Candace Thoth
With a passion for diversity and cross-cultural issues, St. Louis-native Candace Thoth began to pursue her career in psychology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL). While pursuing her undergraduate degree at UMSL, she worked in a research lab that investigated the efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in minority youth as well as the role of racial identity in substance use.
Candace's interest in health disparities flourished while she worked on a project - funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) - that developed preventative measures to reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections to African-American youth.
This dedication for providing clinical services to underserved populations as well as her desire to combine her research interests in health and cross-cultural psychology encouraged Candace to pursue her PhD at UT Southwestern, with an emphasis in child and adolescent psychology.
“Since UT Southwestern’s Clinical Psychology program is housed within a medical center, I knew that I could connect my interests of health disparities and cross-cultural psychology,” Candace said “The resources offered by UT Southwestern are truly unique, with an array of both clinical and research opportunities to work with underserved and diverse populations.”
During her first year at UT Southwestern, Candace received the Children’s Medical Center Cultural Diversity Fellowship. The fellowship gave Candace the opportunity to rotate through various clinics in the hospital and gain experience working with underserved youth and their families.
Candace is currently investigating the ethnic differences in the presentation of depressive symptoms in youth. She is also examining the role of somatic symptoms in treatment for depressed adolescents.
Candace Thoth
Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program