Department of Psychology
Biography:
Keywords: behavioral medicine; cancer; psychological distress; posttraumatic growth; relationships and illness
I received my B.A. in psychology from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. I completed an APA-approved clinical internship at the Palo Alto Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center, followed by a National Institute of Mental Health research postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry at Stanford University. After working for four years as a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, I moved to Toronto in 2007 to join the Department of Psychology at Ryerson University.
My research centers on psychological factors associated with adjustment to illness in chronically-ill individuals and their spouses/partners. Primarily, my work has investigated quality of life, psychological distress, and symptom burden in patients who have been diagnosed with cancer, multiple sclerosis, or gastrointestinal disorders (inflammatory bowel disease or functional bowel disorders). In couples where one partner has been diagnosed with a chronic illness, I have been examining the effect of communication between partners, social support, and coping on relationship satisfaction and quality of life.
My goal is to develop psychosocial interventions that will improve quality of life in the face of chronic illness. My lab is currently developing these types of interventions for people diagnosed with cancer or with multiple sclerosis. I currently hold research funding as a Principal Investigator from the Canadian Multiple Sclerosis Scientific Research Foundation, the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Alliance, and a New Investigator Award in Gender and Health from the Canadian Institute of Health Research.
My teaching interests include courses in both clinical and health psychology. I have supervised numerous trainees on research methodology, as well as cognitive-behavioral therapy. At Ryerson, I have taught graduate-level Psychopathology, Professional Ethics, and Treatment of Psychological Disorders. My undergraduate level courses include Abnormal Psychology and Introduction to Clinical Psychology.
Representative and Recent Publications (please see CV for a complete listing):
Hart, S.L., Vella, L., & Mohr, D.C. (2008). Relationships among depressive symptoms, benefit-finding, optimism, and positive affect in multiple sclerosis patients after psychotherapy for depression. Health Psychology, 27, 230-238.
Hart, S.L., Latini, D.M., Cowan, J.E., & Carroll, P.R. (2008). Fear of recurrence, treatment satisfaction, and quality of life after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer. Supportive Care in Cancer, 16, 161-169.
Hart, S.L., & Hart, T.A. (2010). The future of cognitive behavioral interventions within behavioral medicine. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy 24, 344-353.
Blackmore, D., Hart, S.L., Albiani, J.J., & Mohr, D.C. (2011). Partner support predicts sexual satisfaction among individuals with multiple sclerosis. Rehabilitation Psychology, 56, 117-22.
Hart, S.L., Torbit, L.A., Crangle, C.J., Esplen, M.J., Holter, S., Semotiok, K., Borgida, A., Ardiles, P., Rothenmund, H., & Gallinger, S. (2011). Moderators of cancer-related distress and worry after a pancreatic cancer genetic counselling and screening intervention. Psycho-Oncology. doi: 10.1002/pon.2026. [Epub ahead of print]
Hot! Psych Feature:
Bookmark with:
