Fall 2012 - Illinois Institute of Technology

Welcome our New Faculty
ALISSA HAEDT-MATT
Alissa Haedt-Matt joined the clinical faculty
as an assistant professor in fall 2012. Haedt-
Matt completed her clinical psychology
internship in the Eating and Weight
Disorders Track at the University of Chicago
Medical Center and received her Ph.D.
from the University of Iowa in July 2012.
Haedt-Matt has received numerous honors,
including a National Research Service
Award Individual Predoctoral Fellowship
and an APA Dissertation Research Award.
She has 12 peer-reviewed publications and
three book chapters, and has presented
her research at national and international
conferences. Haedt-Matt also has been
active in several professional organizations,
including the Academy for Eating Disorders,
American Psychological Association,
Association for Contextual Behavioral
Science, and the Society for a Science of
Clinical Psychology.
Haedt-Matt’s broad research
interests are in the etiology, maintenance,
and treatment of eating disorders. Her
primary line of research investigates the
intersection of mood dysregulation and
eating pathology with an emphasis on
the application of ecological momentary
assessment to test theoretical models
of mood dysregulation in the etiology
and maintenance of eating disorders.
A second area of research interest is in
the classification of eating disorders,
particularly Purging Disorder. Current
research projects include 1) examining the
role of affective, cognitive, and somatic
factors in triggering and maintaining
purging behavior among women with
Purging Disorder and 2) investigating
concurrent and prospective associations
between emotional eating and affect and
implications for risk models of binge eating.
4
ERIC HOUSTON
Eric Houston joined the clinical faculty
as an assistant professor in fall 2012.
Houston received his bachelor’s degree
from Carleton College and earned his
Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at
Chicago. He completed an APA-approved
clinical psychology internship at New
York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell
Medical Center. After his internship, he was
awarded a three-year NIH postdoctoral
research fellowship with the HIV Center
for Clinical and Behavioral Studies at
Columbia University and the New York
State Psychiatric Institute. Houston has
designed health studies and collaborated
with other investigators at major universities
and research centers in implementing
behavioral health interventions.
His research has been published in
leading peer-reviewed scientific journals,
and he has presented his work at
national conferences.
Much of Houston’s work is concerned
with examining the cognitive and emotional
factors that influence the self-regulation
of health behaviors, including seeking
timely medical care, reducing substance
use, practicing safer sex, and following
a treatment regimen as prescribed.
His primary line of research focuses on
developing interventions and assessment
procedures that effectively identify and
address idiosyncratic and latent cognitions
affecting individual motivation for health
behavior change. A second line of
research is aimed at strengthening our
knowledge of the psychological factors
underpinning the relationship between
trauma exposure and negative health
outcomes. Houston’s current research
projects include 1) examining the use of a
person-centered approach to more fully
assess patient treatment motivation and 2)
investigating the use of Internet and phonebased
technology in providing clinical
interventions and assessments.
KELLY KAZUKAUSKAS
Kelly Kazukauskas joined the faculty at IIT
in 2012. She is a clinical assistant professor
of rehabilitation counseling, teaching
courses in counseling theory and case
management, as well as the clinical courses
related to both practicum and internship
experiences. Kazukauskas also coordinates
the clinical training for the rehabilitation
counseling program, which includes the
placement, training, and clinical supervision
of students within this program.
Kazukauskas received her Ph.D.
in psychology with an emphasis on
rehabilitation education from IIT in 2006
and has been teaching ever since. She is
also a certified rehabilitation counselor
(CRC) and a certified vocational evaluator
(CVE). Prior to teaching she worked
extensively in the rehabilitation counseling
field, serving persons with traumatic brain
injury and persons with developmental
disabilities, and held several directorial
positions in vocational services and
program/case management.
Kazukauskas’s research and
professional interests focus primarily on
rehabilitation counselor competency and
training, clinical supervision in rehabilitation
counselor education and practice, and
rehabilitation counselor ethics and ethical
issues. Additionally, she has conducted
research on rehabilitation counselor
competence and comfort in relation to
disability and sexuality, and post-secondary
transitions for persons with disabilities.