Academic Interests and Research
Clinical Psychology
My graduate degrees (M.A.,
Ph.D.) are in clinical psychology and I am a licensed psychologist in North
Carolina. I worked in a variety of clinical
settings prior to coming to UNC Asheville, and I do a
small amount of clinical work
currently in the effort to stay professionally
active. I
teach several clinically-oriented courses in our department,
including personality, field
work, and clinical and counseling psychology.
Psychology of Women
and Health Psychology
I both teach and conduct research in the
the psychology of women and health psychology. I developed our department's
psychology of women course,
in which all students conduct individual or group research projects - and
ideally learn that doing research is not just interesting, but fun!.
Many students have continued work on their research in later semesters,
presenting their projects at regional or national conferences (see examples
below). Health psychology-related courses I have taught include a
first-year student colloquium on mind-body connections
(Psychology 179);
General Psychology
(Psychology 102), which is part of the health and illness cluster; and a
service learning course
(Practicum in Family Wellness), in which class members plan, coordinate,
and lead the Getting Into
Fitness Together (GIFT) program.
Undergraduate
Research
Working with students on research is one of my most
rewarding and enjoyable activities at UNCA. Students have assisted me
with many of my research studies, and I typically supervise
2-3 students each
year on independent projects of their own design.
Recent examples of
independent research projects that resulted in student presentations are
described below.
Recent Journal Articles and Book Chapters
Mann, C. E., & Himelein, M. J. (in press). Putting the person back into psychopathology: An intervention to reduce mental illness stigma in the classroom. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.
Himelein, M. J., & Thatcher. S. S. (in press). Psychological issues and their treatment. In N. R. Farid (Ed.), Diagnosis and management of polycystic ovary syndrome. Norwell, MA: Springer.
Himelein, M. J., & Thatcher, S. S. (2006). Polycystic ovary syndrome and mental health: A review. Obstetrical and Gynecological Survey, 61, 723-732.
Himelein, M. J., & Thatcher, S. S. (2006). Depression and body image among women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Journal of Health Psychology, 11, 613-625.
Himelein, M. J. (2005). Infertility. In N. J. Salkind (Ed.), The encyclopedia of human development (Volume 2, pp. 710-713). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Mann, C. E., & Himelein, M. J. (2004). Factors associated with stigmatization of persons with mental illness. Psychiatric Services, 55, 185-187.
Shafiro, M. V., Himelein, M. J., & Best, D. L. (2003). Ukrainian and U.S. American females: Differences in
individualism/collectivism and gender attitudes. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 34, 297-30.
Recent Conference Presentations
Corbin, J., & Himelein, M. J. (2008, March). Religiosity and attitudes toward counseling. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Charlotte, NC. [CEPO/PSI CHI Undergraduate Poster Session.]
Phillips, J., & Himelein, M. J. (2008, March). Getting into Fitness Together (GIFT): Evaluation of a physical activity program for families. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Charlotte, NC. [CEPO/PSI CHI Undergraduate Poster Session.]
Himelein, M. J. (2007, October). Treating emotional and body image issues in women with PCOS. Invited presentation for the “Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Insulin Resistance: Strategies for Treating on Healing” Conference, Asheville, NC.
Himelein, M. J. (2007, August). Body dissatisfaction: Girls growing up with Britney and Paris. Invited presentation for the 23rd Annual Southwest Virginia Pediatrics Conference, Abingdon, VA.
Himelein, M. J. (2007, February). Body dissatisfaction in women: Causes and consequences. Invited roundtable presentation for the 11th Annual Women’s Health Across the Lifecycle Conference, Johnson City, TN.
Himelein, M. J. (2006, June). Getting into fitness together (GIFT): A family physical activity program. Poster presented at the National Obesity Action Forum, Bethesda, MD.
Himelein, M. J., Mann, C. E., & Thatcher, S. S. (2004, March). Dieting, exercise, and depression among women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Atlanta, GA.
Mann, C. E. & Himelein, M. J. (2004, March). Humanizing psychopathology: An approach to reducing mental illness stigma. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Atlanta, GA.
Independent
Undergraduate Research Presentations (supervised by me)
Passman, Liz (2007, April). Getting Into Fitness Together: Program description and assessment. Project received 2007 Wellness Scholar Award; paper presented at the UNCA Spring Symposium; paper published in the UNCA Journal; invited poster presented at 2007 “Research in the Capitol,” Raleigh, NC.
Rahimzadeh, Ali, and Salisbury, Sarah (2007, April). Evaluation of obesity stigma in interpersonal situations. Paper presented at the UNCA Spring Symposium.
Jones, Stephanie (2006, April). Self-esteem influences in African-American adolescent girls. Paper presented at the 2006 meeting of the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR); paper published in the 2006 NCUR Proceedings.
Walton, Laura (2006, April). Evaluation of a self-esteem program for at-risk adolescent girls. Paper presented at the 2006 meeting of the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR); paper published in the 2006 NCUR Proceedings
Lambert, Kerrylin (2005, April). Impact of parenting styles on conflict resolution tactics. Paper presented at the UNCA Spring Symposium.
Mann, Caroline (2004, March). Humanizing psychopathology: An approach to reducing mental illness stigma. Poster (co-authored) presented at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association (Atlanta, GA); paper presented at the 2004 UNCA Spring Symposium.
Thompson, Brooke (2004, March). Gender differences in pain perception and tolerance among Division I athletes. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association (Atlanta, GA); paper presented at the 2003 UNCA Fall Symposium.
Heinberg, Ben (2004, March). Alcohol consumption and meaning in life. Paper presented at the 2004 UNCA Spring Symposium.
Furr, Rebecca (2003, April). Gender bias in the perceptions of humor. Poster presented at the Georgia Undergraduate Research Program (GURP; Kennesaw, GA). Poster won first place in the best poster contest at GURP. Poster was also presented at the 2003 UNCA Spring Symposium.
last modified 05/20/08