Development and Psychopathology Training Program
Seminar series: Development, Emotion, Ecology, and Psychopathology (DEEP)
Funding period: July 1, 1999–June 30, 2014
Principal Investigator: Dr. Elizabeth Stormshak
Co-Investigators: Dr. Thomas Dishion, CFC; Dr. Phil Fisher, Oregon Social Learning Center
Funded by: National Institute on Mental Health, National Institutes of Health
The Development and Psychopathology Research Training Grant is a program of research training for doctoral students in the behavioral sciences, as well as for postdoctoral research fellows. The training program tightly links studies on the development of psychopathology and on intervention science. It provides training in diverse approaches and methods used in developmental and child clinical psychology. The program is organized within an ecological framework that integrates neuroscience, cognitive psychology, personality, social development, and intervention science.
Faculty and researchers affiliated with the three participating sites—the University of Oregon, Oregon Social Learning Center, and Oregon Research Institute—are recognized internationally for research that links developmental mechanisms with innovations in child and family intervention. They are uniquely positioned to provide a comprehensive training program in the translation of developmental and neurobiological research to preventative and clinical interventions.
Two assets of the infrastructure for the training program:
- The behavior science environment in and proximate to the University of Oregon that is characterized by a wide array of NIH-funded research programs in neuroscience, developmental psychopathology, and intervention science. Unique to this scientific community is the high level of collaboration among the researchers.
- The investigative team’s application of the ecological approach to family intervention and treatment (EcoFIT) articulated by Dishion and Stormshak (2007). Drs. Stormshak and Dishion provide one year of intensive training in the EcoFIT model, and trainees are encouraged to consider how the intervention model can be improved to address a wider array of child and adolescent mental health problems. Included are programs of research that further understanding of the neurodevelopmental factors of child and adolescent self-regulation and clarify optimal intervention strategies to prevent and treat mental health disorders.
Specific aims of the program:
- Continue to build a model for training psychologists in child and adolescent mental health that combines developmental psychopathology research with the science of developing effective interventions for youth and families.
- Continue to develop our successful model of training students and benefiting from the collaboration among faculty and researchers who have overlapping interests.
The research training model is defined by three basic strategies:
- Pre- and postdoctoral trainees are selected on the basis of their application to the training program, which must include a proposed research question that is germane to the training resources (e.g., longitudinal data sets, research expertise, etc.). We consider their previous training and the fit between their interests and the availability of resources in the overall training environment.
- We carefully select a proximal research environment where mentorship can be provided for basic research methodology and ethics within the fellow’s program of research.
- Two yearlong training venues occur weekly throughout the academic year and summer. One is a seminar meeting, Development, Emotion, Ecology, and Psychopathology (DEEP), which involves readings, discussions, and guest presentations organized around emerging issues in development and psychopathology and the specific interests of research trainees. Second is training in the EcoFIT model. CFC’s outpatient clinic is at the center of intervention training.
For more information: Dr. Elizabeth Stormshak, 541-346-4805
