Contact: Sasha Steinberg

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State’s Psychology Clinic is offering evidence-based cognitive behavioral assessment and interventions through its new sleep disorder specialty treatment clinic.

Open to members of the campus and local communities, these new services are designed to assist individuals affected by sleep disorders, such as those relating to insomnia and nightmares.

Assessments and referrals are being provided by clinic staff, which includes applied psychology/clinical psychology doctoral students Brittany A. Kinman of Gulfport and Katrina “Kat” Speed of Columbus, along with Christopher W. “Chris” Drapeau of Starkville, a postdoctoral fellow in the university’s Sleep, Suicide and Aging Laboratory.

Kinman also is an MSU psychology master’s graduate.

All three clinic staff members are being mentored and supervised by Michael R. Nadorff, MSU assistant professor of psychology who oversees the Sleep, Suicide and Aging Laboratory.

Nadorff is a licensed psychologist on the Behavioral Sleep Medicine roster of practitioners in Mississippi. For more, visit www.nadorff.psychology.msstate.edu/index.htm.

According to recent data from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 18-24 year olds make up a large percentage of individuals in the U.S. who may be getting insufficient sleep.  

Published research also has documented increases in the number of outpatient office visits for sleep-related issues over the past decade.

“This is a good time to introduce a sleep specialty clinic, as we believe that students and community members will greatly benefit from the evidence-based, cutting-edge treatment we will provide,” Drapeau said.

Nadorff said per-session cost ranges from $5-50 based on the client’s income. Along with client treatment and referrals, the clinic will provide opportunities to train the psychology field’s next generation of professionals. Each of Nadorff’s mentees said they are grateful for the growth-related opportunities the clinic offers.

“I have worked in inpatient settings and seen firsthand how sleep problems can impact someone’s life,” Kinman said. “Treatment can be such a life changer in altering a patient’s trajectory, and working at the new clinic can help me learn more.”

Speed, who has participated in a clinical rotation for the past two years, said working with Nadorff inspired her interest in researching sleep therapy causes and providing services to those in need.

Drapeau said he became interested in sleep disorders during his undergraduate years. The opportunity to assist in creating the new sleep disorder specialty treatment clinic is an “invaluable experience,” he emphasized.

“If I decide to work in private practice, working at this new clinic will teach me how to get referrals and clients, as well as about interventions, so I can do them on my own,” Drapeau said. “Being able to make a big impact on a patient’s life is what makes coming to work exciting.”

For more information about MSU’s Department of Psychology, visit www.psychology.msstate.edu; the MSU Psychology Clinic and its services at http://clinic.psychology.msstate.edu/index.php.

Nadorff may be contacted at 662-325-1222 or MNadorff@psychology.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.