Todd Smitherman

Professor of Psychology and Director of Clinical Training

• Faculty
• Instructor

• Email:

  tasmithe@olemiss.edu

• Office Location:

  310 D Peabody Hall

• Phone:

  662-915-1825

• Website:

  Personal Website

Dr. Smitherman is a Clinical Psychologist who specializes in psychological factors in chronic medical conditions and physical health, particularly Migraine and Psychiatric Comorbidities.

Research Interests

Examines migraine and other headache disorders relationship to psychiatric comorbidities (anxiety, depression, insomnia). Examines avoidance behaviors, behavioral triggers of headache attacks (eg, poor sleep, missed meals, stress), and other psychological constructs (eg, fear of pain, anxiety sensitivity). Recent work explored the efficacy of behavioral insomnia treatment for reducing chronic migraine, differences in physical activity between individuals with and without migraine, and the role of pain acceptance and psychological flexibility in functional impairment.

Biography

Dr. Smitherman is a Clinical Psychologist and Director of Clinical Training for the Clinical Psychology program at the University of Mississippi. Dr. Smitherman received his BA from Samford University in 2000, and his PhD in Clinical Psychology from Auburn University on 2006. His work focuses on psychological factors in physical health and chronic medical conditions. His area of expertise is in migraine and other headache disorders, investigating 1) psychiatric comorbidities (anxiety, depression, insomnia), 2) behavioral interventions for reducing pain and disability, 3) avoidance behaviors, 4) behavioral triggers of headache attacks (eg, poor sleep, missed meals, stress), and 5) other psychological constructs (eg, fear of pain, acceptance, psychological flexibility, anxiety sensitivity). He also has interests in insomnia, obesity, and physical activity.

Publications

Smitherman, T. A., Tietjen, G. E., Schuh, K., Skljarevski, V., Lipsius, S., D’Souza, D. N., & Pearlman, E. M. (2020). Efficacy of galcanezumab for migraine prevention in patients with a medical history of anxiety and/or depression: a post hoc analysis of the phase 3, randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled REGAIN, and pooled EVOLVE‐1 and EVOLVE‐2 studies. Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, 60(10), 2202-2219.

Rogers, D. G., Bond, D. S., Bentley, J. P., & Smitherman, T. A. (2020). Objectively measured physical activity in migraine as a function of headache activity. Headache, 60, 1930-1938. doi: 10.1111/head.13921. 

Hamer, J. D., *Sackey, E. T., Maack, D. J. & Smitherman, T. A. (2020). Development of a measure to assess acceptance of headache: The Headache Acceptance Questionnaire. Cephalalgia, 40, 797-807. doi: 10.1177/0333102420907596

Rogers, D. G., *Protti, T. A., & Smitherman, T. A. (2020). Fear, avoidance, and disability in headache disorders. Current Pain and Headache Reports, 24:33. doi: 10.1007/s11916-020-00865-9.

Smitherman, T. A., *Kuka, A. J., Calhoun, A. H., Walters Pellegrino, A. B., Davis-Martin, R. E., Ambrose, C. E., et al. (2018). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia to reduce chronic migraine: A sequential Bayesian analysis. Headache, 58, 1052-1059. doi: 10.1111/head.13313.

Courses Taught

• PSY 201 Introduction to Psychology
• PSY 309 Learning
• PSY 410 Health Psychology
• PSY 701 Seminar: Assessment and Treatment of Anxiety Disorders
• PSY 721 Graduate Seminar in Psychology
• PSY 725 Clinical Practicum
• PSY 741 Ethics and Professional Standards in Clinical Psychology
• PSY 748 Research Design

• Office, Department or Center

  Department of Psychology

• School

  College of Liberal Arts

• Associated Program/s

  Psychology, B.A.

• Campuses

  Oxford