and testing the efficacy of HIV prevention interventions among key populations of substance abusers globally. She is a recognized expert in the fields of substance abuse, gender inequality, and HIV. She developed the Women's CoOp intervention, a woman-focused behavioral HIV intervention that incorporates gender- and culture-specific skills training. Wechsberg is a Principal Researcher and Director of the Substance Use, Gender, and Applied Research (SUGAR) Program at RTI International and Director of the RTI Global Gender Center. She is also adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Gillings School of Global Public Health, Adjunct Professor of Psychology at North Carolina State University (NCSU), and adjunct professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine.
Sandra L. Calvert is a developmental and child psychologist, whose scholarship illuminates the children's media area, including policy implications. Calvert is currently professor of psychology, and an affiliated faculty member at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. Calvert is also the co-founder and Director of the Children's Digital Media Center, a multi-university research initiative funded primarily by multiple grants from the National Science Foundation, as well as by private foundations. Calvert served as chair of the department of psychology at Georgetown University from 2006 to 2009.
Elizabeth Thompson Gershoff is Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. She is known for her research on the impact of corporal punishment in the home and at school on children and their mental health.
Jeffrey T. Parsons is an American psychologist, researcher, and educator; he was a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Hunter College and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY) and was the Director of Hunter College's Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies & Training, which he founded in 1996. Parsons was trained as a developmental psychologist and applied this training to understand health, with a particular emphasis on HIV prevention and treatment. He was known for his research on HIV risk behaviors of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM), HIV-related syndemics, and sexual compulsivity. He resigned his positions at CUNY on July 3, 2019, following a year-long university investigation of misconduct allegations against him. In 2023, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced that he was required to pay a $375,000 settlement for engaging in fraud against the federal government for many years.
Simona Ghetti is Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Davis, where she is affiliated with the University of California Davis Center for Mind and Brain. She is known for her research on the development of episodic memory, reconstructive memory, and metamemory in youth, with a specific focus on individuals who have had traumatic experiences.
Mitchell J. Prinstein is an author and psychology professor. He is the former Director of Clinical Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the John Van Seters Distinguished Professor of Psychology. He is a Fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science.
Judy Garber is a clinical psychologist known for her research on emotional dysregulation and mood disorders, with a focus on cognitive-behavioral interventions for adolescents who have depression. Garber is Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Psychology and Human Development at Vanderbilt University.
Nancy E. Hill is an American developmental psychologist. She is the Charles Bigelow Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Hill is an expert on the impact of parental involvement in adolescent development, cultural influences on minority youth development, and academic discourse socialization, defined as parents' academic beliefs, expectations, and behaviors that foster their children's academic and career goals.
Karen Jill Saywitz was an American psychologist, author, and educator. She worked as a developmental and clinical psychologist and professor at the UCLA School of Medicine and Department of Psychiatry and Development. For more than 20 years Saywitz taught child development and was director of several mental health programs for families. She also developed "non-leading" techniques for interviewing child witnesses and victims, based on cognitive and developmental psychology principles. She died of cancer in 2018.
Leslie D. Leve is an American academic and researcher. She is a professor in the Counseling Psychology and Human Services Department as well as the associate director of Prevention Science Institute at the University of Oregon. She also holds the positions of Associate Director for the Prevention Science graduate programs, was President of the Society for Prevention Research from 2017 to 2019, and is Associate Vice President for Research in the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation and serves on National Institutes of Health study section panels and on the editorial board for Development and Psychopathology.
Hendrée E. Jones is a researcher on women's substance abuse disorders and its impact on children. She is a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, and adjunct professor in the University of North Carolina College of Arts & Sciences Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. Jones is the executive director of the UNC Horizons Program, which is a comprehensive drug treatment program for mothers and their drug-exposed children. She is a consultant for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the United Nations, and the World Health Organization.
Leann L. Birch was an American developmental psychologist, best known for her research on children's eating behaviors.
Dan Olweus was a Swedish-Norwegian psychologist. He was a research professor of psychology at the University of Bergen, Norway. Olweus has been widely recognized as a pioneer of research on bullying.
J. David Hawkins is an American sociologist, academic, and author. He is Emeritus Endowed Professor of Prevention and founding director of the Social Development Research Group in the School of Social Work at the University of Washington. His research focuses on the prevention of behavior problems in children and adolescents. He developed the Communities That Care prevention system with Richard F. Catalano.
Debra A. Murphy is a Professor Emerita at the University of California, Los Angeles in the Department of Psychiatry.
Ross A. Thompson is an American author and research psychologist. He is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of psychology at the University of California, Davis, and is director of the Social & Emotional Development Lab. Thompson is known for his work on the psychological development of young children. His influences on developmental research and public policy were recognized in the Urie Bronfenbrenner Award for Lifetime Contribution to Developmental Psychology in the Service of Science and Society in 2018 by the American Psychological Association, the Ann L. Brown Award for Excellence in Developmental Research in 2007. Thompson received the Distinguished Lifetime Achievement from Zero to Three in 2023.
