Deborah A. King, Ph.D.

Academic and Clinical Appointments

Associate Professor of Psychiatry (Psychology)

Director of Training in Clinical Psychology

Director, UR-HRSA Geropsychology Education program

Director, Geriatric Psychiatry Services

Clinical Director of Psychology

Contact Information

Education

Scholarly
Focus and
Interests

Grants Obtained in the Last Five Years

"Defining Family Integrity in the Second Half of Life" (with L. Wynne, M.D., PH.D): Representing the cumulation of twenty years of clinical work with late-life families, we identify qualities of family functioning that enhance an elder's sustained sense of meaning and belongingness in the intergenerational family.

"Family Matters in End-of-Life Care" (with T. Quill, M.D.): Based on clinical experience in palliative care and hospice settings, we are developing guidelines for family intervention that are consistent with the family's relational abilities.

"Intergenerational Relationships and Adjustments to Medical Illness" (with S. Basler, Psy.D., P. Duberstein, Ph.D.): We are testing qualitative measures of the intergenerational relationships between spouses of patients with lung cancer and their adult offspring.

HRSAT06HP01830: Graduate Geropsychology Education Program, Deborah A. King, Ph.D>, Director, 10/03 - 9/06, $664, 989

NIMH T32 MH18911: National Research Service Award, Institutional Training Grant, Eric D. Caine, M.D., Director, 7/88-6/02; Deborah A. King, Ph.D., faculty, 5% effort, no salary.

Professional Overview

Deborah A. King, Ph.D. received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Indiana University in 1983. She joined the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry’s Geriatrics and Neuropsychiatry Program in 1985, after completing fellowships in adult psychology and geropsychology. She has served as Director of Training in Clinical Psychology since 1992, overseeing the APA-approved Predoctoral Internship and Postdoctoral Fellowship Programs in Clinical Psychology. She also serves as Clinical Director of Geriatric Psychiatry Programs and Clinical Director of Psychology. Dr. King’s research and scholarly interests are in the areas of late-life depression, suicide and family interventions for older adults. She works actively to educate professional and lay audiences about late-life mental health problems and family systems approaches. In her clinical practice, she specializes in working with older adults and families as they confront the challenges and opportunities inherent to the aging process.

Selected Publications

King, D.A., Wynne, L.C. (2004). The emergence of "family integrity" in late-life. Family Process.

Markus, H.E. & King, D.A. (2003). A survey of group psychotherapy training during the predoctoral internship. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 34, 203-209

Duberstein, P.R., Sorensen, S.M., Lyness, J.M., King, D.A., Conwell, Y., Seidlitz, L., & Caine, E.D. (2003). Personality is associated with perceived health and functional limitations in older primary care patients. Psychology and Aging, 18, 25-37.

Lyness, J.M., Caine, E.D., King, D.A., Conwell, Y., Duberstein, P.R., Cox, C. (2002). Depressive disorders and symptoms in older primary care patients: One-year outcomes. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 10:3, 275-282.

King, D.A. (2001). The case of the “expendable” elder: Family therapy with a depressed older man. In S.H. McDaniel, D. Lusterman, D. Seaburn (Eds.), A Casebook for Integrating Family Therapy, (pp. 157-168). Washington: American Psychological Association Publications.

Sinclair, P.A., Lyness, J.M., King, D.A., Cox, C. & Caine, E.D. (2001). Depression and self-reported functional status in older primary care patients. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 416-419.

King, D.A., Shields, C.G. & Wynne, L.C. (2000). Intervention and consultation with families of older adults. In B.J. Sadock & V.A. Sadock (Eds.), The Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, 7th edition (pp. 3122-3127). Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Williams.

King, D.A., Conwell, Y. & Kim, S. (2000). Family matters: A social systems perspective on physician-assisted suicide. Psychology, Public Policy and Law.

King, D.A., Conwell, Y., Cox, C., Henderson, R., Denning, D. & Caine, E.D. (2000). A neuropsychological comparison of depressed suicide attempts and non-attempters. Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 12, 64-70.

King, D.A. & *Markus, H.E. (2000). Mood disorders in older adults. In S.K. Whitbourne (Ed.), Psychopathology in Later Adulthood, (pp. 141-172). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Lyness, J.M., King, D.A., Conwell, Y., Cox, C. & Caine, E.D. (2000). Cerebrovascular risk factors and 1-year depression outcome in older primary care patients. American Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 1499-1501.