Faculty
Lawrence G. Calhoun lived his formative years in Brazil, came to the US to attend college, and has remained here since. He earned degrees from St. Andrews Presbyterian College, Xavier University, and the Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Georgia. A licensed psychologist, he has maintained a part-time clinical practice for many years. Together with Richard Tedeschi he is one of the pioneers in the research and theory on posttraumatic growth. He is co-author or co-editor of 9 books, including Posttraumatic Growth in Clinical Practice, published by Routledge. He is a recipient of the Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence, The University of North Carolina Board of Governor’s Award for Teaching Excellence, and of the First Citizens Bank Scholar’s Medal (with Richard Tedeschi). Although he is no longer engaged in classroom teaching, he continues his research work and he continues to mentor doctoral students.
Richard G. Tedeschi received his B.A. in Psychology from Syracuse University, his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Ohio University, and completed his Clinical Psychology Internship at The University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Dr. Tedeschi is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and serves as Graduate Coordinator for the MA Psychology program. He is a Licensed Psychologist specializing in bereavement and trauma. With his colleague Lawrence Calhoun, he has published books on posttraumatic growth, an area of research that they have developed that examines personal transformations in the aftermath of traumatic life events. Their most recent book is Posttraumatic Growth: Theory, Research, and Applications (2018). Dr. Tedeschi serves as a consultant to the American Psychological Association on trauma and resilience, and as a subject matter expert for the US Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program. He is a recipient of the Mary G. Clarke Award for Distinguished Service to Psychology given by the North Carolina Psychological Association, and is past President of NCPA.
Arnie Cann received his doctorate in Social Psychology from Indiana University. His general research interests include social cognition processes, interpersonal relationships, and humor. He brings an important social psychological perspective to the posttraumatic growth research and mentors graduate students involved in the research team on methodology and data analysis. Additional information can be found at his individual home page: https://clas-pages.uncc.edu/arnie-cann/http://www.psych.uncc.edu/acann/.
Amy Canevello received her PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Houston. Her research examines the interpersonal dynamics of close relationship. Specifically, she is interested in when and how we create upward and downward spirals in our relationships with others, how we contribute to what others experience, what it means to have good relationships, and the benefits of giving vs. receiving in close relationships. With respect to PTG, Dr. Canevello is interested in how these and other relationship processes contribute to or hinder trauma-related growth.
Current Students
Paisley Azra-Lewis is a student in the doctoral program in Clinical Health Psychology. She earned her B.S. in Psychology from Davidson College in 2013. Her research interests focus on the broad cultural context and the ways in which it can influence autobiographical remembering of traumatic events and the process of PTG.
Cara Blevins is a doctoral candidate in the doctoral program in Clinical Health Psychology. She is currently completing her doctoral internship at the Charles George VA Medical Center in Asheville, NC. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from George Mason University in 2009. Her research interests focus on the experience of posttraumatic growth in military and service populations (i.e., firefighters), with additional interests in physiological stress reactivity and management, cardiovascular health, suicide prevention, and resilience.
Taryn Greene is a student in the doctoral program in Clinical Health Psychology. She has her B.A. in Psychology and M.A. in Intelligence Studies. Her research interests are broadly focused on trauma, stress, and posttraumatic growth, with specific attention to the impacts these factors have on health and wellbeing. Specific interests include: how etiological factors like personality, types of coping, social and cultural factors, etc. contribute to susceptibility for distress, psychosomatic symptoms, and growth; manifestations of trauma in the body, chronic pain, and mindfulness.
Ana Orejuela is a student in the doctoral program in Clinical Health Psychology. She earned her B.S. in Brain, Behavior, & Cognitive Science from the University of Michigan in 2011. Her research interests include how emotions and emotion regulation strategies influence the process of posttraumatic growth. She is also interested in the influence of culture on PTG, particularly among Latino/Hispanic populations.
Olivia Riffle is a student in the doctoral program in Clinical Health Psychology. She earned her B.S. in Neuroscience from Washington & Lee University in 2012 and her M.A. in Psychology from UNC Charlotte in 2016. Olivia studies posttraumatic growth as it relates to personal narrative, vocational calling, meaning and purpose, and resolution.
Victoria Willetts O’Connor is a student in the doctoral program in Clinical Health Psychology. She earned her B.A. and M.A. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Her research interests focus on the experience of posttraumatic growth in following interpersonal traumas, particularly experiences of infidelity and intimate partner violence. She has additional broad interests in suicide prevention and resilience.”
Alumni
Elizabeth Addington completed her PhD in Clinical Health Psychology in 2016. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Northwestern University. Her research interests focus on posttraumatic growth in adult oncology patients, with additional interests in yoga and meditation. Her goal is to combine these interests in a career involving both clinical work and research.
Alexis Brightman completed her Masters in Clinical/Community Psychology in 2016. She earned her undergraduate degree at UNC Chapel Hill, where she studied the physiological effects of racism on African American students, as well as positive psychology and the degree to which attenuation varies with mood. At UNC Charlotte, Alexis incorporated her individual passion for religion and spirituality into her research on posttraumatic growth. She hopes for future research to include religion and spirituality, but also environmental conservation, various perceptions of marginality in society, and family dynamics related to spirituality.
Valerie Gilbert completed her Masters in Clinical/Community Psychology in 2015. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC in 2012. Valerie’s research interests include self-motivated personal growth development, and the impact of religion and spirituality on growth.
Jessica Groleau completed her PhD in Clinical Health Psychology in 2015. During her tenure with the posttraumatic growth research group, Jessica studied the relationship between centrality of event and PTG. For her dissertation, Jessica also examined the effects of an expressive writing intervention on posttraumatic growth. Jessica completed a postdoctoral fellowship and is currently a Licensed Psychologist at the UNC Charlotte Counseling Center.
Michelle Jesse received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Missouri, her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Minnesota State University, and her Ph.D. in Clinical Health Psychology from UNC Charlotte. She completed her clinical internship and fellowship at Henry Ford Health System (HFHS) in Detroit, MI. She currently holds dual faculty positions at HFHS as Bioscientific Staff with the Transplant Institute and as a Senior Staff Psychologist with Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry within the Department of Behavioral Health.
Michelle has been interested in patient, supports, and staff adjustment to complex, advanced chronic medical illness. Over the course of her doctoral work, she received excellent supervision and mentorship from Dr. Richard Tedeschi (dissertation chair) and Dr. Suzanne Danhauer (dissertation committee member, Wake Forest Baptist Health), as well as numerous other professors at UNCC. She was able to participate in performing research on posttraumatic growth in patients undergoing treatment for acute leukemia (as well as other studies) and performed her dissertation on posttraumatic growth and well-being in recently graduated nurses. Her current research focuses on patients with end-stage organ disease undergoing organ transplantation, their support persons, and transplant related staffs’ experiences of caring for organ transplant patients. An ongoing study involves longitudinal assessment of liver transplant recipients on posttraumatic growth and related factors.
She currently lives in Royal Oak, Michigan, with her wonderful husband, two beautiful children, and a very large dog. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, running, reading, and travel.
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Kelli Triplett received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, her M.A. in Clinical/Community Psychology from UNC Charlotte, and her doctorate in Clinical Health Psychology from UNC Charlotte. She completed her clinical internship in Pediatric Psychology at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital and fellowship in Pediatric Psychology at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Kelli currently works as the Provisionally Licensed Psychologist for the Solid Organ Transplant Program at Children’s Medical Center – Dallas. Kelli was introduced to Posttraumatic Growth early in her graduate school career as she was fortunate to work with Dr. Tedeschi as her primary advisor and chair of both her master’s thesis (Examination of the Process of Posttraumatic Growth in College Students) and doctoral dissertation (Posttraumatic Growth in Young Breast Cancer Survivors). Currently, Kelli is focused on exploring PTG in children/adolescents with acute or chronic medical illnesses and their family members.
Tanya Vishnevsky received her doctorate from UNC Charlotte and then completed postdoctoral training in Boston at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School. She has worked in both hospitals and primary care medical settings and has specialized in treating the psychological effects of medical conditions such as chronic pain, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and organ transplantation. Dr. Vishnevsky is currently working in private practice in Providence, RI. She continues to be involved in research related to PTG, particularly within unique medical populations such as organ transplantation.
