Mental Health Self-Perceptions
This study evaluated relations of how individuals view their mental health difficulties and various behavioral constructs. Participants completed an online survey in exchange for course credit and a chance to win a $25 gift card.
We are currently examining results of the project and will update this website with findings when available. Thus far, we have presented preliminary outcomes in a poster presentation at the 17th annual World Conference of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science in Dublin, Ireland and the 2019 South Dakota Psychological Association conference in Vermillion, SD. We will also present findings at the 53rd Annual Convention of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies in Atlanta, GA.
Test Anxiety in Context
This study evaluated the effects of in-class testing methods on test anxiety. In Phase 1, participants completed an online eligibility screen and survey at a campus laboratory. In Phase 2, participants completed a brief survey before and after their in-class exam (paper or computer-based). Participants earned course credit for participating. We are currently examining results of the project.
Connectedness and Experiences of Native People
This study examined the applicability of acceptance-based treatment approaches to mental health problems for indigenous populations. Participants completed an online survey in exchange for a $10 gift card.
Anxiety in Daily Life
This study examined the impact of mindfulness meditation and values clarification on anxiety symptoms over a two-week time frame. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of these techniques on a day-to-day basis in an anxious population.
Participants attended a training session during which they completed some surveys, learned a 10 minute meditation exercise, and participated in a values clarification or comparison condition. Then, we asked them to practice mindfulness for the next 14 days and tell us about their experience by completing short, computerized daily surveys. Finally, participants completed one more large survey at home from their personal computer.
Overall, participants reported decreased past week and past 24-hour anxiety symptom frequency, as well as increased quality of life during the previous 24-hour cycle only. However, the study did not include a no-meditation condition. Thus, we cannot rule out the mere passage of time as being responsible for these outcomes. Results also indicated no significant effect of adding a values clarification intervention to the establishment of a 2 week practice of daily (10 minutes each day) mindfulness meditation. We identified several aspects of the computerized intervention that can be improved upon and will be evaluating such modifications at some point in the future. We are also analyizing data obtained from the daily surveys, which is providing some interesting information about peoples' day to day experiences. The primary outcome paper has just been accepted for publication in the Journal of Clinical Psychology!
Mindful Practices in Daily Life
This study examined the daily impact of practicing mindfulness over a 2 week time frame in a student population. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of mindful practices on a day-to-day basis, and evaluate the effect of meditation length (10 minutes versus 20 minutes daily) on adherence to the practice.
Participants attended a training session where they completed some surveys and learned either a 10 or 20 minute mindfulness meditation technique. Then, we asked them to practice the technique for the next 14 days and tell us about their experience by completing short, computerized daily surveys. Finally, they completed one more large survey from their personal computer.
Results indicated no significant difference in total days meditated or overall time spent meditating between the groups. However, participants assigned to meditate 20 minutes per day reported significant increases in self-compassion relative to those who meditated for 10 minutes daily. This paper was published in the journal Mindfulness in 2017. Access it here.
Christopher R. Berghoff, Ph.D.
Dr. Berghoff is a licenced clinical psychologist, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of South Dakota, and director of the Behavior, Emotion Regulation, & Treatments for Health & Anxiety (BERTHA) Lab. He received his Ph.D. from the University at Albany, State University of New York in 2015, followed by one year postdoctoral fellowships in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toledo. He employs a range of acceptance-based behavioral therapies (e.g., Acceptance and Commitment Therapy; Dialectical Behavior Therapy) and cognitive behavior therapies (e.g., Prolonged Exposure; Exposure and Response Prevention) in his clinical work and supervision. His research, grounded in a contextual-behavioral framework, focuses on identifying and modifying behavioral processes that lead to the alleviation of human suffering, including mindfulness, acceptance, and value-guided behavior change techniques in the context of anxiety, trauma, and substance use disorders.
Rachel Bock, M.A.
Mrs. Bock is a fourth year Ph.D. student in the Clinical Psychology program at the University of South Dakota. She graduated from the University of North Dakota in May 2018 with a B.S. in Psychology and a B.A. in Honors and earned her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from the University of South Dakota in 2020. Ms. Bock is interested in the etiology of anxiety disorders and topics relating to the self, such as self-conscious emotions and self-perceptions. Her theoretical orientation is influenced by behavioral perspectives broadly, including acceptance-based (e.g., Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and traditional modes of cognitive behavior therapy (e.g., exposure treatment strategies).
Emily Kalantar
Ms. Kalantar is a fourth year Ph.D. student in the Clinical Psychology program at the University of South Dakota. She received her B.A. from California State University, Monterey Bay in May 2017. Ms. Kalantar's research interests include biological indices of post-traumatic responses and the influence of chronic and traumatic psychological stress on mental and physical health. Within these areas, she focuses on several behavioral processes, including emotion regulation, psychological flexibility, and self-compassion.
Lucas Baker, M.A.
Mr. Baker is a fourth year Ph.D. student in the Clinical Psychology program at the University of South Dakota. He received his B.S. in Psychology from the University of Wyoming and his M.A. in Clinical Psychology from the University of South Dakota in 2020. Mr. Baker's research interests focus on behavioral strengths and difficulties encountered by first responder populations.
Jennifer Kuo, M.A.
Ms. Kuo is a third year Ph.D. student in the Clinical Psychology program at the University of South Dakota. She received her B.S. in Psychology and Neurobiology & Physiology from the University of Maryland in 2013 and her M.A. in Psychology from Ohio State University. Ms. Kuo is interested in the intersection of stress and health within a contextual behavioral science framework. She is particularly interested in identifying the relation of cancer-related distress and physical pain on health outcomes within a psychological flexibility framework.
Research Assistants
Dedicated and hard working undergraduate students assist our research program. In fact, we would be hard pressed to accomplish a fraction of our work without the help of assistants. You'll find them doing everything in our lab, from basic clerical work like responding to emails and reviewing the latest literature, to helping design new projects, conducting experiments, and preparing conference presentations and other publications.
Our studies are run out of the Behavior, Emotion Regulation, & Treatments for Health & Anxiety (BERTHA) Lab, located at the University of South Dakota.
The BERTHA Lab is an active and vibrant research environment that strives to contribute to the professional knowledge base through various activities. We in the BERTHA Lab are dedicated to using scientific know how, with a focus on anxiety-, trauma-, and substance-related disorders to understand and ameliorate human suffering. We have basic and applied lines of research underway that are framed within an approach known as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT, said as one word). We are addressing variables and processes that feed and maintain human suffering and researching how best to alleviate that suffering, within the framework of ACT.
Visit the BERTHA Lab Website to learn more about our family, our research, and how to apply to be a research assistant or work with us as a graduate student in the Department of Psychology at the University of South Dakota!