While an undergraduate math major at the University of Southern California I took some courses in psychology and encountered applications of mathematics to studying complex human problems. I became an undergraduate assistant for J. P. Guilford's Structure of the Intellect project and changed my major to psychology.  I went back to the Midwest for my master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. At Wisconsin I was a teaching assistant and later an NIMH Predoctoral Fellow. My internship was on the inpatient services of the Milwaukee VA Hospital and from there I went to the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute for my first job, again on inpatient services. In the 70s I moved to the University of Pittsburgh where I went from Assistant for Associate Professor in Psychology and held a secondary appointment in Psychiatry.  At Pittsburgh I developed a model of depression that became the basis for much of my subsequent research, including NIMH funded studies of the outcome of Self-Management Therapy for depression. In 1978 I moved to the University of Houston as Professor and Director of Clinical Training

I began to become involved in professional psychology in Pennsylvania and was President of the Greater Pittsburgh Psychological Association and an officer of Pennsylvania Psychological Association. In Texas I served as President of the Houston Psychological Association.  I became a committee chair for TPA in 1982 and held various offices including President until 1996. At the national level I became involved with the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology, which I chaired for two years. My interests in education also took me to the APA Board of Educational Affairs, which I chaired for one year. On the science side I  have served on NIMH grant review groups and I have published over 100 articles, book chapters, etc. I have been involved in APA Science Directorate efforts to increase academic and science membership. For the past five years I have been active with the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards. I chair the Examination Committee which oversees the licensing exam used in all states and Canadian provinces. I am also currently Past President of the Division of Clinical Psychology of APA and was formerly a Division 12 Council Representative.

My scholarly interests have centered on depression research - psychopathology, assessment, and treatment outcome. I have done studies of depression in children and families, and of cognitive functioning in depression. The treatment program has been applied to adults, children, the elderly, prisoners, and battered women. Currently I am part of a large VA health services research project evaluating my treatment program for depression among men and women veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.  The project will follow veterans after therapy and compare medical utilization before and after.  I  maintain a small private practice focussing on cognitive behavioral treatment of depression. In spare hours I jog, garden, and travel my with wife, Sue, to see two daughters, a son-in-law, a son-in-law to be, and grandson Jack.

Department of Psychology at University of Houston
Comments to: lprehm@uh.edu