Lab Alums
Graduate Students
Dr. Jason Feinberg (pronouns: he/him) joined the clinical psychology doctoral program at George Mason University in 2016. While at GMU, his research interests included how therapists are trained to enact cultural humility in therapy sessions, and whether therapists’ cultural humility leads to better outcomes for therapy clients. His clinical interests focused on working with adult therapy clients with mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorders.
Dissertation
Feinberg, J. (2022) White Therapist-Trainee Racial Identity Development, Self-Reported Broaching Styles, and Observed Broaching.
Internship
Pacific Psychology & Comprehensive Health Clinic, Portland, OR
Dr. Stephanie Hargrove (pronouns: she/her) joined the clinical psychology doctoral program in 2015. While at George Mason, her research interests focused on culturally competent treatments for gender based violence and factors that promote holistic healing. Her clinical interests focused on helping Black women and girls heal from trauma experiences.
Dissertation
Hargrove, S. (2021) Wellness beyond symptom reduction: An exploration of Black woman-centered wellness for survivors of gender-based violence.
Internship
Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
Adult-CBT Concentration
Dr. Kris Gebhard (pronouns: they/them) came to the clinical psychology doctoral program in 2014. While at GMU, Kris was engaged in research on masculinity relating to violence, seeking to better understand how to prevent male violence against trans women. With the support of Dr. Cattaneo’s lab, Kris designed a measure of men’s shame-related responses to threatened masculinity, the Masculinity and Shame Questionnaire (MASQ).
Dissertation
Gebhard, K. (2019) Understanding how to prevent male violence: Investigating the role of threatened masculinity shame and testing an intervention.
Internship
Compass Health Network, Wentzville, MO
Dr. Rachel Shor (pronouns: she/her) joined George Mason University’s clinical psychology program in 2013. While at GMU, Rachel’s research interests focused on interpersonal dynamics of power, implicit social cognition, resilience, and help-seeking following a trauma. She has focused on interpersonal violence and multicultural counseling, both as a doctoral student and as a trauma counselor.
Dissertation
Shor, R. (2018) The impact of disclosure on resilience resources during help-seeking for sexual assault.
Internship
VA Boston Healthcare System
PTSD Clinical Team
Syeda Buchwach, M.A. (pronouns: she/her) joined the clinical psychology program at George Mason in 2017. While at GMU, she was interested in the development of accessible mental health resources for ethnic minorities through community-based initiatives, particularly within immigrant enclaves. Her research involvements concerned undergraduate civic engagement, domestic violence survivors’ experience of public assistance, and community resilience among systemically marginalized groups.
Dr. Jenna Calton joined Dr. Cattaneo’s lab when she began the GMU clinical psychology doctoral program in 2011. During her time in the lab, Jenna researched intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors’ perceptions of procedural and distributive justice, the impact of minority stress on LGBTQ individuals’ intentions to seek help for IPV, and ways that service learning courses impact undergraduate students’ knowledge of and attitudes toward individuals living in poverty.
Dissertation
Calton, J. M. (2016) The impact of minority stress on LGBTQ individuals’ intentions to seek help for intimate partner violence.
Internship
Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC
Dr. Jessica Grossmann entered the GMU clinical psychology program in 2010, with research interests in examining the experiences of trauma survivors seeking help in community systems. Jessica acted as study coordinator on Dr. Cattaneo’s study piloting a measure of empowerment among survivors of IPV seeking protective orders in the court system. She also consulted with Safe Horizon, an agency serving victims of violence in NYC, and developed a measure of client-centered practices for the domestic violence hotline.
Dissertation
Grossmann, J. (2015) Examining the impact of parenthood and family connectedness on offenders’ reentry experiences.
Internship
Phoenix VA Healthcare System, Phoenix, AZ
Dr. Aliya Chapman attended GMU from 2008-2014. While at GMU, Aliya interviewed intimate partner violence survivors who were navigating the court system, and helped analyze these interviews; she also co-developed a model of the psychological empowerment process with Dr. Cattaneo. She also conducted research for her community project at a local Muslim community center, examining Muslim couples’ marital health.
Dissertation
Chapman, A.R. (2013) Power and marital satisfaction among American Muslims.
Internship
Thomas Cook Counseling Center, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA
Dr. Adriana Robertson attended GMU from 2006 to 2011. Her research focused on the influence of cultural values on recognition and disclosure of intimate partner violence. Her clinical training included work at Veterans Affairs, the outpatient trauma program at the Psychiatric Institute of Washington and counseling services at the Catholic University of America.
Dissertation
Pilafova, A. (2011) The role of cultural values in recognition and disclosure of abuse.
Internship
Counseling Center, Catholic University of America Washington, DC
Dr. Holly Zanville attended GMU from 2004-2009. While there, she worked on the Victim Informed Prosecution project with Dr. Cattaneo. She also conducted research for her second year project at a community mental health center, documenting the under-diagnosis of PTSD.
Dissertation
Zanville, H. (2010). The nature of risk and its relationship to coping among survivors of intimate partner violence.
Internship
Fifth Avenue Center for Counseling, New York, NY
Undergraduate Students
Jasmine Rose (pronouns: she/her) completed her bachelor’s degree in psychology in May 2022. She joined the lab through the Psychology Honors program in Spring 2020, under the mentorship of Dr. Cattaneo. Jasmine’s honors thesis had a primary focus on the unique experiences of black women attending predominantly white institutions. It is her hope that this type of research will inform institutional decision making, as well as policy development, to be more inclusive of the minority student experience.
Batool Al-Shaar (pronouns she/her) graduated from George Mason University with a Bachelor’s degree in psychology in May 2019. She joined the lab during her senior year as a research assistant and continues to contribute to the team in project development, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, and paper writing. Her research interests focus on trauma, and on understanding how oppressed communities build resilience under conditions of state-sanctioned violence. Her honors thesis examined various styles of cognition related to traumatic experience.