MIRECC / CoE

Biography: Deborah A. King, PhD, earned her degree in clinical psychology from Indiana University. She completed her internship in clinical psychology and her postdoctoral fellowships in geropsychology and neuropsychology at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC). She is Professor of Psychiatry (Psychology) and Associate Chair for Education in the URMC Department of Psychiatry. She is Director of Fellowship and Graduate Training at the VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention (CoE).

Research Interests: Research Interests: Dr. King’s scholarship focuses on late-life depression and suicide, as well as therapeutic interventions for families of older adults with mental health problems and/or life-threatening medical illnesses. She has directed research, clinical demonstration projects, and training programs funded by NIMH, HRSA, the New York State Office of Mental Health, and local and regional health foundations. Her work at the CoE includes the design, implementation, and evaluation of suicide prevention programs for older Veterans.

Recent Publications:

Bamonti, P., Lombardi, S., Duberstein, P. R., King, D., & Van Orden, K. A. (in press). Spirituality attenuates the association between depression symptom severity and menaing in life. Aging and Mental Health.

Heisel, M. J., Talbot, N. L., King, D. A. & Tu, X. M. (in press). Adapting interpersonal psychotherapy for older adults at risk for suicide. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

King, D. A., O’Riley, A. A., Thompson, C., Conwell, Y., He, H. & Kemp, J.. (2014). Age-related concerns of male veteran callers to a suicide crisis line. Archives of Suicide Research, 18,(4), 445-452..

Kasl-Godley, J. E., King, D. A. & Quill, T.E. (2014). Opportunities for psychologists in palliative care: Working with patients and families across the disease continuum.  American Psychologist, May-June Issue, 364-376.

King, D .A., Von Bergen, H., Knox, K. L., Wood, J., Stephenson, K., Chauncey, L., Lu, N., Kaukeinen, K., & Kemp, J. E. (2012). Operation S.A.V.E.: Suicide prevention training for front-line employees in the US Department of Veterans Health Affairs. In J. E. Lavigne (Ed.), Frontiers in Suicide Risk: Research, Treatment and Prevention (pp.185-194).  New York: Nova Publishers.

Lane, G., Podgorski, C., Norohna, D. & King, D. A. (2012). The hidden caregiver: Kinship caregivers and lessons learned from dementia family caregiving. Clinical Geropsychologist, 35, 195-203.

Van Orden, K. A., Bamonti, P. M., King, D. A. & Duberstein, P. R. (2012). Does perceived burdensomeness erode meaning in life among older adults? Aging and Mental Health, 16, 855-860.

Van Orden, K. A., Talbot, N., & King, D. A. (2012).Use of the interpersonal theory of suicide to inform interpersonal psychotherapy with a suicidal older adult. Clinical Case Studies, 11, 333-347.

Boyle, L. L., Porsteinsson, A. P., Cui, X., King, D. A., & Lyness, J. M. (2010). Depression predicts cognitive disorders in older primary care patients. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 71, 74-79.

Boyle, L. L., Lyness, J. M., Duberstein, P. R., Karuza, J., King, D. A., Messing, S., & Tu X. (2010). Trait neuroticism, depression, and cognitive function in older primary care patients. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 18, 305-312

King, D. A., Shields, C. G., & Podgorski, C. A.  (2009). Family intervention and therapy with older adults. In B. J.  Sadock, V.A. Sadock, P. Ruiz (Eds.), The Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, 9^th edition (pp. 4168-4175). Philadelphia: Lippencott, Williams & Williams.

Wilkins, V. M, Quill, T. E., & King, D. A. (2009). Assessing families in palliative care: A pilot study of the Checklist of Family Relational Abilities. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 12, 517-519.

Podgorski, C., & King, D. A. (2009). Losing function, staying connected: Family dynamics in provision of care for people with dementia. Generations: Journal of the American Society on Aging, 33, 24-29.

Childers, J. W., Demme, R., Greenlaw, J., King, D. A., & Quill, T. (2008). A qualitative report of dual palliative care/ethics consultations: Intersecting dilemmas and paradigmatic cases. Journal of Clinical Ethics, 19, 204-213.

Heisel, M. J., Duberstein, P. R., Talbot, N. L., King, D. A., & Tu, X. M. (2008). Adapting interpersonal therapy for older adults at risk for suicide: Preliminary findings. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 40, 156-164.

King, D. A., Lyness, J. M., Duberstein, P. R., He, H., Tu, X. M., & Seaburn, D. B. (2007). Religious involvement and depressive symptoms in primary care elders. Psychological Medicine, 37, 1807-1816.

Recent Presentations:

Rasmussen, K., Gould, M., Cross, W., Bridges, V., Tu, X., Tang, W., Kaukeinen, K., King, D., & Knox, K. L. (2015, June). Concerns of older Veteran callers to the VA Crisis Line. Paper presented at the annual meetiing of the World Congress of the International Association for Suicide Prevention, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

O’Riley, A., King, D. A., Wood, J., Cross, W., Patterson, R., & Bagley, C. (2013, November). Increase your suicide prevention skills with older Veterans: Evaluation of a web-based training. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, Denver, CO.

King, D. A., Van Orden, K. A., & Conwell, Y. (2013, September). Suicide risk assessment and intervention with older Veterans. Invited presentation to the Geriatric Scholars Program, Geriatric Research and Education Center, VA Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA.

King, D. A., Van Orden, K. A., O’Riley, A., & Conwell Y. (2013, August). A collaborative community approach to suicide prevention in older adults. Symposium paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Honolulu, HI.

 Bamonti, P. M., Duberstein, P. R., King, D. A. & Fiske, A. (2012, November). Perceived criticism, depressive symptom severity and psychological well-being in older adult outpatients: A prospective examination. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, San Diego, CA.

King, D. A. (2012, August). Invited introduction to the symposium Reaching beyond REACH at the Department of Veterans Affairs (G. Lane, Symposium Chair). Presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Orlando, FL.

White, A. M. & King, D. A. (2012, August). You know a tree by its fruit: Growing a fellowship program for community partnered health disparities research in an academic medical center. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Orlando, FL.

King, D. A. (2012, August). Invited discussant for the symposium Innovative psychotherapy treatment for older adults (D.Kiousis, V. Wilkins, Symposium Co-Chairs). Presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Orlando, FL.

Conner, K. R, Wood, J., King, D. A., & Kemp, J. E. (2011, August). Evaluation of Tip 50 training video: Addressing suicidal thoughts and behavior in substance abuse treatment.  Paper presented at the annual Veterans Administration Mental Health Conference, Baltimore, MD.

Wood, J. R., Miller, S., King, D.A. & Kemp, J. E. (2010, July). Suicide behavior aggregate review: Attempts and completions in 2009. Poster presented at the annual Veteran’s Administration Mental Health Conference, Baltimore, MD.

King, D .A. (2009, August). Enhancing diversity in the science and practice of psychology: Perspectives and contributions from the sections of Division 12 (A. Asuncion, Symposium Chair). Symposium paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, Ontario

King, D. A. & Kemp, J. E. (2009, July). Operation S.A.V.E.: Suicide prevention training for frontline Veterans Affairs staff. Paper presented at the annual Veterans Administration Mental Health Conference, Baltimore, MD.

King, D .A. (2009, June). The emergence of integrated care: What every clinician should know. Invited keynote address, Aging and Mental Health Conference: Integrated Health Care for Older Adults, Colorado Springs, CO.

King, D .A. (2009, June) Hearing the voices of underserved elders: Stories of collaborative care. Invited address, Aging and Mental Health Conference: Integrated Health Care for Older Adults, Colorado Springs, CO.

Kemp, J. E., King, D. A., Von Bergen, H. A. & Wheeler, R. (2008, June). Veteran Administration’s comprehensive program on suicide prevention. Paper presented at the VHA Care Managers’ Conference, Jacksonville, FL.

King, D. A. (2008, May). Integrated care for late-life mental health issues: Psychosocial perspectives. Invited address at the annual meeting of the Issues in Aging Program, Institute of Gerontology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI.

Recent Grants:

Director: VISN 2 Center of Excellence Advanced Fellowship in Veteran Mental Health and Suicide Prevention (Co-Director: Y. Conwell) VA Office of Academic Affiliations, Advanced Fellowship Program in Mental Illness Research and Treatment (2012-present).

Co-Investigator, Director of Education and Training: UR-NIMH Clinical Research Center for the Study of Psychopathology of the Elderly (PI:  E.D. Caine) NIMH P50 MH40380 (1986-1994).

Faculty: National Research Service Award, Institutional Training Grant (PI: E.D. Caine) NIMH T32 MH1891 (1988-2006).

Principal Investigator: Geriatric Depression: The Role of Cognitive Processing Deficits in Early and Late Onset Disorders, NIMH R03MH042141 (1986-1987).

Principal Investigator: Severe Mental Disorders in the Elderly, Clinical Training Grant, NIMH T01 MH0I9646 (1991-1994).

Co-Investigator: Attempted Suicide in Late Life Major Depression (PI: Y. Conwell) NIMH MH51201 (1994-1997).

Principal Investigator: The University of Rochester Geropsychology Education Program, HRSA T06HP01830 (2003-2006).

Director of Education Core: Senior Health and Research Alliance (PI: Y. Conwell) NIMH  (2006-2011).  

Co-Principal Investigator: Rochester Program of Research and Innovation on Disparities Education (PI: P. Duberstein) NIMH R25MH074898 (2006-2012).

Principal Investigator: Integrated Geriatric Healthcare Collaborative of Rochester, NYS Office of Mental Health. (2006-2011).

Project Director: PEARLS Plus: Community-Based Collaborative Depression Care (PI: Y. Conwell, Grantee:  Eldersource of Rochester) Greater Rochester Health Foundation (2010-2013).