San Diego Community Services & Placements

Community Services & Centers

The Virtual Reality Medical Center currently uses virtual reality exposure therapy in combination with physiological feedback to treat fear of driving, claustrophobia, agoraphobia, fear of heights, panic disorders, social phobia, anxiety disorders, fear of public speaking, post-traumatic stress disorder and fear of flying.

The Family Violence and Sexual Assault Institute is an international training center for all aspects of family violence and sexual assault.

The Organizational Consulting Center (OCC) can help individuals or companies address today's organizational challenges. Whether you need assistance adapting to the chronic pace of change, motivating an increasingly complex workforce, or leading your employees into the future with renewed dedication and innovation, the OCC has the tools and resources you need. We provide training sessions, team building, and workshops and well as customized assistance for our clients.

Research Projects

Although rarely lethal, asthma continues to have a major impact in the United States due to its prevalence (approximately two to three percent of the country's population suffer from asthma) and its ability to handicap patients both functionally and emotionally. Continuing intermittent attacks of wheezing, dyspnea and coughing often drain patients of energy and increase stress and anxiety about inevitable future attacks. The multicenter clinical trial, Childhood Asthma Management Project (CAMP) has just completed its first seven years of investigating the effects of inhaled corticosteriods on children with mild to moderate asthma. The success of this clinical trial encouraged the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to fund an additional five years of follow-up on the participants in CAMP, so the course of the disease and its relationship to development can be better understood. Robert Zeiger, M.D., Ph.D. is the Principal Investigator for the San Diego site, and is a clinical faculty member of The University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Together, CSPP professor Dr. Alan J. Lincoln and CSPP students are working with UCSD investigators to complete this longitudinal study.

Alan S. Lincoln, Associate Professor
Funding Source: University of California, San Diego and NHLBI

Family Center

In a era of rising costs for all types of health care, the Family Center at the Center for Applied Behavioral Services provides affordable counseling and psychological services to the San Diego community.

Services are available to individuals, couples, and families, and are provided by qualified doctoral interns and postdoctoral fellows under the supervision of the training staff. Specific services include custody evaluations, couple's counseling, family therapy, parenting groups, and individual therapy.

Through this center, CSPP students and center staff are able to help San Diego residents effectively deal with issues such as from parent-child conflicts, relationship conflicts, domestic violence, communication difficulties, divorce and single parenting, step family issues, and custody disputes.

Neil G. Ribner, Professor
Funding Source: Center for Applied Behavioral Services

Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma (IVAT) & the Family Violence & Sexual Assault Institute

The Family Violence and Sexual Assault Institute (FVSAI), founded in 1984 in Texas, was established to address the need for a national resource and training center that focused directly and specifically on family violence issues. FVSAI's mission was (and is) to improve the quality of life for individuals on a local, national, and an international level. In 1991, FVSAI became a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization and FVSAI began to also deal with sexual assault issues and gradually expanded to also focus on child/teen/elder maltreatment. 

In 1999, FVSAI relocated to San Diego, CA, and affiliated with the California School of Professional Psychology.  IVAT, the Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma, was founded in July 2005, when FVSAI, joined Alliant International University. 

IVAT continues FVSAI's programs and has expanded them to include new, allied areas of concern, providing an international training center for all aspects of violence, abuse and trauma. IVAT's mission is to improve the quality of life for those affected by violence, abuse, and trauma on a local, national, and an international level by improving collaborations, conducting research and trainings, disseminating information, and providing resources and direct services.  IVAT's vision is a world free from violence, abuse, and trauma.

The IVAT hosts an Annual International Conference on Violence, Abuse and Trauma (formerly the International Conference on Family Violence) in San Diego, holds professional workshops worldwide, maintains categorized references concerning all aspects of violence, abuse and trauma, reviews information and materials, and disseminates information in the Family Violence & Sexual Assault Bulletin, which is published quarterly and distributed internationally. The Bulletin was the first national publication focusing specifically on family violence.

In addition, the IVAT, in cooperation with crisis centers, agencies, universities, organizations, and clinics, is involved in developing treatment and prevention programs for spouse/partner abuse and child maltreatment.

IVAT is involved in local, national, and international workshops, consultation, conferences, a book club with over 450 titles of professional discounted resources, and research and program evaluation. IVAT also serves as consultant to various organizations and agencies, providing program development and evaluation, research, and technical assistance in all aspects of violence, abuse and trauma.

The IVAT employs students to work on various projects and is always looking for speakers and volunteers for the Annual International Conference.

To contact us, please phone (858) 623-2777 ext. 416 or email IVAT@alliant.edu.

Psychological Assessment Services and Research 

Since 1995, Dr. Viglione has directed a team which provides psychological assessment services and research support on a contract basis. This team includes licensed psychologists/CSPP alumni, post doctoral fellows, and clinical psychology trainees. This team provides a large variety assessment evaluations including includes complex and intensive evaluations of children, adolescents, and adults for clinical, forensic, and organizational issues. Assessment contracts include egg donor screening evaluations for a fertility services and intensive, individualized leadership services for executives. Other services include library research for attorneys, consultation about psychological testing, test scoring services, and Rorschach scoring and administration reviews. This team also provides similar services for other research labs. Specialty research areas include Rorschach validation and the assessment of malingering.

Donald J. Viglione, Jr., Professor and Dr. Robert Brager, Associate Clinical Professor and STEPS Funding Source: Contracts

Salk Institute

Through the Salk Institute, Dr. Alan J. Lincoln has recently begun lending his expertise to a large National Institute of Health study (headed by Ursula Bellugi, EdD) that is examining Williams Syndrome, a genetic disorder that results in unusual social development and cognitive delay.

The first step in approaching a developmental disorder is usually to determine the cause - which has been done in the case of Williams Syndrome. However, in order to develop an effective cure as well as a means for preventing the disease, further information is needed regarding the biological aspects of this syndrome.

The purpose of this study, under the Salk Institute, is to identify the brain-behavior relationship that results in abnormal cognitive and social development in certain individuals. Currently, over 125 patients of all ages are participating in the study in order to help gain greater understanding of the role that biology plays in atypical patterns of social development. Once this study is complete, it is hoped that health professionals will be better equipped to work with individuals suffering from Williams Syndrome, and eventually find a prevention and cure for the disorder.

Alan J. Lincoln, Associate Professor
Funding Source: Salk Institute

STEPS-CSPP Adolescent Sexual Offender Outcome Assessment Project

Only recently have we begun to delineate the psychological and behavioral characteristics and treatment outcomes with adults who have sexually abused others. Very little is known about adolescent sex offenders and the efficacy of treatment with this population. The STEPS-CSPP Assessment Project addresses questions about the nature and treatment of these adolescent sexual offenders, but also provides valuable clinical information for intervention and program management. From a research perspective it examines whether or not adolescent sexual offenders may benefit from treatment services. To help with the interventions with these clients, the individualized assessments also provide information for treatment planning and outcome evaluation. Also, we track outcome and reoffenses after discharge and recontact some graduates for in-depth interviews Thus, we address both quantitative and qualitative issues.

Donald J. Viglione, Jr., Professor and Dr. Robert Brager, Associate Clinical Professor and STEPS
Previous Funding Source: CSPP Minigrant