Contact Information

Education

Certificate in Healthcare Leadership, 1999, University of Rochester, William E. Simon School of Business

Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, 1984. State University of New York at Buffalo.

MA.., Clinical Psychology, 1983. State University of New York at Buffalo.

B.S., Biology/Psychology, 1980. Union College, Schenectady, New York.

Research Focus
and Interests

Mental illness diagnosis and treatment in deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals

Sign language interpreting

Health care and the deaf population

Psychological testing with deaf and hard-of-hearing adults

Forensic evaluation and testimony related to deaf individuals

Training deaf professionals

Telehealth technology serving the deaf population

Professional Overview

Robert Pollard, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester School of Medicine. There, he heads the Deaf Wellness Center, home of numerous initiatives pertaining to health care, mental health services, and professional education opportunities for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. His "Program for Deaf Trainees" has received national acclaim. For this and other accomplishments, the American Psychological Association (APA) honored him with their 1994 early career award for Distinguished Contribution to Psychology in the Public Interest. Dr. Pollard writes and lectures widely on variety of mental health and health care topics affecting deaf consumers and professionals. He has been principal investigator on numerous federal, foundation, regional, and local grants and has published over 60 articles and book chapters. Dr. Pollard is active in several national organizations, especially the APA, where he founded and chairs a Special Interest Section on Deafness and has served on several disability and public interest-related boards and committees.

Publications

O'Hearn, A. & Pollard, R. Q (2008). Modifying Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Deaf Individuals. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice.

Pollard, R. Q  (2007).  Bronze Award:  Deaf Wellness Center, Rochester, New York – Providing specialized mental health services to the Deaf community and promoting research and education related to mental health and deafness.   Psychiatric Services, 58 (10), 1373-1374.

Pollard, R. Q, DeMatteo, A, Lentz, E., & Rediess, S. (2007). A prose recall test using stories in American Sign Language. Rehabilitation Psychology, 52(1), 11-24.

Pollard, R. Q & Dimeff, L. (Executive producers.) (2007). Practicing radical acceptance: An adaptation from the Deaf perspective [Motion picture] . (Available from Behavioral Tech, LLC, 2133 Third Avenue, Suite 205, Seattle, WA 98101)

Pollard, R. Q & Dimeff, L. (Executive producers.) (2006). Opposite action: An adaptation from the Deaf perspective [Motion picture] . (Available from Behavioral Tech, LLC, 2133 Third Avenue, Suite 205, Seattle, WA 98101)

Dean, R. K. & Pollard, R. Q  (2006).  From best practice to best practice process:  Shifting ethical thinking and teaching.  In E. M. Maroney (Ed.), A new chapter in interpreter education:  Accreditation, research and technology.  (Proceedings of the 16th national convention  of the Conference of Interpreter Trainers (CIT).)  Monmouth, OR:  CIT.

O'Hearn, A. (2006). Deaf women's experiences and satisfaction with prenatal care: A comparative study. Family Medicine, 38(10), 712 - 716.

Pollard, R. Q, Rediess, S., & DeMatteo, A. (2005).  Development and validation of the Signed Paired Associates Test.  Rehabilitation Psychology, 50(3), 258-265.

Pollard, R. Q (2005). From dissertation to journal article: A useful method for planning and writing any manuscript. The Internet Journal of Mental Health. Volume 2 Number 2.

Dean, R. K. & Pollard, R. Q (2005). Consumers and service effectiveness in interpreting work:A practice profession perspective. In M. Marschark, R. Peterson, & W. Winston (Eds.), Interpreting and interpreter education: Directions for research and practice (pp. 259-282). New York: Oxford University Press.

Dean, R. K. & Pollard, R. Q (2004, October). A practice-profession model of ethical reasoning. VIEWS, 21(9), 1, 28-29.

Pollard, R. Q (producer). (2003). My body, my responsibility: A health education video for deaf women. (62 minute videotape.) Rochester, NY: University of Rochester.

Leigh, I. W. & Pollard, R. Q (2003). Mental health and deaf adults. In M. Marschark & P. Spencer (Eds.). Oxford handbook of deaf studies, language, and education. New York: Oxford University Press.

Pollard, R. Q (2002). Ethical conduct in research involving deaf people.In V. A. Gutman (Ed.), Ethics in mental health and deafness (pp. 162-178). Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.

Dean, R. K. & Pollard, R Q (2001). Application of demand-control theory to sign language interpreting: Implications for stress and interpreter training. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 6(1), 1-14.

Pollard, R. Q & Rinker, N. C. (2001). The misfit: A deaf adolescent struggles for meaning. In S. H. McDaniel, D. D. Lusterman & C. Philpot (Eds.), Casebook for integrating family therapy (pp. 191-204). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

Pollard, R. Q, Miner, I. D. & Cioffi, J. (2000). Hearing and vision loss. In T. R. Elliott & R. J. Frank (Eds.), Handbook of rehabilitation psychology (pp. 205-234). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

Pollard, R. Q & Rendon, M. E. (1999). Mixed deaf-hearing families: Maximizing benefits and minimizing risks. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 4(2), 156-161

.Pollard, R. Q (1998). Psychopathology. In M. Marschark & D. Clark (Eds.). Psychological perspectives on deafness, Volume 2 (pp. 171-197). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, Inc.

Pollard, R. Q (1998). Mental health interpreting: A mentored curriculum. (Nine chapter text with accompanying videotape of interpreting vignettes.) Rochester, NY: University of Rochester.

Pollard, R. Q (1996). Professional psychology and deaf people: The emergence of a discipline. American Psychologist, 51(4), 389-396.

Pollard, R. Q (1996). Conceptualizing and conducting pre-operative psychological assessments of cochlear implant candidates. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 1(1), 16-28.

Pollard, R. Q (1995). Mental health services and the deaf population: A regional consensus planning approach [Special issue]. Journal of the American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association, 28(3), 1-47.

Pollard, R. Q (1994). Public mental health service and diagnostic trends regarding individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Rehabilitation Psychology, 39(3), 147-160.

Pollard, R. Q (1993). 100 years in psychology and deafness: A centennial retrospective. Journal of the American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association, 26(3), 32-46.

Pollard, R. Q (1992). Cross-cultural ethics in the conduct of deafness research. Rehabilitation Psychology, 37(2), 87-101.

Pertinent Web Links

Deaf Wellness Center

Strong Connections Videoconference Healthcare Interpreting Service

National Center for Deaf Health Research