Carmen P. McLean

Spotlight on an ABCT Fellow: Carmen P. McLean, Ph.D.

To spotlight the extraordinary work of our ABCT membership, we are highlighting the work of recently admitted ABCT Fellows. Fellow status is the highest level of membership in ABCT, and we hope that many members aspire to demonstrate their outstanding and sustained accomplishments in at least one of the areas of eligibility: Clinical practice; Education and training; Advocacy/policy/public education; Dissemination and implementation; Research; and Diversity, equity, and inclusion.  Below is an interview conducted with Carmen P. McLean, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist, National Center for PTSD, Clinical Professor (Affiliate) at Stanford University School of Medicine, current Editor-in-chief, Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, and co-author of Retraining the Brain: Applied Neuroscience in Exposure Therapy for PTSD.

Can you tell us about what made you apply for Fellow status at ABCT?

I’ve known about the Fellow program for quite a while, but I only became eligible recently. I had just been promoted at Stanford and was feeling rather rosy about things so figured I’d see if my luck held. ABCT has played such an important role in my career. Ever since my grad school days of excitedly highlighting the top 3 talks I hoped to attend at each time slot in the convention program, ABCT has been my professional home. I’m always delighted to find new ways to connect with the organization.

Becoming a Fellow means that you have distinguished yourself in a variety of areas that can include dissemination, clinical service, research, training, program development, policy/advocacy and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.  If you had to identify three professional accomplishments of which you are most proud, what would they be?

1. I feel very fortunate to be able to conduct treatment outcome research and I’m proud of the work my colleagues and I do. I honestly can’t think of a better job than one where you get to ask interesting questions, contribute to science, and help people.

2. In the last grant I received, the research questions built directly from work my colleagues and I led, much more so than in previous grants. This made it easy to argue why I was the right person to do the work. This felt like leveling up in my career.

3. I’m excited to serve as the Editor-in-chief for C&BP. I’m passionate about its mission to disseminate advances in clinical practice and honored to help shape the scholarly discussion amongst my fellow researchers and practitioners in this role.

Can you tell us a bit about your pathway to becoming a professional – who were your greatest influences during your training and in the early stages of your career?

I have such an embarrassment of riches in the mentorship department, starting with my father, a clinical psychologist himself, who encouraged me to pursue grad school. I worked as a post bacc RA with Sheila Woody – entering data, feeding the lab spider, and learning about the science of fear and anxiety. Science was intimidating to me then, but Sheila’s passion for research was so inspiring that I started to think I could be a researcher one day too. In graduate school, Debra Hope was a brilliant scientist-practitioner role model who taught me a lot about CBT and – super important – got me connected with ABCT.

When I first came to the National Center PTSD as a postdoc, I had no prior experience with PTSD and no personal connection to the military. My postdoc mentor Brett Litz helped cultivate my enduring interest in understanding recovery from PTSD and working with veterans and service members. Finally, working with Edna Foa was deeply impactful to my career. Edna provided so many amazing opportunities that helped me develop as an independent clinical researcher.

What advice would you have to someone who may be considering a similar career trajectory to your own?

Reflecting on what I enjoy most about my work, how my research program has developed, and what was helpful to me when I moved institutions, my advice is to nurture connections with colleagues. When you’re early in your career and haven’t yet worked in the field in a variety of different roles, I think it’s hard to appreciate just how useful it is to have a diverse network of colleagues that you are friendly with. Stay in touch with your mentors, peers, and trainees and nurture new connections with people who have similar and perhaps not so similar interests and perspectives as you. It is likely that at some point, you will have a request or an opportunity to share with them, or them with you. With a broad collegial network, you’re better able to identify ideal collaborators, participate in team science, and give and receive support.

Hindsight being 20/20, are there things that you would do differently during your career if you had the opportunity for a ‘do over’?

Well, I’d probably be more chill about the internship match process if I knew everything was going work out. But I’m not a what-if person. I’ve certainly made plenty of missteps, but I try to learn from them, and they’ve brought me where I am now, which is a great place to be.

What advice would you have for someone considering applying for Fellowship status at ABCT?

Go for it! I bet you are awesome. Highlighting your accomplishments can feel quite awkward but it’s a useful skill to develop that will help you advance in your career. Plus, reflecting on your work and how it connects to your career goals and values can be a rewarding exercise in itself.

Finally, as an esteemed Fellow, we would welcome your opinions about ABCT:

1. How long have you been a member of ABCT?
Since my first year of grad school at the fantastic clinical psych program at the University of Nebraska Lincoln in 2003.

2. How has ABCT helped you professionally?
I’ve made so many great connections through ABCT. I love learning from others, sharing my work, and catching up with people at the convention. Getting involved in various ABCT committees has also been rewarding and helped me grow professionally.

3. What services do you consider the most valuable from ABCT?
Probably the convention and the webinars (sign up now!).

4. Are there any services you’d like to see ABCT offer?
Maybe a longer coffee service at the convention?

5. How do you see the future of ABCT?
I see ABCT continuing to thrive and adapt to changing perspectives and priorities in our field and further broadening the diversity of its membership across disciplines.