Graduate Students
Fall 2024 Cohort
Aryana Alavinikoo
- Internet addiction, problematic social media use, problematic smartphone use
- Emotion regulation, executive functions
-
Fear of missing out (FoMO)
Emma Church
Area Clinical
Office UH 5040B
Email emma.church2@rockets.utoledo.edu
Degrees BA in Psychology Cleveland State University 2021 & MA in Clinical Psychology Cleveland State University 2024
Advisor Peter Mezo
Research Interests
- Self-management, emotion regulation, and internalizing behaviors in adolescence
- Self-regulated learning, youth, and adolescent outcomes
- Early prevention of and interventions for serious mental illness
Kim Görner
Area Clinical
Office UH 1062
Email kim.gorner@rockets.utoledo.edu
Degree B.A., Psychology, Minor in Counseling University of Toledo, 2023
Advisor Gregory Meyer
Research Interests
- Psychosis: early identification and intervention opportunities; development of screening/assessment tools; implementation of screening programs
- Multimethod psychological assessment
- Severe mental illness among homeless, incarcerated, and formerly incarcerated populations: development and implementation of screening and intervention programs; prevention of recidivism and homelessness
Courtney Kenworthy
Area Clinical
Office UH 5070D
Email courtney.kenworthy@rockets.utoledo.edu
Degree B.S., Psychology University of Mount Union, 2024
Advisor Dr. Francis
Research Interests
- Risk and protective factors for child/adolescent anxiety disorders
- Prevention and treatment strategies for child/adolescent anxiety
- Familial factors (parent/sibling attachment)
Fall 2023 Cohort
Jake Avendano
Area Clinical
Office UH 5020B
Email jacob.avendano@rockets.utoledo.edu
Degrees B.S., Psychology (Minor in Finance), University of Dayton, 2021
M.A., Clinical Neuropsychology, University of Texas at Tyler, 2023
Advisor Peter Mezo, Ph.D.
Research Interests
- Emotional flexibility, specifically context sensitivity and ER strategy repertoire
- Emotion (dys)regulation, as measured by ecological momentary assessments
Caroline Born
Area Clinical
Office UH 5020D
Email caroline.born@rockets.utoledo.edu
Degrees B.A., Bowling Green State University, 2021
M.A., University of Dayton, 2023
Advisor Peter Mezo, PhD
Research Interests
- Adaptive regulation/coping skills in populations with severe mental illness
- Crisis-related interventions
- Suicidality
- Third-wave CBT modalities
Vasavi Shanthi
Area Clinical
Email vasavi.shanthi@rockets.utoledo.edu
Degree M.Sc., Psychology, Eastern Michigan University, 2023
Advisor Jon Elhai, PhD
Research Interests
- Problematic smartphone use, problematic social media use, internet addictions
- Body image and eating disorders in adolescence
Fall 2022 Cohort
Estella Fox
Area Clinical
Email estella.fox@rockets.utoledo.edu
Degree B.A., Psychology, Reed College, 2019
Advisor Gregory Meyer, PhD
Research Interests
- Social media addiction
- Problematic phone use
- Emotion regulation
Samantha Mayer
Area Clinical
Email samantha.mayer2@rockets.utoledo.edu
Degree B.S., Fordham University, 2017
Advisor Sarah Francis, PhD
Research Interests
- Trauma in the context of authority figures
- Trauma and health behavior
Katherine Sheehan
Area Clinical
Office UH 5280
Email katherine.sheehan@rockets.utoledo.edu
Degrees B.S., Psychology (Minor in Latin American and Latino Studies), Fordham University,
2020
Graduate Student, Clinical
Advisor Gregory Meyer, PhD
Research Interests
- Comorbid emotional dysregulation, especially suicidality/ self-injury, and anxiety disorders/ OCD
- Transdiagnostic symptom presentations
- Improving treatment outcomes in cases with comorbidities
- Stigmatization of mental illness
Alexa Skolnik
Area Clinical
Office UH 5280
Email alexa.skolnik@rockets.utoledo.edu
Degree B.A., Psychology and Gender and Sexuality Studies, University of Miami, 2020
Research Interests
- Person-specific mechanisms that drive the etiology, maintenance, and treatment of traumatic stress disorders
Avleen Walia
Area Clinical
Email avleen.walia@rockets.utoledo.edu
Degrees B.S., Clinical Psychology (Minor in Education Studies), University of California at
San Diego, 2020
Research Interests
- Risk and resilience factors for child anxiety, rumination, and obsessive thinking
- Specific parenting behaviors influencing child anxiety and emotion regulation abilities
- Prevention of child anxiety and emotion dysregulation
- South Asian populations
Fall 2021 Cohort
Maria Elena Canini
Area Clinical
Email mariaelena.canini@rockets.utoledo.edu
Degrees Master's degree, Southern Illinois University, 2021; Bachelor's degree, Southern Illinois
University, 2019; Associate degree, St. Louis Community College, 2017
Research Interests
- Mindfulness and acceptance-based interventions
- Mindfulness interventions for the community - with incarcerated individuals, adolescents in juvenile detention and foster care, first responders, families, students, and women on their monthly cycle
- Emotion regulation and resiliency training
Zachary DeMoss
Area Clinical
Email zachary.demoss@rockets.utoledo.edu
Degrees M.A., Cleveland State University, 2021; B.A, University of Iowa, 2015
Research Interests
- Suicide
- Emotion Regulation
- Psychophysiology
Lauren Kramer
Area Clinical
Email lauren.kramer3@rockets.utoledo.edu
Degrees B.A, Psychology, Miami University, 2021; B.S., Family Science, Miami University, 2021
Research Interests
- Child/adolescent internalizing disorders
- Risk and resilience factors for child/adolescent psychopathology
- Emotion regulation as a transdiagnostic construct
- Adverse childhood experiences
- Parental influence on child/adolescent anxiety
Ingrid Morales-Ramirez
Area Clinical
Email ingrid.morales-ramirez@rockets.utoledo.edu
Degrees Master's in Applied Clinical Psychology from Penn State University; B.A., Psychology
and Health, Medicine and Society, Lehigh University (Double Major)
Research Interests
- Racial/ethnic minority groups
- Anxiety
- Positive psychology
- Depression
- First-generation college students
Teona Velehorschi
Area Clinical
Email teona.velehorschi@rockets.utoledo.edu
Degree B.A., Psychology, University of Michigan, 2019
Research Interests
- Stress and anxiety, particularly in performance settings
- Physical exercise and emotion regulation strategies
- Clinical sport psychology
