Associate Professor of Psychology
Director, Binghamton Anxiety Clinic
Ph.D., Temple University
Areas: Clinical Psychology; Curriculum Vitae
E-mail: mcoles@binghamton.edu
Phone: 607-777-4710
Office: Clearview Hall Room 60
Editorial board: Cognition and Emotion, Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, Behavior Therapy Ad hoc Reviewer: Behaviour Research and Therapy, Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, Cognitive Therapy and Research, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. Professional Societies (Memberships): American Psychological Association, Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology (APA Division 12, Section 3), Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy (AABT), AABT Research Agenda Committee, AABT Anxiety Disorders Special Interest Group, Anxiety Disorders Association of America, Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation.
Dr. Coles is director of the Binghamton Anxiety Clinic, an anxiety specialty clinic devoted to treatment, research, and training. The BAC was established in 2004 and serves members of the greater Binghamton community.
Nature and treatment of anxiety in adults and children, particularly social phobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Factors involved in the etiology and maintenance of OC symptoms. Role of information-processing biases (e.g., memory, interpretation) in anxiety. Cognitive-behavioral treatment of social phobia and OCD.
I am interested in investigating the nature and treatment of anxiety in both adults and children. Within this framework, my work emphasizes social phobia and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and can be divided along two lines: 1) examining the role of information-processing biases (e.g., memory, interpretation) in anxiety, and 2) examining the phenomenology of anxiety disorders. Regarding information-processing biases, I am particularly interested in the role of memory in the development and maintenance of anxiety. My previous work has examined implicit and explicit memory biases, and the role of memory perspective in maintaining anxiety. I am also excited by the search for unique correlates of OCD, particularly as these constructs may be indicative of possible vulnerability factors. Finally, I am interested in the treatment of social phobia and OCD. My treatment interests include the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy and increasing patient utilization of cognitive-behavioral techniques.
My approach to training emphasizes learning through experience. To this end, students are invited to participate in all phases of the research process, from study conceptualization and design through presentation. Opportunities to develop empirically based clinical skills are also provided. Emphasis is placed on developing core skills, including critical thinking, research design, statistical methods, and written and oral expression. A scientist-practitioner approach to research and treatment is emphasized and modeled.
Coles, M.E., Pietrefesa, A.S., Schofield, C.A. & Cook, L.M. (in press). Predicting changes in Obsessive Compulsive symptoms over a six-month follow-up: A prospective test of cognitive models of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Cognitive Therapy and Research.
Coles, M.E., Pinto, A., Mancebo, M.C., & Rasmussen, S.A., & Eisen, J.L. (in press). Is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with comorbid Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder a specific subtype of OCD? Journal of Psychiatric Research.
Coles, M.E. & Schofield, C.A (in press). Assessing the development of inflated responsibility beliefs: The pathways to inflated responsibility beliefs scale (PIRBS). Behavior Therapy.
Pietrefesa, A.S., & Coles, M.E. (in press). Moving beyond an exclusive focus on harm avoidance in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Considering the role of incompleteness. Behavior Therapy.
Schofield, C.A., Coles, M.E., & Gibb, B.E. (in press). Evidence for a specific interpretation bias for facial displays of emotion in social anxiety. Behaviour Research and Therapy.
Coles, M.E., & Horng, B. (2006). A prospective test of cognitive vulnerability to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 30, 723-746.
