Biosketch
Though my lifelong fascination with human behavior best explains my choice to become a psychologist, it was an eight month research position at a nursing home in San Francisco that led me to the specialty of geropsychology . I originally took the position out of financial need and had no experience working with older adults. I found my interaction with older adults to be immensely enjoyable over that time, and that experience set my career in aging into motion. Since that time, working with ethnically diverse groups of older adults and their families in clinical and research capacities has been a great challenge, privilege, and joy for me.
Research Interests
As a clinical geropsychologist , I conduct research focusing on older adult populations and I work with older adults in clinical settings. My main interest is stress and coping with problems in late life, particularly among elders caring for family members with Alzheimer's Disease.
In my research, I apply a biopsychosocial framework to investigate aspects of the stress process in caregiving families. In order to shed light on this underexamined area, I gather information about the psychological and social aspects of caregiver stress through interviews and inventories. I also gather physiological data through the collection of salivary cortisol , so as to examine the physiological stress response among caregivers. I presently collaborate closely with the University Memory and Aging Center here at Case in this area. I am also a Faculty Associate with the Center on Aging and Health. The Center works to build collaborative relationships between older adult researchers throughout the Case campus. Thus, I work with faculty in the areas of Sociology, the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, the School of Nursing , and in the Medical School . I am working to connect these disciplines in order to tap into the wealth of knowledge in the university community that will best inform the biopsychosocial viewpoint of caregiver stress.
Clinically, I am developing gender and ethnically sensitive caregiver stress reduction classes, and I also work with caregiving families and caregiving support groups.
Current Research Projects
- *Psychological and physiological stress response among Native American Caregivers
- *Stress-related growth among dementia caregivers
- *Successful aging among diverse groups of older adults
Courses Taught
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PSCL 321 – Abnormal Psychology (UG)
- PSCL 369 - Adult Development and Aging (UG)
- PSCL 424 – Clinical Interviewing (G)
- PSCL 470 – Psychology & Aging Seminar (G)
Recent Publications
McCallum, T. & Arlien, C. (in press). Enhancing the matching model of recruitment with focus groups. Aging & Mental Health.
McCallum, T. & Yarry, S. (in press). Applying stress-related growth concepts to the caregiving process among African Americans. African American Research Perspectives: 2006.
Sorocco, K. & McCallum, T. (in press). Promoting mental health in older clients. Mental Health & Aging: Geriatrics.
Montoro-Rodriguez, J., Small, J., & McCallum, T. (in press). The dynamics of the cultural context on family dementia caregivers among ethno-cultural Hispanic Americans: The Puerto Rican experience. In D. Gallagher-Thompson & G. Yeo (Eds.) Ethnicity & the Dementias.
Messinger-Rapport, B., McCallum, T., & Hujer, M. (2006). Impact of dementia caregiving on the caregiver in the continuum of care. Long-Term Care: Clinical Care & Aging, 14 (1), 32-50.
Fairrow, A., McCallum, T., & Messinger-Rapport, B. (2004) Preferences for long-term tube feeding among older African Americans. Aging & Mental Health, 8, 530-534.
Higgins, A., Coon, D., Solano, N., Kinoshita, L., McCallum, T., D’Andrea, J., & Gallagher-Thompson, D (2002). Behavioral and cognitive interventions for late life depression: Special issues in the treatment of older adults. The Clinical Gerontologist, 7, 57-69.
Knight, B., Silverstein, M., McCallum, T., & Fox, L. (2000). A sociocultural stress and coping model for mental health outcomes among African-American caregivers in Southern California . Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 55B (3), P142-P150.
McCallum, T. (1999). Dementia caregiver burden and ethnicity. In J. Olvshevsky , A . Katz, & B. Knight (Eds.) Stress Reduction for Caregivers, 17-33. Philadelphia : Taylor & Francis.
Knight, B. & McCallum, T. (1998). Heart rate reactivity and depression in African-American and white dementia caregivers: Repression or positive coping ? Aging & Mental Health, 2, 212-221.
Knight, B. & McCallum, T. (1998). Adapting the psychotherapeutic practice for older clients: Implications for the contextual, cohort-based, maturity, specific challenge model. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 29, 49-56.
Knight, B. & McCallum, T. (1998). Psychotherapy with older adult families: The contextual, cohort-based, maturity, specific challenge model. In I.H. Nordhus , G. VandenBos , S. Berg, & P. Fromholt (Eds.) Clinical Geropsychology , 313-328. Washington D.C. : APA.
Gatz , M., Fiske , A., Fox, L.S., Kaskie , B., Kasl -Godley, J., McCallum, T.J. & Wetherell , J. (1998). Empirically validated psychological treatments for older adults. Journal of Mental Health and Aging, 4, 9-46.
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