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Dr. Samuel  Spencer

Assistant Professor

University of North Texas

Department of Psychology

(940) 369-5348

Email: Samuel.Spencer@unt.edu

Education

  • PhD, University of Hawaii Manoa, 2023
    Major: Psychology
    Dissertation: "Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a Transdiagnostic, Process-Based Approach to Treatment for Mental Health Concerns: A Mechanism of Change Analysis Using a Multiple Baseline Design Across Participants."

Licensures and Certifications

  • Licensed Psychologist #40075, Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. (2024 - Present).

Professional Memberships

  • Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. (November 1, 2018 - December 11, 2024).
  • Association for the Contextual Behavioral Science. (November 1, 2017 - December 11, 2024).

Development Activities

  • Conference Attendance, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Annual Conference, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. Philadelphia,Pennyslvania,United States of America. (November 13, 2024 - November 17, 2024).

Teaching

Teaching Experience

    University of North Texas

  • PSYC 2900 - SPECIAL PROBLEMS, 1 course.
  • PSYC 5900 - Special Problems, 1 course.
  • PSYC 6000 - Introduction to Psychotherapy, 2 courses.
  • PSYC 6630 - Series on Psychotherapy Theory, Research, and Practice, 1 course.
  • PSYC 6820 - Practicum, 5 courses.
  • PSYC 6830 - Practicum, 4 courses.

Research

Published Intellectual Contributions

    Journal Article

  • Spencer, S., Borgogna, et al. (2025). A systematic review of potential publication bias in US National Institutes of Health-funded trials of psychological treatments for obsessive-compulsive disorder.. Personalized Medicine in Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmip.2025.100154
  • Upshaw, Spencer, S., Pinciotti, et al. (2025). Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in youth with major depressive disorder in the Texas Youth Depression and Suicide Research Network (TX-YDSRN): Clinical correlates and moderators.. Journal of Attention Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1177/10870547251353392
  • Drummond, Guzick, Spencer, S., et al. (2025). Characterizing therapy experiences in youth with depression and suicide via the depression treatment experiences questionnaire.. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.70088.
  • Spencer, S., Petersen, Schneider, Guzick, McGuire. (2025). Clinical considerations for integrating ethical principles of beneficence in the development of evidence-based interventions: The case of pediatric misophonia.. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-024-01247-0
  • Spencer, S., Pinciotti, C., Murphy, Hertz, Wiese, Wood, Kendall, Storch. (2025). Concurrent validity of the anxiety disorders section of the anxiety disorder interview schedule- autism spectrum addendum (ADIS-ASA) in autistic youth.. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-024-06496-y
  • Silverman, Spencer, S. (2025). Considering historical context, current societal trends, and implications for understanding harm in youth mental health treatment: A broader lens to the Primum non nocere special issue.. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-025-01324-y
  • Spencer, S., Levin. (2025). Introduction to acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT): Theoretical, practical, and empirical foundations.. Psychiatric Clinics of North America. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2025.02.002
  • Spencer, S., Jo, Hill, Meyer, Firoozan, Masuda. (2025). Monitoring clinically relevant behavior and experiential avoidance throughout the course of acceptance and commitment therapy: A single-case quasi-experimental study. Behavior Modification. https://doi.org/10.1177/01454455251343301
  • Spencer, S., McKay, Mangen, Rabasco. (2025). pilot clinical trial examining exposure and stress management therapy for adults with misophonia.. Journal of Psychiatric Practice. DOI: 10.1097/PRA.0000000000000874.
  • Trent, Lanzillo, Wiese, Spencer, S., McKay, Storch. (2025). Potential for harm in the treatment of pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: Pitfalls and best practices.. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-024-01258-x
  • Pinciotti, Upshaw, Spencer, S., et al. (2025). Preferences for justice-based exposure and response prevention among individuals with identity-related obsessive-compulsive disorder.. Behavior Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2024.12.001
  • Spencer, S., McKay. (2025). Primum non nocere: Toward a greater understanding of the potential for harm in psychological treatments for youth.. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology,. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-025-01323-z
  • Armstrong, Anderberg, Gorman, Spencer, S., et al. (2025). Problematic substance use in depressed youth: Associations with suicidal ideation and suicide attempt history. Journal of Dual Diagnosis.
  • Spencer, S., Pinciotti, et al. (2025). Symptom dimensions of pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: Exploratory examination of associations with clinical features and response to cognitive-behavioral therapy.. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2025.100969
  • Spencer, S., Mangen, Omar, Storch. (2024). Acceptance and commitment therapy for an emerging adult female with misophonia: A case study.. Journal of Psychiatric Practice. https://doi.org/10.1097/pra.0000000000000800
  • Frederick, R., Smarason, O., Boedeker, P., Spencer, S., Guzick, A., Storch, E. (2024). An exploratory analysis of child characteristics predicting clinical outcomes in parent-led cognitive behavioral teletherapy for anxiety in autistic children.. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. N/A (N/A) N/A. N/A, Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-024-06680-0
  • Jo, Goh, Lin, Spencer, S., Masuda. (2024). Bridging eating disorder symptoms and psychological flexibility and inflexibility in racially diverse emerging adult women.. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2024.100766
  • Spencer, S., Petersen, J., Schneider, R., Guzick, A., McGuire, J. (2024). Clinical considerations for integrating ethical principles of beneficence in the development of evidence-based interventions: The case of pediatric misophonia.. Journal: Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology. Publisher: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-024-01247-0
  • Spencer, S., Kim, Mckay, Asmundson. (2024). Examination of COVID stress syndrome facets and relations to substance abuse using profile analysis via multidimensional scaling (PAMS).. Journal of Affective Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.06.044
  • Spencer, S., Silva, T., Higham, M., Castillo, A., Minhajuddin, A., Gorman, A., Goodman, W., Pinciotti, Hernandez, Slater, Soutullo, Hettema, Azhar, Goodman, Trivedi, Storch. (2024). Measurement invariance of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) across ethnicity, age, and sex among youth with depression.. Journal name: Personalized Medicine in Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmip.2024.100134
  • Masuda, Nakamura, Preston-Pita, Hermosura, Morgan, Stueber, Spencer, S., Qina’au, Austin-Seabury. (2024). Native Hawaiians’ views on depression and preferred behavioral health treatments: A preliminary qualitative investigation.. Journal name: The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-023-09874-z
  • Stiede, J., Spencer, S., Onyeka, O., Mangen, K., Church, M., Goodman, W., Storch, E. (2024). Obsessive-compulsive disorder in youth.. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology. No. 20 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-080822-043910
  • Trent, E., Lanzillo, E., Wiese, A., Spencer, S., Mckay, D., Storch, E. (2024). Potential for harm in the treatment of pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: Pitfalls and best practices.. N/A (N/A) N/A. N/A, Journal: Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, published by Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-024-01258-x
  • Church, Mangen, Spencer, S., Stiede, Storch. (2024). The role of between-session homework in cognitive-behavioral therapy for comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorder and autism: A case vignette.. Journal of Clinical Psychology. http://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23580
  • Lin, Jo, Spencer, S., Masuda. (2024). The role of engaged living in the association between self-concealment and psychological distress among racially diverse college students.. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2024.100811
  • Onyeka, Spencer, S., Salloum, Jiannetto, Storch. (2024). The role of family accommodation in child posttraumatic stress symptoms and functional impairment in the context of cognitive behavioral therapy.. Journal of Affective Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2023.10.144
  • Lau, Jo, Nakamura, Spencer, S., Masuda. (2024). The role of the internalized model minority myth on mental health-related attitudes within a Hawaii-based sample of Asian American college students. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-024-09552-5
  • Johnson, D., Borgogna, N., Ingram, P., Warlick, C., Spencer, S., Mims, C., Bunnell, K.L., Nielsen, J. (2024). The scrupulosity obsessions and compulsions scale: A measurement of scrupulosity within an OCD framework.. 43 (100918) N/A. N/A, Science Direct. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2024.100918
  • Qina'au, J., Spencer, S., Sasaki, J. (2024). Trauma, mindfulness, distress, and wellbeing in “mixed” vs. monoracial emerging adults.. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-023-09530-3

Presentations Given

    Paper

  • Spencer, S. (Author & Presenter), Owen, T. (Author), Borgogna, N. (Author), 58th annual conference of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Innovations in the systematic evaluation of clinical research on cognitive-behavioral therapy-based interventions., 58th annual conference of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, United States of America. (2024 - 2024).
  • Borgogna, N. (Author & Presenter), Owen, T. (Author), Spencer, S. (Author), 58th annual conference of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, The First 1,000 RCTS Part 1: A comprehensive meta-analysis of acceptance and commitment therapy., 58th annual conference of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A., United States of America. (2024 - 2024).

    • Poster

  • Upshaw, B. (Author & Presenter), Spencer, S. (Author), Minhajuddin, A. (Author), Zhrov, Z. (Author), 58th annual conference of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Characterizing ADHD in major depressive disorder within the Texas Youth Depression and Suicide Research Network (TX-YDSRN)., 58th annual conference of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, United States of America. (2024).
  • Castillo, A. (Author & Presenter), Higham, M. (Author), Silva, T. (Author), Spencer, S. (Author), Storch, E. (Author), 58th annual conference of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Examining measurement invariance of the screen for child anxiety related emotional disorders (SCARED) across age groups and ethnicities among youth with depression., 58th annual conference of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, United States of America. (2024).
  • Spencer, S. (Author & Presenter), Jo, D. (Author), Hill, M. (Author), Meyer, M. (Author), Firoozan, A. (Author), Masuda, A. (Author), 58th annual conference of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Monitoring clinically relevant behaviors and experiential avoidance throughout the course of acceptance and commitment therapy: A single-case quasi-experimental study, 58th annual conference of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, United States of America. (2024).
  • Spencer, S. (Author & Presenter), Borgogna, N. (Author), Johnson, D. (Author), Brasil, K. (Author), Mcdermott, R. (Author), Kraus, S. (Author), Buchanan, J. (Author), 58th annual conference of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, The development and validation of the experiential avoidance rating scale (EARS): A self-report questionnaire that might actually measure experiential avoidance, 58th annual conference of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, United States of America. (2024).
  • Upshaw, B. (Author & Presenter), Spencer, S. (Author), Onyeka, O. (Author), Salloum, A. (Author), Jiannetto, K. (Author), Storch, E. (Author), 58th annual conference of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, The role of family accommodation in child posttraumatic stress symptoms and functional impairment in the context of cognitive behavioral therapy, 58th annual conference of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, United States of America. (2024).

Contracts, Grants, Sponsored Research

    Grant - Research

  • Spencer, S.D. (Principal), "Trans-ancestry genomic analysis of obsessive-compulsive disorder- Site Agreement (parent project: U01MH125062)," sponsored by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Federal, $50000 Funded. (2022 - 2026).

Service

Professional Service

  • Editorial Review Board Member, Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy. N/A, N/A. (November 1, 2024 - December 11, 2024).
  • Editorial Review Board Member, Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology. N/A, N/A. (October 1, 2024 - December 11, 2024).
  • Editorial Review Board Member, Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. N/A, N/A. (August 1, 2024 - December 11, 2024).