Joseph Scotti, PhD

• Professor

• PhD 1991, State University of New York

  Publications

APPLICANTS: Please note that Dr. Scotti is NOT accepting additional graduate students for the  2007-2008 academic year.

     Dr. Joseph R. Scotti received his bachelor of science degree in psychology (minor in biology) from Syracuse University in 1977. He then worked as a direct care staff member at the Syracuse Developmental Center with adults with mild to severe developmental disabilities. Scotti returned to graduate school in 1978, working on his master’s degree in psychology at Bradley University (Peoria, IL), which he completed in 1980. His thesis research concerned schedules of reinforcement and extinction, utilizing rats and a lever-pressing response. His first professional position was at the Galesburg (IL) Mental Health Center, doing evaluations and treatment planning for adults with severe disabilities and profound mental retardation. In 1982, Scotti returned to upstate New York to work as a psychologist at Broome Developmental Services in Binghamton, NY, where he led treatment planning on several units focusing on children and adults with severe challenging behavior, mild to profound mental retardation, and severe physical disabilities. He simultaneously began doctoral work at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton, where he was mentored by Ian M. Evans, PhD, and trained in implosive therapy (a variant of imaginal exposure therapy) by Donald J. Levis, PhD. His dissertation research was a study of physiological reactivity to threat cues, presented during a dichotic listening task, utilizing combat veterans with and without posttraumatic stress disorder. Scotti completed his internship at the University of Mississippi/Jackson VA Medical Center Consortium, and completed all degree requirements in 1991.

     Dr. Scotti joined the faculty of the Department of Psychology in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University as an Assistant Professor in 1990, and was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure in 1996. He was promoted to the rank of Full Professor in 2002, and served as the Director of Undergraduate Training for the Department of Psychology from 2002 to 2004.  Among his current teaching responsibilities are Behavioral and Psychological Assessment I and Child Behavior Therapy (for students in the graduate program), and Trauma and Stress Management (for undergraduate psychology majors and students in the WVU Forensic Identification Program). Scotti is an Associate Editor for Mental Retardation, and is on the Editorial Boards of the American Journal on Mental Retardation, Education and Treatment of Children, and Journal of Traumatic Stress.

     In the Spring of 2000, after receiving several prior awards for public service (Ethel and Gerry Heebink Award for Distinguished State Service, 1995; Eberly College of Arts & Sciences Outstanding Public Service Award, 1999), Scotti was named to the position of Eberly Family Professor for Outstanding Public Service, in recognition of his ongoing record of service to the State of West Virginia and the surrounding region. He continued in this position until the Spring of 2005.

     Dr. Scotti works to integrate his research activities with public service, teaching, and clinical endeavors. Historically, Scotti’s research focus has been in the area of developmental disabilities, with an emphasis on the assessment and intervention with severe challenging behaviors, standards of clinical practice, and promoting the perspective of positive behavioral support.  Although efforts continue in this area, new graduate students are NOT being accepted to work with Dr. Scotti in the area of developmental disabilities.

     Currently, Dr. Scotti’s primary research and clinical endeavors are in the area of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with a focus on civilian trauma (e.g., domestic violence, sexual assault, motor vehicle accidents, technological disasters), particularly in children (see list of publications). Recent efforts have involved working with local police and fire departments, and the WVU Forensic Identification Program, in the development of stress management programs and the identification and treatment of the response to traumatic events in the line of duty. Additional work is conducted through consultations with the local Vet Center, Veterans Affairs medical center, and domestic violence shelter. A federally-funded grant project investigated the effects of motor vehicle accidents on children (ages 7-13 years). Additional work in this area, as well as the effects of parental stress and trauma on the family, are planned.