VCU home page
VCU Psychology Department
Previous
Next
brain

Are mindful people better at regulating their emotions?

Emotions such as fear, sadness, anger, and so on often need to be "regulated" for us to behave in healthy, adaptive ways. How can people better regulate their emotions when stressed? read more...

homework

Can we help children with ADHD succeed in school?

Adolescents with ADHD often experience significant problems in school, such as failing grades and low achievement test scores. Can we predict these problems before they occur? read more...

cigars

Why do African American youth trade cigarettes for cigars?

Many youth perceive cigars to pose fewer health risks than cigarettes. But, is this true? read more...

webcam

Are cultural issues important in rehabilitation medicine?

Many health problems and disabilities disproportionately affect ethnic minority communities. But what can rehabilitation specialists do to change that? read more...

mom_daughter_counseling

Is religious counseling effective?

Many religious people say they want religious counseling. But is it effective? And, if it is not available, is secular counseling less effective for religious people than religious counseling? read more...

mcleod

Dr. Bryce McLeod

Assistant Professor

Clinical Psychology

 

PhD (2004), University of California, Los Angeles

Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Virginia

Contact Information

Phone: 804-827-5230

Office: 806 W Franklin, rm 306

E-mail: bmcleod@vcu.edu

Web site: Research Lab

Research Interests

The McLeod lab is engaged in research projects designed to promote understanding of how psychotherapy reduces dysfunction and promotes mental health in youth and inform efforts to improve the quality of mental health care in community based service settings. At present, the lab's main research efforts are focused upon therapy process research. The goal of our therapy process research is to understand what clinicians do in the therapy they carry out with youths and to assess which therapy processes (e.g., interventions, alliance) are related to youth clinical outcomes. The ongoing research projects provide opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to learn about and participate in research focused upon improving the quality of mental health care for youth and their families. As a mentor, I am dedicated to training graduate students to become the next generation of applied researchers focused upon improving mental health services for youth and their families.

In collaboration with Dr. Michael Southam-Gerow (VCU Department of Psychology) we recently received NIMH funding to develop and evaluate a suite of observational measures designed to assess the core components of treatment integrity – treatment adherence, treatment differentiation and therapist competence – for cognitive behavioral treatment for youth anxiety. After establishing the psychometric properties of the observational measures, we plan to assess the research applications of the measures (e.g., relation to outcomes). Longer term, we plan to use the integrity measures to (a) refine and optimize the effectiveness of CBT, (b) evaluate the success of CBT clinician training efforts, and (c) develop less time- and cost-intensive integrity measures.

The lab is also engaged in research designed to promote understanding of the factors that facilitate, or hinder, child and family engagement in psychotherapy. We are currently conducting a research project with ChildSavers, a community-supported nonprofit agency that provides mental health services to youth and families in Richmond. The project is designed to better understand the factors that contribute to child and parent engagement in psychotherapy.

Selected Publications

McLeod, B. D. (2011). The relation of the alliance with outcomes in youth psychotherapy: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 31, 603-616.

Langer, D. A., McLeod, B. D., & Weisz, J. R. (2011). Do treatment manuals undermine youth-therapist alliance in community clinical practice? Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 79, 427-432.

McLeod, B. D., & Weisz, J. R. (2010). The Therapy Process Observational Coding System for Child Psychotherapy Strategies scale. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 39, 436-443.

McLeod, B. D., Southam-Gerow, M. A., & Weisz, J. R. (2009). Conceptual and methodological issues in treatment integrity measurement. School Psychology Review, 38, 541-546.

McLeod, B. D., & Weisz, J. R. (2005). The Therapy Process Observational Coding System Alliance Scale: Measure characteristics and prediction of outcome in usual clinical practice. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 323-333.

Recent Courses Taught at VCU
Recent Grants

Development and Validation of Child Therapy Integrity Measures. Principal Investigator (PIs McLeod, Southam-Gerow). May 2010-February 2015. National Institute of Mental Health. RO1 MH086529-02, $1,597,425.

National Institute of Mental Health Diversity Supplement. Principal Investigator (PIs McLeod, Southam-Gerow). August 2011-February 2014. National Institute of Mental Health. RO1 MH086529-02, $148,400.

Development and Validation of Treatment Integrity Measures for School-based Interventions. Principal Investigator (PIs: McLeod, Sutherland). July 2010-December 2011. VCU Presidential Research Incentive Program, $47,411.

Improving the Quality of Mental Health Care for Richmond's Youth: A Model Interdisciplinary Program. Principal Investigator. July 2009-June 2010. VCU Council for Community Engagement, $10,000.

Enhancing Self-Regulation and Social Competence in Head Start Children: A model interdisciplinary program. Co-Investigator (PI Reynolds). July 2008-June 2009. VCU Council for Community Engagement, $15,000.

Recent Awards