Title:
Clinical Psychologist

Biography:
Dr. Jennifer Sy’s clinical and research interests focus on optimization of exposure therapy for anxiety disorders, particularly in OCD, panic disorder, and social anxiety. Since many individuals present with co-occurring anxiety and OC-spectrum disorders, she is particularly interested in helping clients identify common behaviors/thought processes that occur across diagnoses so they can apply what they learn in treatment to other areas of their lives.

 

Expertise/Clinical and Research Interests:

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

• Anxiety Disorders

• Postpartum Anxiety (Moms and Dads)

• Diversity Considerations in Mental Health

• Bergen 4-Day Treatment for OCD

 

Education and Fellowships:

Education:      

• Ph.D. – Clinical Psychology, University of Wyoming, 2013
• M.S. – Clinical Psychology, University of Wyoming, 2009
• B.A. -Cognitive Science, Dartmouth College, 2004

Pre-doctoral Internship:

• Pre-doctoral Intern, Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System, 2012-2013

Fellowship:

• Postdoctoral Fellow, Houston OCD Program, Houston, TX, 2013-2014

 

Licensure and Certifications:

Licensure(s):    

• Licensed Psychologist, Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, 2014; License number: 36833

Certification(s): 

• IOCDF Behavior Therapy Institute, April 2014

Selected Publications:

• Panayiotou, G., Leonidou, C., Constantinou, E., Hart, J., Rinehart, K. L., Sy, J. T., & Björgvinsson, T. (2015). Do alexithymic individuals avoid their feelings? Experiential avoidance mediates the association between alexithymia, psychosomatic, and depressive symptoms in a community and a clinical sample. Comprehensive psychiatry, 56, 206-216.
• Deacon, B. J., Farrell, N. R., Kemp, J. J., Dixon, L. J., Sy, J. T., Zhang, A. R., & McGrath, P. B. (2013). Assessing therapist reservations about exposure therapy for anxiety disorders: The Therapist Beliefs about Exposure Scale. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 27, 772-780. 
• Possis, E. A., Kemp, J. J., Lickel, J. L., Sy, J. T., Dixon, L. J., & Deacon, B. J. (2013). A comparison of cognitive and behavioral approaches for reducing cost bias in social anxiety. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 27, 210-220.
• Deacon, B. J., Kemp, J., Dixon, L. J., Sy. J. T., Farrell, N. R., & Zhang, A. (2013). Maximizing the efficacy of interoceptive exposure by optimizing inhibitory learning: A randomized controlled trial. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 51, 588-596.
• Dixon, L. J., Sy, J. T., Kemp, J., & Deacon, B. J. (2013). Does anxiety sensitivity cause panic symptoms? An experimental investigation. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, 4, 208-223.
• Sy, J.T., Dixon, L.J., Lickel, J.J., Nelson, E.A., & Deacon, B.J. (2011). Failure to replicate the deleterious effects of safety behaviors in exposure therapy. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 49, 305-314.
• Barsky, A.J., Ahern, D.K., Orav, E.J., Nestoriuc, Y., Liang, M.H., Berman, I.T., Kingsbury, J.R., Sy, J.T., & Wilk, K.G. (2010). A randomized trial of three psychosocial treatments for the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism, 40, 222-232.

 

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