Student Spotlight Award Recipient - Diane Dallal

Student Spotlight Award Recipient - Diane Dallal

Congratulations to Diane Dallal on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for August 2020!

The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.

This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring/collaboration/professional development/conversations around highlighted areas.

Learn more about Diane:

Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
Since beginning graduate school, I have developed a deep interest in understanding, developing, and improving mindfulness and acceptance-based interventions for behavioral health populations. In joining a research lab devoted to optimizing ACT for individuals with obesity and eating disorders, I have had the opportunity to receive extensive research and clinical training in these interventions. As my interest in ACT – and CBS more broadly – has grown, I have begun pursuing an independent line of research devoted to identifying and evaluating mechanistic factors that influence ACT treatment outcomes for individuals with obesity. Recently, I completed my CBS-driven Master’s thesis project, in which I dismantled and isolated the values component of ACT for weight control, developed an analog values-based weight loss intervention, and evaluated target engagement of theorized mechanisms inherent in the valuing process. I have also developed of the field’s first measure of values clarity and values awareness, presented my independent CBS-based research at four national conferences, and co-authored two manuscripts and book chapters on innovations in ACT for obesity and physical activity. In tandem with my research, my clinical interests have grown to center around CBS interventions for individuals with weight and eating disorders, anxiety disorders, and mood disorders. In my current practicum placement and study therapist roles, I have been able to deliver ACT in both group and individual treatments. I have also had the opportunity to receive supervision in the application of CBS principles for weight and eating disorders, and to provide didactic training to my peers.

Autobiography:
I am a native Californian who was born and raised in Los Angeles. After receiving my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles, I worked as a research coordinator at the UCLA Anxiety and Depression Research Center. Currently, I am a third year Clinical Psychology doctoral student at Drexel University working under the mentorship of Evan Forman, Ph.D., where my clinical and research interests center around developing and improving treatments for individuals with obesity and eating disorders. In particular, I am interested in the use of mindfulness and acceptance-based treatments to understand and intervene on cognitive and affective mechanisms that maintain unhealthy eating. Upon completion of my doctoral training, I hope to continue integrating ACT into my research and practice as a clinical psychologist for individuals struggling with behavioral health disorders. I believe my continued efforts to grow as an ACT practitioner will aid in my ability to help individuals build lives in line with the values that drive them. In pursuit of a values-driven life of my own, I enjoy reading, performing at open mic nights, watching musical theater, and spending quality time with loved ones (and their dogs).

Future goals:
Upon completion of my doctoral training, I hope to continue integrating ACT into my research and practice as a clinical psychologist for individuals struggling with behavioral health disorders.

Publications:

  • Lillis, J., Dallal, D.H., & Forman, E.M. (in press). Innovations in applying ACT for obesity and physical activity. In Levin, M.E., Twohig, M.P., & Krafft, J. (Eds.), Innovations in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Clinical advancements and applications in ACT. (Chapter 9). Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.
  • Forman, E.M., Manasse, S.M., Butryn, M.L., Crosby, R.D., Dallal, D.H., & Crochiere, R.J. (2019). Long-term follow-up of the Mind Your Health Project: Acceptance-based versus standard behavioral treatment for obesity. Obesity, 27(4), 565-571.

Manuscripts in Preparation:

  • Dallal, D.H. & Forman, E.M. (Manuscript in preparation). Can an acceptance-based smartphone application for weight loss promote change in ACT-based mechanistic processes?
  • Dallal, D.H. & Forman, E.M. (Manuscript in preparation). Clarifying the role of values in weight control: A pilot study of a values-based intervention to promote weight loss.
  • Dallal, D.H. & Forman, E.M. (Manuscript in preparation). The Values Interview: Developing and validating a new measure of values clarity and values awareness.


Conference Presentations:

  • Dallal, D.H. & Forman, E.M. (2020, July). The Values Interview: Developing and validating a new measure of values clarity and values awareness. In Assessing CBS constructs with precision and validity. Paper to be presented at the 18th Annual World Conference of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science.
  • Dallal, D.H. & Forman, E.M. (2020, April). Clarifying the role of values in weight control: A pilot study of a values-based intervention to promote weight loss. Poster to be presented at the 41st Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, San Francisco, CA.
  • Dallal, D.H. & Forman, E.M. (2019, Nov.). Can an acceptance-based smartphone application for weight loss promote change in ACT-based mechanistic processes? Poster presented at the Behavioral Medicine and Integrated Primary Care Special Interest Group Exposition at the 53rd Annual Convention of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Atlanta, GA.
  • Dallal, D.H., Manasse, S.M., Lampe, E., & Forman, E.M. (2019, March). Examining the utility of three acceptance-based skills in facilitating weight change in the behavioral treatment of obesity. Poster presented at the 40th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, Washington, D.C.
  • Forman, E.M., Butryn, M.L., Manasse, S.M., Crosby, R.D., Dallal, D.H., & Crochiere, R.J. (2019, March). RCT of an acceptance-based behavioral treatment for obesity: Weight and quality of life across 3 years. Paper presented at the 40th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, Washington, D.C.
  • Dallal, D.H., Shaw Tronieri, J., Manasse, S.M., & Forman, E.M. (2018, April). Development of a measure of values clarity in a behavioral weight loss-seeking sample. Poster presented at the 39th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, New Orleans, LA.
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