Jerome Short, Ph.D.
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Associate Professor of Psychology Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Fairfax, VA 22030-4444 |
Office: David King 2019 Office Hour: 1:45 to 2:45 Tuesdays and Thursdays |
703-993-1368 (office) 703-993-1359 (fax) |
I am a Clinical-Community Psychologist and my theoretical orientation is integrative and includes interpersonal, emotion-focused, cognitive, and behavioral perspectives. My research focuses on promoting mental health and preventing psychological disorders. I have developed a preventive intervention for older children and adolescents designed to teach coping skills, enhance self-esteem, and develop assertiveness skills to resist peer pressure. These skills are associated with less anxiety, depression, antisocial behavior, and substance use.
Currently, I am working on the development and evaluation of a psychological fitness program with college students and elderly adults, evaluation of substance abuse prevention, suicide prevention, and HIV prevention at local community mental health centers, and religious coping. I have developed a psychological fitness intervention that teaches people daily cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and interpersonal exercises and have found that these exercises are related to increased life satisfaction, self-esteem, optimism, perceived academic competence, and perceived body image among college students. The exercises are also related to decreased anxiety, depression, and anger. I am planning longitudinal follow-ups, identification of the most effective exercises, and testing the intervention with other populations. I have developed a Psychological Fitness website to describe my intervention and I have a new e-book called Psychological Fitness.
Some of my research on adolescent substance use was described in a Washington Post article. A recent interview appeared on WUSA-TV-9. I am teaching a course called Psychological Fitness (PSYC 461) for undergraduate students.