Primary Concentration:
Clinical Geropsychology

Secondary Concentration:
Clinical Health
​
​Contact Information:
Office Gordon Palmer 362C
E-mail: [email protected] 
​Pronouns: she/her/hers

​​Research and Professional Affiliations:

Alabama Research Institute on Aging (ARIA), Executive Director
​American Psychological Association Committee on Aging, member 2023-2025
Society of Clinical Geropsychology, Past President
APA Division 20, President-Elect
Council of Professional Geropsychology Training Programs Past President

Courses:
Affect and Lifespan Development, Clinical Psychology of Aging Intervention and Assessment, Geropsychology Practicum, Undergraduate Research

Board certified in Geropsychology  January 2025 CV

Research Interests

Dr. Allen’s research and clinical interests are: 1)  clinical training issues (e.g., substance and opioid use disorders, empowering underserved communities to facilitate effective treatment delivery through community-based partnerships, health and mental health disparities);  2) interventions to reduce the stress of individuals, family, and professional caregivers within the context of advanced chronic or terminal illness; and 3) the cultural dynamics (race/ethnicity, rural/urban) of healthcare and financial decision making.  She has published on translation of end-of-life/Dignity interventions, diversity in advance care planning, adapting surveys for cultural relevance, behavioral interventions in the community and long-term care, and ethical practice in interprofessional teams.  Dr. Allen is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA) Committee on Aging and is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and the APA Division 20 (Adult Development and Aging).  

​NOTE: Dr. Allen is a First Generation Scholar and welcomes individuals with diverse intersectional identities into her laboratory.

​Recent Publications (selected from over 150 in chronological and alphabetical order)

Empirical Journal Articles: * mentored student publications
  1. Allen, R.S., Lin, S.S.-H.*, Ly, T.K.*, Jacobs, M.L., McKinney, R.E., Cox, B.S., Albright, A.E., Dragan, D.M., Carroll, D., & Halli-Tierney, A. (2024). Substance use screening in geriatric primary care: Cultural issues and alcohol consumption in the Deep South. Clinical Gerontologist. https://doi.org/10.1080/07317115.2024.2326523. 
  2. Lin, S.S.-H.*, & Allen, R.S. (2024). Greater baseline intra-individual variation in telephone-based cognitive screening predicts cognitive and diagnostic outcomes at 2-year follow-up. Neuropsychology. Advance online publication. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/neu0000959
  3. Ly, T.K.*, Allen, R. S., Cundiff, J.M., & DeCaro, J.A. (2024). Investigating the effects of discrimination experiences on everyday metamemory. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 79(8), gbae089 https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbae089 Advance access publication 6 June 2024.
  4. Mumba, M. N., Mugoya, G. T., Allen, R. S., Glenn, A., Richman, J, Ghera, A., Butler, A., Rogers, B., Granger, T., & Davis, L. (Accepted, 2024). The methods and baseline characteristics of a multi-site randomized controlled trial evaluating mindfulness-based relapse prevention in conjunction with peer support to improve adherence to medications for opioid use disorders. Frontiers of Psychiatry.
  5. Allen, R. S., McIntyre, A.*, Oliver, J.S., Payne-Foster, P., Cox, B.S. Hay-McCutcheon, M.J., Wilson, L., Spencer, C., & Lee, H.Y. (2023). Church leaders share and implement solution-focused health strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in rural Alabama. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-023-01873-2.  
  6. Lin, S.S.-H.*, Jacobs, M.L., Halli-Tierney, A., Carroll, D., & Allen, R. S. (2023). Psychometric properties of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II) in older adult primary care patients. Clinical Gerontologist. DOI: 10.1080/07317115.2023.2276291
  7. ​Brasfield, M.B.*, Bui, C., Patihis, L., Crowther, M.R., Allen, R. S., & McDonough, I.M. (2023). Self-reported chronic stress is unique across lifetime periods: A test of competing structural equation models. The Gerontologist. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnad042. 
  8. Plys, E., Jacobs, M.L., Allen, R. S., & Arch, J. (2022). Psychological flexibility and psychological suffering in older adulthood: A scoping review. Aging and Mental Health. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2022.2036948
  9. McDonough, I M., Erwin, H.*, Sin, N., & Allen, R. S. (2022). Pet ownership is associated with greater cognitive and brain health in a cross-sectional sample across the adult lifespan. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 14, 1-15. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2022.953889/full.
  10. McDuffie, D.L.*, Allen, R. S., Crowther, M.R., & Black, S. (2022). Investigating the applicability of the Two-Track Model of Bereavement to a Southern sample of African American adults. Death Studies, 46(9), 2056-2069. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2021.1880500
  11. Moore, T.*, Payne-Foster, P., Oliver, J.S., Spears, E.G., Spencer, C.H., Maye, J., & Allen, R.S. (2022). Community perspectives and environmental justice issues in an unincorporated Black township. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19 (12), 74-90. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127490
  12. Reel, C.*, Allen, R. S., Lanai, B.*, Yuk, M.*, & Potts, D. (2022). Bringing Art to Life: Social and activity engagement through art in persons living with dementia. Clinical Gerontologist, 45(2), 327-337. https://doi.org/10.1080/07317115.2021.1878404. 
  13. Halli-Tierney, A.D., McKinney, R.E., Gold, A.E., Allen, R. S., & Carroll, D.G. (2021). Development of interprofessional case discussion series from an interprofessional geriatrics clinic and its influence on professional identity formation. New Directions in Teaching and Learning, 103-115. https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.20472.
  14. Strong, J.V., Allen, R. S., Tighe, C., Jacobs, M.L., Dorman, H., & Mast, B. (2021). What psychology trainees think geropsychologists do and what we actually do: A mixed methods study. Gerontology and Geriatrics Education, 42(2), 277-296.1-20. DOI: 10.1080/02701960.2019.1697253.
  15. Allen, R. S., Oliver, J.S., Eichorst, M.K.*, Mieskowski, L.*, Payne-Foster, P., & Sörensen, S. (2019). Preparation and planning for future care in the Deep South: Adapting a validated tool for cultural sensitivity. The Gerontologist, 59(6), e643-e652. DOI:10.1093/geront/gny102.​
Books
  1. Allen, R. S., Carpenter, B.D., & Eichorst, M.K. (Eds). (2018). Perspectives on behavioural interventions in palliative and end-of-life care. Aging and mental health research series. London and New York: Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN: 978-0-4|57-9152-6.
  2. Allen, R. S., Carpenter, B.D., & Eichorst, M.K. (Eds). (2018). Perspectives on palliative and end-of-life care: Disease, Social and Cultural Context. Aging and mental health research series. London and New York: Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group.
  3. Bush, S.S., Allen, R. S., & Molinari, V. (2017). Ethical practice in geropsychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. ISBN: 978-1-4338-2626-9.

Favorite Lab Quotes and Mission:

  • "Pay it forward."
  • "If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change." --Mahatma/Mohandas Gandhi
  • “How do we hold people accountable for wrongdoing and yet at the same time remain in touch with their humanity enough to believe in their capacity to be transformed?” -- Bell Hooks
  • "You can't microwave trustworthiness. You have to crockpot it." -- Dr. David A. Hodge, National Center for Bioethics in Research & Healthcare, Tuskegee University
  • "You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them." --Maya Angelou
  • ​"Trouble won't last always..." --LIFE Research Participant; Harris et al (2013) - DOI: 10.1177/1049732313482590
  • "Progress is asking the right question at the right time and getting answers before you move on to the next question."