Harvard Catalyst Profiles

I am a Research Associate in Psychology in McLean Hospital's Developmental Biopsychiatry Program. I am board certified in sport psychology (ABSP) and Biofeedback (BCIA). I Chair the American Board of Sport Psychology. My research background and interests include cerebral laterality, hypnosis/hypnotic susceptibility, neuroticism and repressive coping in relationship to brain functioning and how their interactions impact mental and physical health; psychologically mediated heart rate variability/heart rate deceleration in clinical and sport contexts; clinical exercise therapy; sport and clinical sport psychology; ecological/ambulatory psychophysiological monitoring in sport, performance and clinical contexts. I am advancing two clinical models, the "Dual-Placebo effect" and clinical denial/diagnostic aversion hypothesis that attempt to explain psychotheraputic practitioner-patient dynamics (mutual belief in intervention efficacy that can be predicted on the basis of similar levels of hypnotic susceptibility in the absence of biomarker-based evidence of positive outcome) and avoidant patient behavior that may impact morbidity and mortality in oncological and cardiological contexts respectively. I am also interested in methodological issues and individual differences as they relate to clinical trials as well as verifiable enduring biomarker-based assessment of intervention efficacy (intervention/mental training efficacy outcome testing designs in psychotherapy and performance contexts).