UMass Boston

Clinical psychology; cognitive-behavioral and acceptance and mindfulness treatments of anxiety; treatment processes and mechanisms

PhD, University of Nebraska – Lincoln

• Hayes-Skelton, S. A., Calloway, A., Roemer, L., & Orsillo, S. M. (2015). Decentering as a common mechanism across two therapies for generalized anxiety disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 83, 395-404.
• Hayes-Skelton, S. A. & Wadsworth, L. P. (2015). Mindfulness-based treatments for anxiety disorders. In Brown, K. W., Creswell, J. D., & Ryan, R. M. (Eds.), Handbook of mindfulness: Theory and research (367-386). New York: Guildford Press.
• Hayes-Skelton, S. A., Roemer, L., & Orsillo, S. M. (2013). A randomized clinical trial comparing an Acceptance Based Behavior Therapy to Applied Relaxation for generalized anxiety disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 81, 761-773.
• Graham, J. R., Sorenson, S., & Hayes-Skelton, S. A. (2013). Enhancing the cultural sensitivity of cognitive behavioral interventions for anxiety in diverse populations. The Behavior Therapist, 36, 101-107.
• Hayes-Skelton, S. A., Roemer, L., Orsillo, S. M., & Borkovec, T. D. (2013). A contemporary view of Applied Relaxation for generalized anxiety disorder. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 42, 292-302.
• Hayes, S. A, Orsillo, S. M., & Roemer, L. (2010). Mechanisms of action during an acceptance based behavioral therapy for generalized anxiety disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48, 238-245.
• Ledley, D. R., Heimberg, R. G., Hope, D. A., Hayes, S. A., Zaider, T. I., Van Dyke, M., Turk, C. L., Kraus, C. A., & Fresco, D. M. (2009). Establishing the efficacy of a widely-available manualized treatment for social anxiety disorder. Behavior Therapy, 40, 414-424.
• Hayes, S. A., Hope, D. A., & Heimberg, R. G. (2008). Patterns of subjective anxiety during in session exposures for clients with social anxiety disorder. Behavior Therapy, 39, 286-299.

Dr. Hayes-Skelton’s current research focuses on psychotherapy for anxiety disorders.  Her work examines cognitive-behavioral and acceptance- and mindfulness-based approaches to behavior change in both clinical and analogue settings. She is particularly committed to enhancing the cultural-sensitivity of these treatments. Her research focuses on the processes and mechanisms responsible for therapeutic change.   In other words, how and why therapy works.  Her recent research has examined the role of decentering and emotional processing in therapeutic change. 

For more information, please visit my website at: http://hayes-skeltonlab.com

Teaching

Undergraduate: Principles of Psychotherapy

Graduate: Practicum and Ethics I & II; Advanced Statistics II (Latent Variable Modeling)