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UF Health University of Florida
Department of Clinical and Health Psychology College of Public Health and Health Professions
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About Overview

Stephanie L. Nassar, M.A., PCMHT

Clinical Medical/Health Psychology InternNassar
(M.A., 2011, University of Mississippi)

Biography

Stephanie is a Clinical Medical/Health Psychology Intern in the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at the University of Florida Health Science Center. She received her Master’s degree from The University of Mississippi in Oxford in 2011. She received her B.S. degree in Psychology with minor in Philosophy from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, in 2004. Stephanie is presently a Clinical Psychology Doctoral Candidate at The University of Mississippi under the mentorship of Kelly G. Wilson, Ph.D., who is the co-developer of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Director of the Mississippi Center for Contextual Psychology, and Founder of OneLife Education Training, LLC. Stephanie’s dissertation, titled Neurocognitive Outcomes in Children Experiencing Seizures during Treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, is partnered with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, under the mentorship of Chief Neuropsychologist Heather M. Conklin, Ph.D.

Research Interests

Stephanie’s research interests broadly comprise psychological flexibility and clinical psychophysiology within a functional contextual framework. Her empirical publications and oral presentations have examined evidence-based practice and operant conditioning processes in biofeedback/neurofeedback, the utility of single case design in psychophysiological research, mindfulness- and acceptance-based cognitive behavioral interventions, ACT processes of change (i.e., cognitive defusion and valued action), and the effect of values- and emotion-centered disclosure on valued action and psychophysiological well-being. Stephanie’s thesis, titled Discriminating Emotions and Engaging Difficult Emotional Material: Implications for Process and Outcome in Written Disclosure, examined the role of emotional clarity and experiential avoidance within Pennebaker’s expressive writing paradigm.

Clinical Interests

Stephanie has been involved in the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Treatment Development Group (ACT-TDG) since 2004, working with individuals across the lifespan, couples, and families. Her long-term goals include applying the ACT experiential model within diverse rehabilitative health populations (e.g., neurotrauma, burn, orthopedic injury, amputation, chronic pain, cardiac condition, etc.) who experience co-occurring psychological difficulties. She is also interested in the clinical applications of Relational Frame Theory (RFT), which underlies ACT.

Professional Memberships

  • Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, Charter Member
  • Society of Behavioral Medicine
  • American Psychological Association
  • Association for Behavior Analysis
  • Alpha Sigma Nu, Jesuit Honor Society

Courses Taught

  • Special Topics in Psychology: Clinical Psychophysiology Research Lab
  • Introductory Psychology, Social Psychology Module

Representative Publications

Bethay, J. S., Wilson, K. G., Schnetzer, L. W., Nassar, S. L., & Bordieri, M. J. (2012). A controlled pilot evaluation of Acceptance and Commitment Training for intellectual disability staff. Mindfulness, Online First. doi: 10.1007/s12671-012-0103-8

Waddell, D. E., Nassar, S. L., & Gustafson, S. A. (2011). Single-case design in psychophysiological research. Part II: Statistical analytic approaches. Journal of Neurotherapy, 15(2), 160-169.

Wilson, K. G., Flynn, M. K., Bordieri, M., Nassar S. L., Lucas, N. N., & Whiteman. K. C. (2011). Acceptance and Cognitive Behavior Therapy. In W. O’Donohue & J. E. Fisher (Eds.) Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Core Principles for Practice. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Gustafson, S. A., Nassar, S. L., & Waddell, D. E. (2011). Single-case design in psychophysiological research. Part I: Context, structure, and techniques. Journal of Neurotherapy, 15(1), 18-34.

Nassar, S. L. (2009). A measure of interest to logotherapy researchers: The Valued Living Questionnaire. The International Forum for Logotherapy, 32(2), 121-122.

Nassar, S. L. (2008). A measure of interest to logotherapy researchers: The Satisfaction With Life Scale. The International Forum for Logotherapy, 31(2), 114-115.

Representative Presentations, Posters, and Workshops

Nassar, S. L. (2012, December). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: An experiential walk around the Hexaflex. Invited talk presented at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.

Gustafson, S. A., & Nassar, S. L. (2012, October). Time Series Design in Clinical Neuropsychophysiology. Invited lecture presented at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL.

Nassar, S. L., Wilson, K. G., Kellum. K. K. (2012, July). Defusion as a core ACT process: Conceptual definitions, current empirical literature, and future directions for exploration. In H. Bolderston (Chair), Cognitive fusion: Conceptualization and empirical findings. Symposium presented at the 10th Annual World Conference of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, Washington, D.C.

Gustafson, S. A., Nassar, S. L., Waddell, D. E. (2012, April). Treatment of Neurally Mediated Syncope Using Spectral EEG Neurotherapy: A Single Case Design. Poster presented at the 33rd Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, New Orleans, LA.

Nassar, S. L., Conklin, H., M., Ashford, J. M., Zhou, Y., Cheng, C., Reddick, W. E., Glass, J. O., Jeha, S., & Pui, C-H. (2012, April). Cognitive Outcomes in Children Experiencing Seizures during Treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. In K. Tercyak & C. J. Heckman (Chairs), Pediatric Oncology: Survivorship and Prevention. Paper session presented at the 33rd Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, New Orleans, LA.

Nassar, S. L. & Wilson, K. G. (2011, June). Adapting the Expressive Writing Paradigm as a Values-Based Intervention. In S. L. Nassar (Chair), New Directions in Values Assessment and Intervention. Symposium presented at the 9th Annual World Conference of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, Parma, Italy.

Nassar, S. L., Wilson, K. G., & Kellum, K. K. (2010, June). Update on Values-Centered Adaption of the Expressive Writing Paradigm. In S. L. Nassar (Chair), Research and Therapeutic Application in the Context of Valued Living. Symposium presented at the 8th Annual World Conference of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, Reno, NV.

Flynn, M. K., Wilson, K. G. Kellum, K. K., Nassar, S. L., Slater, R. M., Lucas, N., Bordieri, M., Bethay, S. (2010, May). Exploring the Use of the Hexaflex Functional Dimensional Experiential Interview. In S. L. Nassar (Chair), Research and Application in the Context of Valued Living. Symposium presented at the 36th Annual Convention for the Association for Behavior Analysis International, San Antonio, TX.

Sandoz, E. K., & Nassar, S.  L. (June, 2009). Know Thyself, Choose Thyself: Exploring Flexibility with Self and Valued Living. Workshop presented at the Third Annual World Conference of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, Enschede, The Netherlands.

Nassar, S. L., Flynn, M. K., Slater, R. M., Kellum, K. K., & Wilson, K. G. (2009, June). Values-Centered Interventions. In R. M. Slater (Chair), Values in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Conceptualization, Clinical Exercises, and Assessment. Symposium presented at the Third Annual World Conference of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, Enschede, The Netherlands.

Slater, R. M., Nassar S. L., Flynn, M. K., Kellum, K. K., & Wilson, K. G. (2009, June). What are Values? Unpacking Values as Conceptualized in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. In R. M. Slater (Chair), Values in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Conceptualization, Clinical Exercises, and Assessment. Symposium presented at the Third Annual World Conference of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, Enschede, The Netherlands.

Flynn, M. K., Nassar, S. L., Slater, R. M., Kellum, K. K., & Wilson, K. G. (2009, June). An Improved Measure of Valued Living: The Valued Living Questionnaire-II (VLQ-2). In R. M. Slater (Chair), Values in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Conceptualization, Clinical Exercises, and Assessment. Symposium presented at the Third Annual World Conference of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, Enschede, The Netherlands.

Nassar, S. L., Wilson, K. G., Kellum, K. K., & Sandoz, E. K. (2009, May). Mindfulness for Two (Part II): The Effects of Therapist Disclosure. In J. Weinstein (Chair), Mindfulness for Two (Part II): Manipulating the Therapist. Symposium presented at the 35th Annual Convention of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, Phoenix, AZ.

Nassar, S. L., Wilson, K. G., Kellum, K. K., & Flynn, M. K. (2009, May). Values-Centered Writing: Explorations Within The Expressive Writing Paradigm. In S. L. Nassar (Chair), Research and Treatment in the Context of Valued Living. Symposium presented at the 35th Annual Convention of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, Phoenix, AZ.

Howard, R. C., Nassar, S. L., Martin, L., Slater, R. M., Sandoz, E. K., Kellum, K. K., & Wilson, K. G. (2009, May). The Permanent Solution: Suicidal Behavior and Experiential Avoidance. In R. M. Slater (Chair), Psychological Flexibility and Difficult Clinical Presentations. Symposium presented at the 35th Annual Convention of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, Phoenix, AZ.

Wilson, K. G., Sandoz, E. K., Nassar, S. L., Lucas, N., Slater, R. M., Martin, L. (May, 2008). Advanced Experiential Case Conceptualization Workshop. Workshop presented at the 4th Association for Contextual Behavioral Science Summer Institute, Chicago, IL.

Nassar, S. L., Drake, C., & Wilson, K. G. (2008, May). One More Time: An Examination of the Stability of IRAP Performance over Repeated Administrations. In S. L. Nassar (Chair), How Words Measure Up: An Investigation of the Reliability, Validity, and Procedural Integrity of the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure. Symposium presented at the 34th Annual Convention of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, Chicago, IL.

Bethay, S., Wilson, K. G., Lucas, N., Moyer, K., & Nassar, S. L. (2008, May).  Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) to address burnout in staff caring for clients with intellectual disabilities (ID). In R. Slater (Chair), ACT Outside the Clinic: Application of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Non-clinical Populations, Symposium presented at the 34th Annual Convention of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, Chicago, IL.