Colin Armstrong, PhD

Colin
Armstrong
PhD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Division of Psychology
Dayani Center for Health & Wellness
(615) 343-2808
Vanderbilt Dayani Center for Health and Wellness
1500 Medical Center Drive
Nashville
37232

Representative Publications

Peer Reviewed Journals

1. Armstrong C, Wolever RQ, Manning L, Elam R, Moore M, Frates EP, Duskey H, Anderson C, Curtis RL, Masemer S, Lawson K. Group health coaching: strengths, challenges, and next stepsGlob Adv Health Med. 2013 May; 2(3): 95-102. PMID: 24416678, PMCID: PMC3833535, PII: gahmj.2013.019, DOI: 10.7453/gahmj.2013.019, ISSN: 2164-957X.

2. Hayden-Wade, H., Coleman, K.J., Sallis, J.S., & Armstrong, C.A. (2003). Validation of the telephone and in-person interview versions of the 7-Day PAR. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 35(5), 801-809.

3. Patten, C.A., Armstrong, C.A., Martin, J.E., Sallis, J.S., & Booth, J., (2001). Behavioral control of exercise in adults: Studies 7 and 8. Psychology and Health. 15(4), 571-581.

4. Armstrong, C.A., Patten, C.A., & Martin, J.E. (1994). Exercise stages of change and cardiovascular function. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 16, 174.

5. Armstrong, C.A., Sallis, J.F., Hovell, M.F., & Hofstetter, C.R. (1993). Stages of change, self-efficacy, and the adoption of vigorous exercise: A prospective analysis. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 15, 390-402.

6. Martin, J.E., Patten, C.A., & Armstrong, C.A. (1993). Association between physical activity and blood pressure in normotensive adults. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 76, 701-702.


Book Chapter

1. Wallston, K.A. & Armstrong, C.A. (2001) Theoretically based strategies for health behavior change. In M. P. O'Donnell (Ed), Health Promotion in the Workplace, 3rd edition.

colin.armstrong@vumc.org

The Psychological Treatment of Voice Disorders

Also, motivation for healthier living, the development of self-efficacy / self-confidence, stress / anxiety management, the development of resilience, Performance Psychology, adapting Sports Psychology approaches to Vocal Performance.

Colin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R). He is also a founding faculty member of the Vanderbilt Health Coaching Program, a program in which he has taught for more than a decade.

He is a practicing Health and Rehabilitation Psychologist in his 28th year serving in that role at the Vanderbilt Dayani Center for Health and Wellness. His work focuses on mind-body wellness. He specializes in the treatment of individuals suffering from voice disorders (e.g., muscle tension dysphonia, vocal fold nodules and polyps, vocal fold hemorrhage). He regularly treats performing artists from throughout the region, as well as others whose career is dependent upon their voice.

Colin is published in such journals as The American Journal of Health Promotion, The Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation, Perception and Motor Skills, The Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Annals of Behavioral Medicine, Psychology and Health, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, and Global Advances in Health and Medicine. He has also co-authored a book chapter on motivation and treatment adherence.

His position has allowed him to provide consultation and education to such corporate clients as General Motors, The Tennessean, Alive Hospice, Baker Donelson, Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI), AT&T, Teledyne, Marriott Corporation, Nashville Electric Service (NES), Logan's Roadhouse, Central Parking, Louisiana Pacific (LP), Whirlpool, Caterpillar, Genesco, Gaylord Entertainment, Ingram Entertainment, The GAP, Hertz, Deloitte & Touche, Blue Cross / Blue Shield, and the CMT & MTV Networks.

He has also been able to provide seminars for a good number of community organizations (e.g., Leadership Nashville, AARP, YMCA, YWCA, Rotary International, American Cancer Society, The Girl Scouts, American Heart Association, ALS Association, American Lung Association) and government agencies (e.g., Metro Nashville Police Training Academy, Metro Nashville Public Schools, Metro Nashville Airport Authority, the Federal Reserve Bank, the IRS, and the National Security Agency).

Colin has a passion for helping people live happier and healthier lives.

Julia Sheffield, PhD

Julia
May
Sheffield
PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Division of Psychology
Jack Martin MD Research Professor in Psychopharmacology
Co-Director Psychosis Emphasis Internship in Professional Psychology
Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital
1601 23rd Avenue South
Room / Suite
3050
Nashville
Tennessee
37212

Dr. Sheffield's research focuses on identifying cognitive mechanisms underlying delusions using neuroimaging, behavioral, and clinical trials approaches. In work supported by a K23 career development award from the NIMH, Dr. Sheffield is conducting a longitudinal study of belief updating using computational modeling techniques. This study aims to identify psychological changes associated with recovery from an acute exacerbation of delusions. Dr. Sheffield was also awarded an R01 from the NIMH to conduct a randomized clinical trial of psychotherapy for individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, in order to determine the impact of treatment on belief updating processes. Finally, Dr. Sheffield is fascinated by the insula. She is working to understand its role in the development and progression of schizophrenia, with a particular focus on interoception.

 

Representative Publications

1. Sheffield, J. M., Brinen, A. P., Feola, B., Heckers, S., & Corlett, P. R. (2024). Understanding Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp) Through the Predictive Coding Framework. Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science, 100333.
2. Kittleson, A. R., Woodward, N. D., Heckers, S., & Sheffield, J. M. (2024). The insula: Leveraging cellular and systems-level research to better understand its roles in health and schizophrenia. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 105643.
3. Sheffield, J.M., Suthaharan, P., Leptourgos, P., & Corlett, P. R. (2022). Belief Updating and Paranoia in Individuals with Schizophrenia. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 7(11), 1149-1157. PMID: 35430406.
4. Sheffield, J.M., Karcher, N., Barch, D.M. (2018). Cognitive deficits in psychotic disorders across the lifespan. Neuropsychology Review, 1-25. PMID: 30343458
5. Sheffield, J.M., Kandala, S., Tamminga, C., Pearlson, G., Lerman-Sinkoff, D…, Barch, D.M. (2017). Trans-diagnostic associations between functional network integrity and cognition. JAMA Psychiatry. 74(6), 605-613. PMID: 28467520

julia.sheffield@vumc.org

Dr. Sheffield is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in psychotherapy for individuals with psychosis, using a cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBTp) approach. As part of this role, she is a member of the NAVIGATE first episode team, which offers coordinated specialty care to individuals within the first two years of a psychotic disorder. Dr. Sheffield also serves as a clinical supervisor for psychology practicum students, interns, and post-docs

https://www.vumc.org/sheffield-lab/welcome

Dr. Sheffield completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Chicago and her PhD at Washington University in St Louis. She completed her predoctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship within the Vanderbilt Department of Psychiatry.

Liliyas Sepassi, MD

Liliyas
Sepassi
MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital
liliyas.sepassi@vumc.org

Dr. Sepassi is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.  Her clinical work includes inpatient coverage at the Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital.  This work is geared towards diagnosis and management of mild and major neurocognitive disorders and psychotic disorders.

Patricia S. Andrews, MD

Patricia
Serrano
Andrews
MD
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Program Director
Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship
Director, Division of Geriatric Psychiatry
Associate Director of Alzheimer's Disease Clinical Trials
Center for Cognitive Medicine
Division of Geriatric Psychiatry
patricia.andrews@vumc.org

Dr. Andrews joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2019 after completing her Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship at the Indiana University School of Medicine. She is also a former Honors Scholar of the Geriatric Mental Health Foundation and board-certified psychiatrist from Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia.

Dr. Andrews is a 2023 Scholar, which is a grant awarded by the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) to study how prior COVID-19 infection may accelerate cognitive decline in the ADNI cohort. She is Site Co-Principal Investigator for the Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC) since Vanderbilt became an ACTC site in 2023. Dr. Andrews is the Site-Principal Investigator of the AHEAD Study, an NIA funded study of Lecanemab, a recently approved FDA treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease. Additionally, she is co-investigator in multiple NIH funded projects on cognitive impairment, geriatric depression, and dementia.

Alexander Conley, PhD

Alexander
Christian
Conley
PhD
Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital
1601 23rd Avenue South
Nashville
Tennessee
37212

Dr. Conley's research involves the investigation of novel cognitive and neuroimaging markers of cognitive decline. This investigation looks both at examining the impact of novel interventions on cognitive function in clinical samples, and also to identify markers of future risk or protection from cognitive decline in healthy older adults.

alexander.c.conley@vumc.org

Dr Conley joined Vanderbilt in November 2016 after completing his PhD in cognitive neuroscience from the University of Newcastle, Australia. He also holds a BPsyc (Hons) from the University of Newcastle. Alex’s scientific interests lie in the study of how new medicines may help reverse the cognitive and memory problems that develop following trauma and neurodegeneration.

Kimberly Albert, PhD

Kimberly
Albert
PhD
Research Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital
1601 23rd Avenue South
Nashville
Tennessee
37212
kimberly.albert@vumc.org

Dr. Albert's research focuses on the interface of cognition and emotion and examining cognitive processes that contribute to mood disorders risk and pathological cognitive aging. She completed a BS in neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University and received her PhD in neuroscience working with Dr. Paul Newhouse in the Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit at the University of Vermont. Dr. Albert completed post-doctoral training at the Center for Cognitive Medicine and Vanderbilt University with Dr. Warren Taylor, and currently has an appointment as a research instructor in the department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.    

Research Description

Dr. Albert's research focuses on the systems and behavioral neuroscience of early cognitive changes in pathological cognitive aging. Her work includes neuroimaging and remote, ecological assessment of subjective and objective cognitive function to better understand early brain network changes in Alzheimer's Disease, develop markers of risk, and target novel interventions to support cognitive maintenance in aging.    

Pain Perception in Patients with Alzheimer’s and Cancer

Are older adults with cancer and Alzheimer’s more sensitive to pain? Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and The Ohio State University have been awarded a five-year, $5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute on Aging to study the impact of cancer and co-occurring Alzheimer’s disease on pain perception.

Billings interviews Christopher Watson during inaugural statewide Association of Infant Mental Health in Tennessee conference

Giovanni Billings, Psy.D., IMH-E®, Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, hosted and interviewed Christopher Watson, Ph.D., IMH-E® (IV) Co-Director of the Center for Early Education and Development (CEED) at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities for the Inaugural statewide conference for the Association of Infant Mental Health in Tennessee (AIMHiTN). The conference focused on "Nurturing a Culture of Relationship & Reflection in Practice and Programs" for systems serving infant care at the Scarritt Bennett Center.

GRED: October 16, 2019

This week's article for discussion is: (This is meant to precede the talk by Dr. Lewis on Friday October 18) "The Ventral Hippocampus Controls Stress-Provoked Impulsive Aggression through the Ventromedial Hypothalamus in Post-Weaning Social Isolation Mice" by Chih-Hua Chang, Po-Wu Gean

GRED: September 25, 2019

This week's article for discussion is: "Functional specificity in the Human Brain: A window into the functional architecture of the mind" by Nancy Kanwisher