The training of “budtenders” (cannabis dispensary staff) to formulate advice when making sales to the public at dispensaries around the country was the topic of a recent Psych Files podcast featuring Nancy Haug, Ph.D., a PAU professor and associate chair of the PAU’s Psychology Department. In an interview with Psych Files host Michael A. Britt, Ph.D., Dr. Haug discussed the findings of research she and her students conducted among 55 budtenders in eight states and Washington, D.C.

Florencia Iturri Mariaca, M.S., has received a ‘Diversity in Psychology and Law Research Award’ from the Minority Affairs Committee (MAC) of the American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS). The award promotes diversity by supporting student research on psycho-legal issues related to diversity as well as research by students from underrepresented groups. Iturri’s $1,000 grant will fund her dissertation, “Culture, Gender, and Sex: Experiences and Attitudes in a Sexually Diverse Sample of Latino Men.”

An intervention program for the prevention of perinatal depression among pregnant women and new mothers has been implemented in Greece with the permission of PAU distinguished professor Ricardo F. Muñoz. Dr. Muñoz developed the Mothers and Babies/Mamás y Bebés course with his colleagues several years ago.

Background:

LEAD STORY President O'Connor and Distinguished Professor Muñoz Share Their Experiences as Mentees and Mentors
Watch the video here
  A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Maureen O'Connor, Ph.D., J.D.

PAU’s master’s in counseling program with an emphasis in clinical mental health was named one of the best accredited master’s in counseling programs in the United States—and one of only two programs in California to receive this honor. The announcement was made by HumanServicesEDU.org which just released its ‘2019 Best Counseling Program’ list.

HumanServicesEDU.org assessed hundreds of schools around the nation to develop the annual list that helps potential students find information about accredited programs and bring recognition to top quality programs.

Palo Alto University Professor Joyce Chu, Ph.D., is a guest co-editor of a special issue of the Asian American Journal of Psychology that is dedicated to the understanding of suicide among Asian Americans. The Journal (2018, Vol. 9, No. 4), which she co-edited with Michigan State University's Frederick T. L. Leong, Ph.D., and Stanford University’s Shashank V. Joshi, M.D., includes a compilation of studies that shed light on the current state of knowledge about suicide in Asian American communities and highlights innovative approaches to suicide prevention and management.

PAU’s Kimberly Balsam, Ph.D., was awarded a prestigious Presidential Citation from the president of the American Psychological Association at the 2019 National Multicultural Conference and Summit held in January in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Balsam, chair of PAU’s Department of Psychology and director of the Center for LGBTQ Evidence-Based Applied Research, received the award in recognition of her leading work on LGBTQ psychology.