New faculty 2013-2014: Jon Hinrichs and Catalina Koptez

Jon Hinrichs

On November 1, 2013, I was very happy to join the Wayne State psychology faculty as the associate director of the Psychology Clinic. Thank you all for the warm welcomes at poster sessions, lunches, and in passing. I enthusiastically applied for this position after relocating from Houston, TX, where I was a postdoctoral fellow in the Professionals In Crisis Unit at The Menninger Clinic, Baylor College of Medicine. As a fellow, I specialized in psychodynamic psychotherapy and mentalization-based treatments, as well as personality assessment from a therapeutic assessment model. Previously, I received my Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Saint Louis University, and majored in psychology at Emory University.

I had always hoped for a position that allowed for a clinical focus with diverse professional endeavors, and the offered mixture of supervision, administration, teaching, clinical work and research has proven very enjoyable thus far. Over the course of my work at the clinic, I would like to provide quality supervision and teaching to graduate students using current, empirically supported, and efficient treatment models. I look forward to implementing a successful clinical research program that focuses on increasing treatment engagement by examining clinical outcomes and the psychotherapy process. I am so grateful for this opportunity and to be a fellow Wayne State Warrior - I hope to see you around the department.

Catalina Kopetz

I joined the Department of Psychology at Wayne State as an assistant professor in social psychology in August 2013. I applied for this position after I obtained my doctoral degree in social psychology at the University of Maryland, College Park and completed my post-doctoral training in addiction and risk-taking behavior at the Center for Addictions, Personality and Emotion Research at the University of Maryland College Park. At Maryland, I was in a very unique position to conduct basic research on motivation and self-regulation while also exploring its relevance for phenomena of high public health concern (e.g. HIV risk behavior, drunk driving, etc.). As a new faculty at Wayne, I am privileged to be only one of the many faculty who are working to apply their knowledge and skills of basic social, cognitive, and personality processes to the understanding of health behavior while also training new generations of scientists into this interdisciplinary approach.

Although being a new faculty member is obviously not without challenges, I have been overwhelmed by the help, support, and friendship constantly offered by the amazing faculty and staff in the Psychology Department, as well as across campus. Thanks to them, my transition here has been very smooth. I am excited to be a part of this department, to continue and further develop my interdisciplinary research, and to actively participate in the training of future generations of psychologists who have the knowledge and skills to address real-world issues and make an impact.