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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

Alison Vargovich, M.S.

BiographyVargovich

Alison is a medical/health psychology pre-doctoral intern through the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at the University of Florida.  Alison earned a B.A. in Psychology from Canisius College in Buffalo, NY in 2009 and continued her education at West Virginia University completing a M.S. in Clinical Psychology in 2011.  Alison currently is a doctoral candidate at a Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis on health psychology at West Virginia University.

Clinical Focus

Alison’s clinical interests involve working with a diverse patient population who experience both medical and psychological concerns, with specific interest in the treatment of pain.  She plans to utilize assessment, counseling, and evaluative techniques as a way to provide patients and practitioners with the information needed to facilitate care.

Research Focus

Alison’s research interests include the effects and treatment of pain, both acute and chronic.  More specifically, she is interested in how psychological factors influence the way that pain is experienced, and the manner in which it is treated.   She is furthermore interested in the use of opioids in treating chronic pain and the influence of psychosocial factors on the prescription and use of these narcotic analgesics.  She currently is completing her dissertation entitled, “Predicting Opioid Prescribing Behaviors: Influence of an Expert Opioid-Risk Evaluation.”

Courses Taught

  • Instructor for Psyc101 Introduction to Psychology
  • Graduate Teaching Assistant for Psyc652 Clinical Interviewing

Professional Memberships

  • American Psychological Association (APA)
  • APA Division 38: Health Psychology
  • Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM)
  • Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT)

Publications

McNeil, D. W., Vargovich, A. M., Sorrell, J. T., & Vowles, K. E. (In press). Environmental, emotional, and cognitive determinants of dental pain. In D. Mostofsky & F. Fortune (Eds.), Behavioral Dentistry, 2nd Ed, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

McNeil, D., Vargovich, A. M., Ries, B., & Turk, C. (2012). Anxiety and fear. In V. S. Ramachandran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Human Behavior (pp. 161-168). Elsevier, Inc.

Presentations

Sperry, J., & Vargovich, A. M. (November, 2012). Do opioid prescribing policies affect primary care clinic follow up visit rates? Submitted for presentation at the American Pain Society’s 32nd Annual Scientific Meeting in May, 2013.

Vargovich, A. M., Sperry, J., & Foley, K. (August, 2012). Utilizing pain evaluations in a primary care setting to prevent opioid misuse. Poster presented at the 38th Annual Hal Wanger Family Medicine Conference, Morgantown, WV and accepted for presentation at the Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers in January, 2013.

Vargovich, A. M., Randall, C. L., Quentin, L., Shulman, G., & McNeil, D. W. (April, 2012). Influences of anxiety sensitivity and posttraumatic stress symptomotology on pain responsivity. Poster presented at the 33rd Annual Society of Behavioral Medicine Conference, New Orleans, LA. 

Adewusi, O., Quentin, L., Bilovol, Y., Vargovich, A. M., Randall, C.L., Shulman, G., & McNeil, D. W. (February, 2012). Understanding the relation among emotional pain depression, anxiety, and fear. Accepted for presentation at the 46th Annual Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Conference in November, 2012.

Vargovich, A. M., Randall, C., Shulman, G., Clemens, S., Ho, C., Myers, A., & McNeil, D. W. (March, 2011). Physical pain tolerance in individuals with a significant history of emotional pain. Poster presented at the 45th Annual Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Conference, Toronto, Ontario, CA.

Randall, C., Vargovich, A. M., Warman, P., Hamer, C., Weinstein, B., & McNeil, D. W. (March, 2011). Prediction of PTSD symptoms: The role of emotional pain and depression. Poster presented at the 45th Annual Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Conference, Toronto, Ontario, CA.

McNeil, D. W., Arnwine, C., Vargovich, A. M., Randall, C., Harris, M., & Weinstein, B. (March, 2011). Persistence of emotional pain, trauma, and joy across time. Poster presented at the 45th Annual Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Conference, Toronto, Ontario, CA .

Weinstein, B., Vargovich, A. M., Sullivano, V., Shulman, G., Arnwine, C., File, A., Wilson, T., Clemens, S., & McNeil, D. W. (March, 2010). Comparisons of the quality and intensity of emotional pain and physical pain.  Poster presented at the 44th Annual Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Conference, San Francisco, CA and Research Horizon’s Day at West Virginia University.

Clemens, S., Weinstein, B., Vargovich, A. M.,  Waitkus, M., Nusbaum, B., Shulman, G., Wilson, T., Arnwine, C., File, A., McNeil, D. W. (March, 2010). Antenatal anxiety and expectation of pain in relation to plans to utilize epidural anesthesia during childbirth. Poster presented at the 44th Annual Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Conference, San Francisco, CA.