MSP is committed to celebrating faculty and student research at regional and national conferences throughout the year. Jared Smendik (PsyD 2) attended the 90th Annual Meeting of the Midwest Psychological Association and offered this reflection.
As doctorate students, we tend to have a lot on our plate: From writing papers, reading vast amounts of academic literature, planning for dissertation, attending practicum, and trying to somehow preserve a social life. While this experience is incredibly rewarding, being a clinical psychology student is a lot of work!
Despite all of these challenges, I am very excited to be able to attend the annual Midwest Psychological Association (MPA) conference in Chicago, IL every year. It is such a wonderful experience that allows students and professionals to take a step outside of their daily routine and take time to simply enjoy learning about their shared passion. Psychological professionals from across the region attend and present on a variety of interesting topics.
Additionally, MPA allows for individuals to connect with peers and professors during their attendance, which furthers a strong sense of community. This year we were excited to have an all-time record of MSP attendees presenting on topics ranging from testing reliability to animal-human interactions and its impact on anxiety! Attending and presenting at this conference further developed the CV’s of students at MSP, while also having the opportunity to experience the delicious Chicago deep-dish pizza!
Personally, attending this conference allowed me to gain knowledge of the contemporary research within the field of psychology, as well as expand my understanding of various research methodology. It is an invaluable and fun component of my doctoral level education and I look forward to going every year! Thank you Dr. Shepler and Dr. Callan for attending and working so hard to make this conference such a phenomenal experience!
Below is a list of all the phenomenal work that our students have worked so hard to prepare and presented on.
Please congratulate them on their efforts if you see them!
Title: Women’s Perceptions of Their Sexual Self-Concept After Becoming Mothers
Author(s): Dr. Melanie Ho (’17) & Dr. Dustin Shepler (Core Faculty)
Title: LGB Adults in Relationships: Ego- and Partner-Focused Sexual Satisfaction
Author(s): Dr. Shepler, Jared Smendik (PsyD 2), Kate Cusick (PsyD 3), & David Tucker (PsyD 4)
Title: A Quantitative Assessment of Anxiety and Human-Animal Interaction
Author(s): Dr. Jessica Dluzynski (’17) & Dr. Shepler
Title: Interrater Reliability on the ASEBA: Implications for Diagnostic Assessment
Author(s): Dr. Shepler, Dr. P. Douglas Callan (Core Faculty), Kenneth Pollok, Andrea Rawat (PsyD 3), Alicia Width (PsyD 3), Charles Oliver (PsyD 1), & Michelle Justice (PsyD 1)
Title: Sluggish Cognitive Tempo: Clinical and Research Implications from Clinical Data
Author(s): Dr. Shepler, Dr. Callan, Justice, Oliver, Width, Rawat, & Pollok
Title: Predicting Anti-Transgender Attitudes in Straight, White Adults
Author(s): Dr. Shepler, Andrea Obah (MA), Alyssa Sacka (MA), Brian Burgoyne (MA), Suing, & Brittany Linton (PsyD 4)
