24: Andrea D. Clements, PhD – Psychology Professor and Researcher Finds her Passion and Calling

Masters in Psychology Podcast

Dr. Andrea “Andi” D. Clements was born and raised in Birmingham, AL. When she was in junior high, her dad took a job at the University of Alabama which ultimately impacted her academic and professional life. Though she did very well on her ACT and received many offers to attend college elsewhere, she admits “it was really a no brainer” to attend UA because of the cost-savings, her interest in counseling and psychology, proximity to home, and all of her friends were in the area. In this podcast, Dr. Clements shares her experiences while attending the University of Alabama for her BS, MA, and PhD. She then reveals how she ended up at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN and why she has stayed there for almost 27 years. Throughout this podcast, Andi shares some delightful stories and offers advice to those interested in selecting and attending graduate school for psychology and counseling. She even discusses how ETSU is different from other universities and why you should consider attending ETSU for your undergraduate or graduate degrees. Dr. Clements is currently professor and assistant chair of the psychology department at East Tennessee State University. After receiving her PhD in Educational Psychology with concentrations in industrial organizational psychology, statistics, rehabilitation, and counseling, she started as an assistant professor of educational and developmental psychology at West Georgia College. From there, she explains how and why she went to ETSU to continue her professional career as an assistant professor. She worked her way up from assistant professor to associate professor to full professor at UA and explains that she loves being “a medium fish in a medium pond” because it allows her to teach and conduct meaningful research. Andi explains how it makes more sense to her to conduct community-based, meaningful research. She states, “I now have a burning desire to answer a research question” and “that’s what keeps me going.” This is evident in her research on substance abuse and addiction, health psychology, and resilience-building. We discuss her HeART (Health, Addiction, Religion, Trauma) Lab at ETSU along with her role on the leadership team of the Ballad Health Strong BRAIN Institute which studies Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and promotes “the development and dissemination of evidence-based practices that prevent, reduce, or mitigate the negative effects of ACEs on health and health disparities.” Dr. Clements has been involved in church and faith-based work all of her life so when she decided to add the study of religious variables to her research, she attended a five-day training at Duke University. She explains how she and Becky Haas were approached to “try to mobilize the church to address addiction.” This eventually led to her and others co-founding Uplift Appalachia where she currently serves as president. Dr. Clements also talks about the opioid crisis and what Uplift is doing to help churches care for those suffering from addiction. Andi also reveals that she has been a church planter and regularly helps and mentors those living with addiction or have been incarcerated. Listen to the podcast to learn more about how Andi is applying her education and research to address addiction and mental health challenges. Connect with Dr. Clements: LinkedIn | Faculty PageConnect with the Show: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn https://vimeo.com/689512881 Interests and Specializations Dr. Andrea Clements specializes in experimental concentration and developmental psychology. She is passionate about conducting community-based research on substance abuse and addiction, health psychology, trauma-related neuropsychological development, resilience-building, and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Education Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Interdisciplinary Counseling (1982); The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL.Master of Arts (M.A.),