PhD

Dr. Donald Vigilione retired in 2018.

Donald Viglione, Jr., Ph.D. is a Distinguished Professor at the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) at Alliant International University in San Diego. As a researcher, instructor, and practitioner, he has been working in the area of psychological assessment and testing for over 35 years. Current research includes the empirical validation of the Rorschach and the assessment of malingering, as well as the evaluation of dangerousness, sexual offending, child psychopathology, and trauma. He has published approximately 100 professional papers and is a co-author of the Rorschach Performance Assessment System, an international Rorschach system, first published in 2011. As an instructor, he has taught assessment courses to graduate students and regularly provides workshops to national and international audiences. For many years, he has conducted and supervised psychological evaluations of children, adolescents, adults, and couples for a variety of psychological, forensic, fitness for duty, and professional development/career enhancement reasons.

Dr. Viglione earned his Ph.D. at Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York. Afterward, he completed his internship at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland and served as a Navy psychologist at Camp Pendleton in California. At CSPP in San Diego, he was the founding Director of the Doctor of Psychology degree program and later the Director of Doctor Philosophy degree program. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Assessment Psychology and a Fellow of the Society for Personality Assessment.

Dr. Alan Lincoln is a past graduate of this program, having graduated with his Ph.D. in 1980. Dr. Lincoln was educated during the early phase of the professional school movement, a time when clinical psychologists were in such short supply and when training models fell short of adequately preparing psychologists for the rigorous demands of clinical work.

Dr. Lincoln's doctoral dissertation examined infant-adult micro interactions. Dr. Lincoln evaluated normal 2-month-old infants during videotaped interactions with parents and strangers. Between 1980 and 1983 Dr. Lincoln completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Neuroscience at UCSD and started NIH programmatic research focused on electrophysiology in persons with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Dr. Lincoln has continued to work on NIH funded research for the past 34 years involving studies of physiology, pathophysiology, structural and functional brain development, pharmacology, neuropsychology, and behavior intervention for persons with neurodevelopmental disorders and neuropsychiatric disorders. Following Dr. Lincoln's postdoctoral fellowship he also completed advanced coursework through the San Diego Psychoanalytic Institute in a two year training program involving psychoanalytic psychotherapy for children and adolescents.

Dr. Lincoln continued to conduct research, teach classes, supervise students and engaged in a small private practice until about 1998. Dr. Lincoln was appointed as a core faculty member a few years earlier. The autism epidemic caused him to refocus from having his primarily study of the biological and neuropsychological underpinnings of persons with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders to developing programs to help treat such individuals. This ultimately led to the development of a large intervention program covering four counties, employing about 150 individuals and treating about 400 individuals yearly.

Dr. Lincoln served as the President and CEO for 15 years until he sold the agency in 2013. In 2004 Dr. Lincoln completed his postdoctoral MS in clinical psychopharmacology. Dr. Lincoln then became a board certified Behavior Analyst. Dr. Lincoln also served as Interim Program Director for our program, Interim Program Director for our Postdoctoral MS in Clinical Psychopharmacology program, and Chair of our faculty senate. He holds the title of Distinguished Professor.

Dr. Richard Gevirtz is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology for the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University in San Diego. He has been in involved in research and clinical work in applied psychophysiology and biofeedback for the last 30 years and served as the president of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 2006-2007. His primary research interests are in understanding the physiological and psychological mediators involved in disorders such as chronic muscle pain, fibromyalgia, and gastrointestinal pain. In this vein, he has studied applications of heart rate variability biofeedback for anxiety, pain, gastrointestinal, cardiac rehabilitation, and other disorders. He is the author of many journal articles and chapters on these topics. He also maintains a part time clinical practice treating patients with anxiety and stress related disorders.

Dr. Constance Dalenberg is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology in the California School of Professional Psychology. She received her M.A. in clinical psychology and PhD in social psychology (with additional 4 year doctoral training in clinical psychology) at the University of Denver. Her research and clinical writings in the area of psychological trauma have won multiple awards, including the Morton Prince Award for Scientific Achievement (from the International Society of Trauma and Dissociation) and the award for Lifetime Achievement in the Field of Trauma Psychology from Division 56 of the American Psychological Association. She has been President of Division 56 (Trauma Psychology) and now serves as the Chair of the Science Committee. Dr. Dalenberg's research focuses on the consequences of psychological trauma, the measurement of trauma-related consequences and disorders, and the appropriate treatment of trauma-related symptoms. She is a licensed Clinical Psychologist in the state of California and an expert witness in the field of reaction to negative and traumatic circumstances (racial and sexual harassment and discrimination, sexual assault and abuse, wrongful termination).

Susan Regas, PhD is a Distinguished Professor & Chair of the Family/child and Couple Clinical Psychology Emphasis Area (FACE). FACE recently won the Couple and Family Diversity Program Award (2016) from American Psychological Association. Dr. Regas was awarded APA's James W. Maddock Award for Excellence in Teaching (2012). Courses that she teaches range from Family Psychology, to Treatment of Sex, Intimacy and Relationship Problems, to Person-of - the Therapist Training.

Dr. Regas is President-Elect of APA Division 43: Society of Couple and Family Psychology. She is also a fellow of Division 43. She is a member of the editorial board of Couple and Family Psychology: Research & Practice, PsycCRITIQUES and American Journal of Family Therapy.

Dr. Regas is also Co-founder and Director of Training of the Couple and Family Clinical Psychology Training Program at Pasadena, Los Angeles, Inland Empire and Stanford Ronald McDonald House (RMH). Trainees support families with children with life threatening illnesses. These families come from all over the world to get treatment at local hospitals. The Family Support Services program received the Hearts and Hands Awards: Expand Reach (2015) from the Global Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Dr. Merle Canfield retired in 2021.

Dr. Merle Canfield spent his early career working with chronic schizophrenic clients in a state psychiatric hospital and then in a community mental health clinic and hospital. In a mental health center, he continued to work with chronic schizophrenics and also built and maintained psychiatric teams. In both of these settings he found himself wondering about outcomes and consequently performed program evaluation in both settings.

For a number of years, he worked on National Institution Mental Health (NIMH) grants performing program evaluation and at the same time providing consultation to other Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs). He sat on a national council sponsored by NIMH to support and develop program evaluation for CMHCs. As research and program evaluation became a major focus, Dr. Canfield returned to student life and earned a PhD in social psychology at the University of Kansas where he focused on the research of human interaction. He moved to a private psychiatric hospital, performing full time research and program evaluation.

He began to teach statistics and research methods and eventually became full time faculty at the California School of professional Psychology (CSPP). He also directed the research process of a large probation department in Fresno. He took a 10 year break from CSPP to become Director of Institutional Research at SUNY Cortland in New York, returning to CSPP (now a part of Alliant International University) a few years ago. He teaches and does research at CSPP-Alliant. He teaches courses in data analysis & program evaluation; research design; multivariate analysis (factor analysis, canonical correlation; discriminant analysis; structural equation modeling); psychometrics (test construction, reliability, item response theory); meta-analysis; and social psychology. Each spring he has presents at national and regional conferences along with students.

Dr. Chiurazzi is Associate Professor and Program Director in the PhD Psychology, Law and Public Policy program at the California School of Forensic Studies (CSFS) at Alliant International University. She received her Doctorate in Psychology degree in clinical psychology in 1998 at the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) in Fresno, CA and is a licensed clinical psychologist in California. Dr. Chiurazzi has been teaching at Alliant International University since 2007 and joined core faculty in 2010. She has taught in both, CSFS and CSPP and has served as program director for both schools.

Dr. Chiurazzi's professional background includes a career with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation where she served as Clinical Director for the Department's Mental Health Program after providing and managing mental health services North Kern and Corcoran State Prisons for nine years. In addition, she has worked in medical settings providing psychological assessment and treatment for patients with a broad range of serious or chronic medical conditions.

Dr. Omar Alhassoon, a professor at the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) and a research scientist at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), is a clinical psychologist who focuses on the neuropsychology of substance use, dementia, and depression. He also runs the Institute of Brain Research and Integrated Neuropsychological Services (https://www.iBRAINs.org). His research has involved the use of neuroimaging techniques to aid our understanding of the neuroscience of substance use disorders, depression, and other neurocognitive and psychiatric disorders. He has published in the areas of multimodal imaging; CNS changes associated with alcohol, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin; dementia; late-life depression; and the use of meta-analytical techniques in neuroimaging and neuropsychology. He has a special interest in refugee mental health and discrimination and bias against minoritized groups such as immigrants and individuals who identify as LGBTQ+. He has been working in the areas of clinical psychology, neuropsychology, and psychopharmacology for over 25 years. He has published many peer-reviewed papers and presents regularly at national and international conferences. As an instructor, he teaches undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate courses in clinical psychology, neuropsychology, psychopharmacology and neuroanatomy. For many years, he was the online education mentor at CSPP and has provided consultation and guidance to faculty developing and teaching online courses and has served on various university technology committees. Dr. Alhassoon earned his Ph.D. at the University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University. Afterward he received a postdoctoral master’s in clinical psychopharmacology. He has been an active member in several national and international organizations and advisory boards such as: APA Electronic Resources Advisory Committee and the International Neuropsychological Society Global Engagement Committee.

Dr. Quyen Tiet received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder after completing his internship at Yale University. He furthered his expertise through a 3-year post-doctoral fellowship at Columbia University, where he went on to become an Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychiatry from 1999 to 2001. His academic journey progressed as he served as a Consulting Assistant Professor and then an affiliate Clinical Associate Professor within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine from 2004 to 2018. Additionally, he also held a training faculty position at the National Center for PTSD, Dissemination and Training Division, at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System for about 20 years. Notably, he was honored as an APA Fellow in Division 12 (Clinical Psychology), a distinction reserved for approximately 5% of APA members who have demonstrated outstanding contributions to psychology at an international level.

Dr. Tiet’s current research encompasses a wide array of topics, including stress/trauma, coping mechanisms, protective factors/resilience, alcohol and drug use disorders, PTSD, depression and suicide, dementia, and multicultural and diversity considerations. For access to some of his publications, please visit:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/quyen.tiet.2/bibliography/public/

Alternatively, you can explore his latest works by searching his name on Google Scholar. 

Dr. Sabatini Gutierrez is an Associate Professor in the Couple and Family Therapy program at Alliant International University, and the Branch director at the Irvine campus. Her research interests include transgenerational and interpersonal trauma, sexuality across the lifespan, vicarious traumatization and self-of-the-therapist development, chemical dependency in the family, and anti-carceral clinical practices. In her clinical work, Dr. Sabatini Gutierrez specializes in treating various forms of trauma, including sexual trauma, adults who experienced childhood abuse, and trauma related to different forms of oppression. She also has extensive experience treating dual diagnosis substance use disorders and other co-occurring mental health disorders. 

Irwin Ford Rosenfarb, Ph.D. is a Professor in the San Diego Clinical Psychology PhD Program at the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) of Alliant International University. Dr. Rosenfarb received his B.A. (with High Honors) from Stony Brook University and his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina - Greensboro. He also completed an APA-Accredited clinical psychology internship in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington. Prior to coming to Alliant, he was a Post Doctoral Scholar in the Clinical Research Center for the Study of Schizophrenia at the University of California, Los Angeles, an Assistant Professor at Auburn University in Auburn, AL, a staff psychologist at Veteran's Administration Medical Center in Charleston, SC, a Research Psychologist at the Veteran's Administration Medical Center in Brentwood, CA, and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego.

He has served as a Principal Investigator on a National Institute of Mental Health research grant and has served on the San Diego County Mental Health Board as well as on the San Diego Psychological Association Board of Directors.

Dr. James Garbanati retired in June 2024.

James A Garbanati, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Clinical Ph.D. program at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University on the Los Angeles campus. He is in the Multi-interest option. He was hired at CSPP in 1990, was Program Director from 2014-2017, and has returned to the faculty. His Ph.D is in Developmental Psychobiology obtained at the Biobehavioral Sciences Program at the University of Connecticut. He has taught courses in Research Practicum, Principles in Research Design, Research in Applied Settings, Ethics and Law, History and Systems and Biological Aspects of Behavior. His current interests include growth during stressful experiences and Narrative Psychology (story telling as a form of mental health information dissemination).