Heather McGinty, M.A.

BiographyHeather McGinty pic

Heather McGinty completed her bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Florida and completed minors in gerontology and philosophy. She is a current doctoral candidate at the University of South Florida, where she completed her master’s degree in clinical psychology under the mentorship of Dr. Paul Jacobsen with a focus on psycho-oncology. She is currently on clinical psychology internship at the University of Florida for the 2013-2014 academic year and is completing her training in the Medical Psychology track.

Research Focus

Heather McGinty’s research interests include psycho-oncology and quality of life during treatment for cancer and cancer survivorship. Specifically, her research focuses on fear of cancer recurrence, cognitive changes associated with various cancer treatments, and psychological screening tools in various cancer patient populations. Her recently defended dissertation was a longitudinal study that followed early-stage breast cancer survivors returning for post-treatment surveillance mammography and assessed their fear of cancer recurrence, state anxiety, and sleep quality before and after they received mammography results. The results showed that breast cancer survivors are reassured following negative mammography results and that the cognitive-behavioral model of health anxiety was a good theoretical framework to use to predict which patients reported greater fears of cancer recurrence.

Clinical Focus

Clinically, Heather McGinty specializes in clinical health psychology including psycho-oncology, behavioral sleep medicine, chronic pain management, weight management, relaxation training/stress management, and coping with chronic illness. She also provides psychotherapy for a variety of general mental health problems and her theoretical orientation is primarily cognitive-behavioral and behavioral. Her clinical internship year is specifically designed to allow her to provide psychological services to traditionally underserved populations and her work focuses on patients with cancer as part of the Psycho-Oncology Service at UF Health under Dr. Deidre Pereira.

Grants

Heather McGinty’s clinical internship training year is sponsored under the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant. The goal of the grant is to expand the number of internship positions that offer training in the provision of psychological services to underserved populations in an interprofessional context. Her clinical psychology mentor is Dr. Deidre Pereira and her multidisciplinary mentors are Dr. Thomas George (oncology) and Victoria Pearson (social work).

Courses Taught

  • Assessment Skills Training Workshop (graduate course assistant and peer supervisor)
  • PSY6946 Clinical Skills for Psychological Intervention (graduate course assistant)
  • CLP4143 Abnormal Psychology (guest lecturer)
  • PSY3212 Research Methods (graduate teaching assistant)
  • PCO3013 Psychological Assessment (undergraduate volunteer teaching assistant)

Publications

Donovan, K. A., Grassi, L., McGinty, H. L., & Jacobsen, P. B. (in press). Validation of the Distress Thermometer World Wide: State of the science. Psycho-Oncology.

Phillips, K. M., McGinty, H. L., Cessna, J. M., Asvat, Y., Gonzalez, B. D., Cases, M.G., Small, B. J., Jacobsen, P. B., Pidala, J., & Jim, H. S. (2013). A systematic review and meta-analysis of changes in cognitive functioning in adults following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Bone Marrow Transplantation. Advance online publication. doi:10.1038/bmt.2013.61

Donovan, K. A., McGinty, H. L., & Jacobsen, P. B. (2013). A systematic review of research using the diagnostic criteria for cancer-related fatigue. Psycho-Oncology, 22(4), 737-744. doi:10.1002/pon.3085

Phillips, K. M., McGinty, H. L., Gonzalez, B. G., Andrykowski, M. A., & Jacobsen, P. B. (2013). Factors associated with breast cancer worry 3 years after completion of adjuvant treatment. Psycho-Oncology, 22(4), 936-939. doi:10.1002/pon.3066

McGinty, H. L., Dark-Freudeman, A., & West, R. L. (2012). Health hopes and fears for the future in relation to health behavior and current health status. Journal of Health Psychology. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/1359105312465103

McGinty, H. L., De Nadai, A. S., Park, J. M., & Storch, E. A.  (2012). Living with Tics: A cognitive-behavioral approach to improving coping and reducing tic severity in a young adult with Tourette disorder. Clinical Case Studies, 11(3), 218-233. doi:10.1177/1534650112444598

McGinty, H. L., Goldenberg, J. L., & Jacobsen, P. B. (2012). Relationship of threat appraisal with coping appraisal to fear of cancer recurrence in breast cancer survivors. Psycho-Oncology, 21(2), 203-210. doi:10.1002/pon.1883

Presentations (Posters and Talks)

McGinty, H. L., Laronga, C., Hicks, C., Cases, M., Rose, M., Ornduff, R., & Jacobsen, P. B. (2013, March). Applying the cognitive behavioral model of health anxiety to fear of cancer recurrence in breast cancer survivors. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, San Francisco, CA.

McGinty, H. L., Phillips, K. M., Cessna, J. M., Asvat, Y., Cases, M. G., Jim, H. S., Small, B. J., & Jacobsen, P. B. (2013, March). Cognitive functioning in men receiving androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, San Francisco, CA.

McGinty, H. L., Cases, M. G., Barata, A., Jacobsen, P. B., & Jim, H. S. (2013, March). Clinical and psychological correlates of perceived cognition in hematologic patients prior to allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, San Francisco, CA.

Phillips, K. M., McGinty, H. L., Cessna, J. M., Asvat, Y., Gonzalez, B. D., Cases, M. G., Small, B. J., Jacobsen, P. B., Pidala, J., & Jim, H. S. (2013, February). A systematic review and meta-analysis of changes in cognitive functioning in adults undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation. Poster session presented at the BMT Tandem Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT.

Donovan, K. A., Grassi, L., McGinty, H. L., & Jacobsen, P. B. (2012, November). International validation of the Distress Thermometer: State of the science. Paper session presented at the annual scientific meeting of the International Psycho-Oncology Society, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.

McGinty, H. L., Phillips, K. P., Hussin, M. G., Small, B., Andrykowski, M. A., & Jacobsen, P. B. (2012, April). Validation of the Cancer Worry Scale for breast cancer patients: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, New Orleans, LA.

Hussin, M. G., Jim, H. S., McGinty, H. L., & Jacobsen, P. B. (2012, April). Fear of recurrence in men undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, New Orleans, LA.

Jim, H. S., Phillips, K. M., Mayhew, L. L., McGinty, H. L., Small, B. J., & Jacobsen, P. B. (2012, March). Changes in cognition in men treated with androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer: A controlled comparison. Poster session presented at the International Cognition and Cancer Task Force, Paris, France.

Gonzalez, B. D., Mayhew, L. L., McGinty, H. L., & Oliver, J. A. (2012, March). Behavioral sleep medicine: Evidence-based treatment for insomnia. Talk presented at the University of South Florida Clinical Psychology Program Brown Bag Series.

McGinty, H. L., Asvat, Y., Gallagher, A., Andrykowski, M. A., & Jacobsen, P. B. (2011, April). Comparison of cancer worry in healthy women and breast cancer survivors: Moderators of worry. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Behavioral Medicine, Washington, DC.

Asvat, Y., McGinty, H. L., Gallagher, A., Andrykowski, M. A., & Jacobsen, P. B. (2011, April). Fatigue catastrophizing at end of treatment for breast cancer predicts fatigue severity and interference 3 years later. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Behavioral Medicine, Washington, DC.

Mayhew, L. L., McGinty, H. L., Gonzalez, B. D., & Sacco, W. (2011, April). A1c predicts depressive symptoms over time in people with type I diabetes: A growth curve analysis. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Behavioral Medicine, Washington, DC.

Asvat, Y., McGinty, H. L., & Jacobsen, P. B. (2010, May). Social Network Interventions to Promote Breast Cancer Screening among Hispanics/Latinas: A Systematic Review. Poster session presented at the Cancer, Culture and Literacy:  6th Biennial Conference, Clearwater, FL.

McGinty, H. L., Simard, S., Savard, J., & Jacobsen, P. B. (2010, April). Preliminary validation of an English version of the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory in a sample of breast cancer survivors. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Behavioral Medicine, Seattle, WA.

McGinty, H. L., Mayhew, L. L., & Jacobsen, P. B. (2010, April). Association of threat and coping appraisal to exercise in breast cancer survivors. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Behavioral Medicine, Seattle, WA.

McGinty, H. L., Asvat, Y., Gallagher, A., Andrykowski, M. A., & Jacobsen, P. B. (2009, April). Perceived cognitive functioning of longer-term breast cancer survivors: Characteristics and correlates. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Behavioral Medicine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Asvat, Y., McGinty, H. L., Gallagher, A., Jacobsen, P. B., & Andrykowski, M. A. (2009, March). Women’s opinions about and familiarity with the Ovarian Cancer Symptoms Consensus Statement Recommendations. Poster session presented at the American Society for Preventive Oncology Conference, Tampa, FL.

McGinty, H. L., Jacobsen, P. B., & Andrykowski, M. A. (2008, June). Mental health and worries of cancer recurrence in breast cancer survivors. Poster session presented at the 4th Biennial Cancer Survivorship Research Conference, Atlanta, GA.

Dark-Freudeman, A., West, R. L., & McGinty, H. L. (2007, August). Age differences in self-regulatory beliefs and possible selves. Poster session presented at the American Psychological Association Conference, San Francisco, CA.

McGinty, H. L., Dark-Freudeman, A., & West, R. L. (2007, February). Improvement, maintenance, or decline: Possible selves and health in late life. Poster session presented at the Southeastern Psychological Association Conference, New Orleans, LA.

Bagwell, D. K., West, R. L., & McGinty, H. L. (2006, October). Planning for the future: Memory training in minority populations. Poster session presented at the NIH Conference for Understanding and Reducing Health Disparities, Bethesda, MD.

Professional Memberships

  • American Psychological Association, Student Affiliate
  • American Psychological Association of Graduate Students, Member
  • Association for Psychological Science, Graduate Student Affiliate
  • Society of Behavioral Medicine, Student Member

Leadership

  • Society of Behavioral Medicine Student Special Interest Group – Chair (2012-2013)