Meet the Director and Team

Meet the Director and Team — Clinical Psychology Doctoral Internship at St. Rita's Medical Center

Welcome from the Program Director

Thank you for your interest in the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Internship Program at Mercy Health — St. Rita's Medical Center. St. Rita's is recognized for its commitment to providing quality evidence-based care to northwest Ohio. Our patients represent a wide breadth of clinical conditions in both outpatient and inpatient settings, making St. Rita's an ideal place to train. Psychology interns work with multidisciplinary teams of physicians, nurses, and many other disciplines to provide exemplary care. One of the greatest strengths of our training program is a welcoming and collegial working environment.

We provide an opportunity for balancing supervision with learning practice autonomy, allowing each intern to develop their personal style, while also helping them exceed training competencies. We are proud of the training opportunities that we offer and hope this introduction conveys our sense of enthusiasm for the work we do. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at psychologytraining@mercy.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

	Samantha Cain, PhD \| Program Director and Pre-Surgical Psychological Assessment & Health Intervention Supervisor, Psychology Internship Core Faculty Graduate School: University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio Internship: Clinical health psychology internship at Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, Michigan Dr. Cain has worked in medical settings including advanced heart care, heart and lung transplant, kidney transplant, liver transplant, weight management, consultation liaison, family medicine, and internal medicine. Her current position includes completing psychological evaluations and follow-up care for patients active in St. Rita's weight management program, and pain management program. She also carries a general mental health case load. Additionally, Dr. Cain has ongoing research in the areas of patient health literacy and on health care providers' perspectives on interdisciplinary collaboration.
	Esther Strahan, PhD \| Psychology Division Chair and Rehabilitation Supervisor, Psychology Internship Core Faculty Graduate School: Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana Internship: Veteran's Affairs Illiana Health Care System, Danville, Illinois Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Clinical Health Psychology: Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio Dr. Strahan has worked in both academic and clinical settings. Her post-doctoral training and clinical work have focused on health psychology and rehabilitation psychology, with particular emphasis on CBT for insomnia, management of delirium, treatment of chronic pain and functional gut disorders, and adjustment to disability, along with generalist work. Her published research is primarily focused on the impacts of anxiety on life outcomes. She serves as a book reviewer for Family Medicine and is a core faculty member in the St. Rita's Family Medicine Residency Program.
	Thomas Hull, PhD \| Mental Health and Assessment Supervisor, Psychology Internship Core Faculty Member Graduate School: The Union Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio in 2001 Internship: Clinical Psychology Assessment and Counseling at Fulmer and Associates Dr. Hull has worked in a variety of academic and clinical settings. His post-doctoral training has been focused on neuropsychological assessment and counseling across diverse settings, including adult correctional facilities, adolescent detention centers, private practice, rehabilitation programs, and geriatric rehabilitation centers. With training in clinical psychology, social work, and counseling, he integrates perspectives from each of these disciplines in his clinical practice. He has extensive experience developing and implementing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) programs for adolescents and their parents. Dr. Hull's current clinical work focuses on psychological assessment, neuropsychological screening, and counseling for children, adolescents, and adults. His areas of expertise include the assessment and treatment of ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and emotional and behavioral concerns. He also provides neuropsychological screenings for learning disabilities and cognitive disorders, including dementia.
	Jeffrey Cigrang, PhD, ABPP \| Integrated Behavioral Health in Family Medicine Supervisor, Psychology Internship Core Faculty Member Graduate School: University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee Internship: Wilford Hall Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas Post-doctoral training in clinical health psychology: Wilford Hall Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas Dr. Cigrang previously served as an integrated psychologist with the Department of Veterans Affairs Hematology and Oncology Service in Dayton, as a professor with the School of Professional Psychology at Wright State University, and had a distinguished active-duty career as a clinical psychologist in the United States Air Force. His clinical and research interests include military psychology, with an emphasis on the treatment of deployment-related PTSD and the effects of military life on individual and relationship functioning; primary care integration, including the adaptation of evidence-based psychological treatments for primary care settings; and health psychology, with a focus on tobacco cessation and community health interventions. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and has received funding from the Department of Defense for both completed and ongoing research projects.
	Kurt Brickner, PsyD \| Neuropsychological Assessment Supervisor, Psychology Internship Core Faculty Member Graduate School: School of Professional Psychology at Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio Internship: Wright State University, School of Professional Psychology, Dayton, Ohio Post-doctoral fellowship in Psychology: The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Dr. Brickner has practiced in a variety of clinical settings for more than a decade, including the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, private practice, and, most recently, Mercy Health St. Rita's Medical Center. His clinical experience includes psychological assessment, individual and group psychotherapy, behavioral health consultation in primary care, and consultation with interdisciplinary medical teams in the hospital setting. Dr. Brickner's clinical interests include brief neuropsychological assessment, group psychotherapy, emotional intelligence, mindfulness, and the integration of spirituality into psychotherapy. He enjoys working with individuals from diverse backgrounds and primarily provides services to adults, while also having experience working with children and adolescents.

Contact Us

Program Coordinator: Cheyanna Carew, MBA.
Training Director: Samantha Cain, PhD
Email Address: psychologytraining@mercy.com
Phone Number: 419-604-3386

	Samantha Cain, PhD \| Program Director and Pre-Surgical Psychological Assessment & Health Intervention Supervisor, Psychology Internship Core Faculty Graduate School: University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio Internship: Clinical health psychology internship at Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, Michigan Dr. Cain has worked in medical settings including advanced heart care, heart and lung transplant, kidney transplant, liver transplant, weight management, consultation liaison, family medicine, and internal medicine. Her current position includes completing psychological evaluations and follow-up care for patients active in St. Rita's weight management program, and pain management program. She also carries a general mental health case load. Additionally, Dr. Cain has ongoing research in the areas of patient health literacy and on health care providers' perspectives on interdisciplinary collaboration.
	Esther Strahan, PhD \| Psychology Division Chair and Rehabilitation Supervisor, Psychology Internship Core Faculty Graduate School: Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana Internship: Veteran's Affairs Illiana Health Care System, Danville, Illinois Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Clinical Health Psychology: Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio Dr. Strahan has worked in both academic and clinical settings. Her post-doctoral training and clinical work have focused on health psychology and rehabilitation psychology, with particular emphasis on CBT for insomnia, management of delirium, treatment of chronic pain and functional gut disorders, and adjustment to disability, along with generalist work. Her published research is primarily focused on the impacts of anxiety on life outcomes. She serves as a book reviewer for Family Medicine and is a core faculty member in the St. Rita's Family Medicine Residency Program.
	Thomas Hull, PhD \| Mental Health and Assessment Supervisor, Psychology Internship Core Faculty Member Graduate School: The Union Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio in 2001 Internship: Clinical Psychology Assessment and Counseling at Fulmer and Associates Dr. Hull has worked in a variety of academic and clinical settings. His post-doctoral training has been focused on neuropsychological assessment and counseling across diverse settings, including adult correctional facilities, adolescent detention centers, private practice, rehabilitation programs, and geriatric rehabilitation centers. With training in clinical psychology, social work, and counseling, he integrates perspectives from each of these disciplines in his clinical practice. He has extensive experience developing and implementing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) programs for adolescents and their parents. Dr. Hull's current clinical work focuses on psychological assessment, neuropsychological screening, and counseling for children, adolescents, and adults. His areas of expertise include the assessment and treatment of ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and emotional and behavioral concerns. He also provides neuropsychological screenings for learning disabilities and cognitive disorders, including dementia.
	Jeffrey Cigrang, PhD, ABPP \| Integrated Behavioral Health in Family Medicine Supervisor, Psychology Internship Core Faculty Member Graduate School: University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee Internship: Wilford Hall Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas Post-doctoral training in clinical health psychology: Wilford Hall Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas Dr. Cigrang previously served as an integrated psychologist with the Department of Veterans Affairs Hematology and Oncology Service in Dayton, as a professor with the School of Professional Psychology at Wright State University, and had a distinguished active-duty career as a clinical psychologist in the United States Air Force. His clinical and research interests include military psychology, with an emphasis on the treatment of deployment-related PTSD and the effects of military life on individual and relationship functioning; primary care integration, including the adaptation of evidence-based psychological treatments for primary care settings; and health psychology, with a focus on tobacco cessation and community health interventions. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and has received funding from the Department of Defense for both completed and ongoing research projects.
	Kurt Brickner, PsyD \| Neuropsychological Assessment Supervisor, Psychology Internship Core Faculty Member Graduate School: School of Professional Psychology at Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio Internship: Wright State University, School of Professional Psychology, Dayton, Ohio Post-doctoral fellowship in Psychology: The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Dr. Brickner has practiced in a variety of clinical settings for more than a decade, including the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, private practice, and, most recently, Mercy Health St. Rita's Medical Center. His clinical experience includes psychological assessment, individual and group psychotherapy, behavioral health consultation in primary care, and consultation with interdisciplinary medical teams in the hospital setting. Dr. Brickner's clinical interests include brief neuropsychological assessment, group psychotherapy, emotional intelligence, mindfulness, and the integration of spirituality into psychotherapy. He enjoys working with individuals from diverse backgrounds and primarily provides services to adults, while also having experience working with children and adolescents.