Putting Research Into Action To Boost Mental And Physical Health

Sarah Whitton knows the value of cognitive behavioral therapy and couples therapy for mental and physical health. The University of Cincinnati McMicken College of Arts and Sciences psychology professor and trainer of clinicians spent time in private practice, helping people re-route negative thought patterns, communicate healthily with their romantic partners, and enlist the support of those close to them to be happier and healthier.

She brings that expertise to her work as the director of UC’s Behavioral Health Center, where she supervises the clinical training of doctoral students who provide psychotherapy there. In that role, Whitton works hard to connect the research done by academic psychologists with the work done and the advice offered by their peers in the field. 

“There is so much potential for clinical psychology to do so much good,” she said. “I have the opportunity to train the next generation to give higher quality services.”

Standing at the intersection of theory and practice allows Whitton to partner with other researchers whose work might not otherwise cross her desk. This includes, for example, her psychology department counterpart Alison McLeish, whose research focuses on a very specific, very physical topic: smoking cessation.

Both researchers knew that smoking is a leading cause of heart disease and an array of other serious physical ailments, ailments that can keep smokers from enjoying time with those they love. They knew, as we all do, that kicking the smoking habit is essential for better health.

“We know that smoking is one of the most powerful predictors of negative health outcomes,” Whitton said.

They also knew that, despite all warnings and health threats, nearly one out of five Americans still smoke. 

Challenges facing smokers who want to quit are both physical and psychological. As McLeish studied failed intervention program after failed intervention program, she saw that more than 90 percent of smokers who go “cold turkey” with no set treatments to guide them will soon relapse. Of the smokers who embark on the standard smoking cessation programs—which consists of a combination of a nicotine patch and some cognitive behavioral therapy sessions—three out of four still relapse. That means that the most effective stop-smoking methods only work with about one out of four people.

“There really is room for improvement,” Whitton said. 

Working with McLeish was the kind of collaboration that Whitton sees as essential to the practice of psychology and psychological research. Together, they worked to design and measure alternative smoking cessation approaches, some of which touch on Whitton’s earlier work with couples’ therapy. 

With ideas innovative enough to earn a more than $150,000 grant from the American Heart Association, Whitton and McLeish have already started work recruiting committed couples for their new study, conducted at UC. 

Whitton is excited about the opportunity to put her tried-and-true techniques to use as she and McLeish explore if, and how, the power of human relationships can be used to improve physical health outcomes. 

Learn more about Whitton’s grant and current study here.