2011 Cohort

The Psy.D. Program admitted its third group of students in the Spring of 2011 and the following group of 4 students is the cohort. Students who have agreed to be contacted to answer questions about their experiences can be e-mailed by clicking on their names.

Michael Love [mlove10@radford.edu] earned his B.S. in Psychology from Virginia Tech in 2002 and an M.S. in Clinical Psychology from Radford University in 2011. His clinical experience has focused on both community mental health and university counseling settings. His research interests include adjustment among college students, prescription drug abuse, and substance use disorders in rural communities. He is currently in the process of conducting a dissertation on trends in injection drug use among adolescents and young adults in the rural United States. Since 2013, he has also been the student administrator for the School’s Out Lunch Delivery program, which works in partnership with Radford City Public Schools distributing food to children in Radford who meet the criteria for free or reduced lunch during the summer months. He also teaches an undergraduate course on theories of personality.

Sarah Lyall [selyall@radford.edu] received her M.S. in Counselor Education from Radford University in 2011. Before attending Radford, she earned her B.S. in Psychology from The University of Virginia’s College at Wise. As a part of her Master’s program, Sarah completed an internship at St. Albans Psychiatric Hospital working with partially hospitalized patients. As a part of the Radford PsyD program, she has completed practicum placements with the Blacksburg Mental Health Association, Christiansburg Free Clinic, and The Southwest Virginia Mental Health Institute. Currently, she is back at the Free Clinic completing a practicum in integrated care. Sarah’s research interests involve veteran’s issues, trauma, and chronic pain. The goal of her dissertation research is to determine the role of anxiety sensitivity in the co-morbid experiencing of pain and PTSD. After completion of her doctoral training, Sarah plans to work in a rural mental health setting. She also plans to be involved in advocacy work for those who are experiencing mental health problems and their families.

Jaclyn L. Mullins [jmullins13@email.radford.edu] received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Virginia’s College at Wise in 2005 and her M.S. in Counseling Psychology from Radford University in 2007. Prior to returning to Radford for the PsyD. program, Jaclyn worked for the North Carolina Department of Corrections where she provided a variety of mental health services to adult, male offenders in a medium security prison setting. Since starting the Psy.D. program in 2011, she has completed practicum placements at the Mental Health Association of the New River Valley and New River Valley Community Services where she provided individual counseling services to uninsured clients. Jaclyn is currently a practicum student at Virginia's Tech's Cook Counseling Center where she provides individual and group counseling services to college students. Jaclyn's dissertation research involves exploring the relationship between social support and posttraumatic growth in breast cancer patients and survivors. Other areas of interest include rural mental health issues, chronic and persistent mental illness, and issues related to life transitions and recidivism in previously incarcerated individuals.

Adam E. Smith [aesmith@radford.edu] completed undergraduate education at Dixie State College and Radford University from 2002 to 2007 earning B.A. degrees in Psychology and Spanish. During that time he gained valuable experience working as a residential coach for a community services agency and as a psychiatric technician for a local hospital. He studied Educational Psychology and Counselor Education at Tennessee Tech University from 2007 to 2010 earning a M.A. degree and completing an internship as an individual therapist for a local family services agency. Between finishing at TTU and beginning the RU PsyD program, he worked as a family counselor for a youth services agency in rural Tennessee gaining valuable experience in Multisystemic Therapy (MST) and behavioral treatment. Adam is currently in his third year of the RU PsyD program, preparing for the internship and working on dissertation while finishing up coursework. His practicum placements include the Free Clinic and Mental Health Association of the New River Valley in the Pulaski and Blacksburg areas (1st year), RU Student Counseling (2nd year), and Catawba Hospital (currently). He is also working as a clinician in the department clinic. His research interests include rural mental health and religion/spirituality, family issues, and multicultural considerations - specifically Latin American culture. He recently defended his dissertation proposal which will be a qualitative study on collaboration between rural religious leaders and mental health professionals. He is looking forward to completing that study and beginning an exciting internship placement in the coming year.