TIPPP LAB
Topics in Professional Psychology Practice Lab
About
In our lab we have two types of current student involvement: (1) lab members-students for whom Dr. Sonne serves as Chair of their doctoral project or dissertation and (2) lab associates—students who are completing a dissertation or doctoral project in another lab and (with their Chair’s permission and Dr. Sonne’s approval) for whom Dr. Sonne serves as a mentor for a secondary research project.
A foundational mission of our lab is collaborative research. We highly value and encourage collaboration among the members and associates in our lab. We believe that the process and outcome of research is greatly enriched with collaboration among lab participants. As such, we expect to share our research experiences, questions, and problems with each other, and provide helpful hints and feedback (including editing of written documents) to each other.
We meet once a month via Zoom, typically on a Friday at noon. Dr. Sonne is also available by appointment for an individual phone or Zoom meeting as needed by each lab participant.
Areas for investigation include:
(1) Process and predictive factors of ethical decision-making in clinical psychology practice (e.g., recognition of potential nonsexual multiple relationship, effect of cultural values on priority of ethical principles)
(2) Ethical issues in clinical psychology practice (e.g., nonsexual multiple relationships, communication online and through social media with clients, other nonsexual boundary crossings [e.g., physical contact, self-disclosure], suicide assessment through social media, and intervention through telepsychology)
(3) Legal issues in clinical psychology practice (e.g., duty to warn / duty to protect, child or elder abuse reporting)
(4) Interactional dynamics in the therapist-client relationship (e.g., power dynamics, professionalism, unspoken topics in therapy)
(5) Clinical assessment and intervention for eating disorders, child sexual abuse, therapist sexual misconduct, priest sexual misconduct, and sexual abuse in the military
(6) Therapist self-care (i.e., specific training, post-licensure practice of self-care)
(7) Determinants of child/adolescent suicide
(8) Ethical issues in supervision (e.g., inadequate and harmful supervision, completion of “organizational tasks” for supervision, what supervisees do and do not disclose to supervisors, evaluation of supervision, technology-assisted supervision).
Lab Policies
The TIPPP Lab Policies are intended to outline Dr. Sonne’s expectations of those who choose to participate in her lab. The policies are a “living document”. That is, they may change as time passes, and the nature of the lab and the experiences of the lab members and associates evolve. Dr. Sonne will update the policies at the beginning of the Fall quarter each year.
1. All lab activities and products are expected to comply with professional standards and, more specifically, with the current APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct.
2. Students may participate in the TIPPP Lab in two ways: Full Members and Associate Members.
A. Full Members are students for whom Dr. Sonne is serving as Chair of their doctoral research (and then also as their primary advisor).
B. Associate Members are students who are conducting their primary doctoral research in another lab, but wish to participate in the TIPPP Lab as well. Students interested in joining the TIPPP Lab as Associate Members may join with Dr. Sonne’s and their primary research advisors’ permission.
3. There are two types of ongoing research in the TIPPP Lab: Individual student research projects and TIPPP lab special projects.
A. Individual student research projects are students’ dissertations or doctoral projects; the students involved are Full Members.
B. TIPPP lab special projects are special interest projects initiated either by Dr. Sonne or a student (in addition to their doctoral research project); the students may be Full Members or Associate Members.
4. New students interested in understanding more about the TIPPP Lab, and perhaps joining as a Full Member or an Associate Member, may contact Dr. Sonne via email (jsonne@llu.edu).
5. There are three types of lab meetings: Full Lab Meetings, TIPPP Lab Special Project Meetings, and Individual Student Meetings.
A. Full lab (all Full and Associate members) meetings occur approximately once a month via Zoom. The full lab meetings are typically held on Fridays between noon and 2 pm. The lab coordinator will send an email at the beginning of each quarter to determine the date and time for the monthly full lab meeting that is most convenient for everyone. If a student is not able to attend the meeting once set, they need to inform Dr. Sonne of that situation.
B. TIPPP lab special project meetings occur via Zoom as necessary. The exact meeting dates and times of all group meetings are arranged by the lab coordinator. It is mandatory that students respond to the request for available dates promptly and do their very best to attend the meetings as set. If a student is not able to attend, they need to inform Dr. Sonne of that situation.
C. And, last, there are individual student meetings. All students for whom Dr. Sonne is serving as Chair of their doctoral research must meet individually with Dr. Sonne at least every other week, unless otherwise arranged by Dr. Sonne and the student. It is the responsibility of each student to schedule these individual meetings. During the individual meetings, students will be asked to develop working timelines for the completion of their research proposals, and final drafts and oral defenses. Due dates also will be set that align with departmental due dates.
D. A student who repeatedly misses lab meetings, individual meetings, and/or due dates may be asked to leave the TIPPP Lab.
6. All students who submit any written document to Dr. Sonne must meet her expectation that their work is original. The use of AI can be very tempting as students rush to meet deadlines, etc. However, for students’ learning, and for the integrity of their documents, it is expected that students will not paste AI-generated material into their written materials...nor, of course, paste any other material generated by another person...and present it as their own.
Dr. Sonne asks that each student run their dissertation or project proposals and their completed documents through a detection program (e.g., TurnItIn) before they submit them to her as their final drafts. Students are asked to include the printout regarding the results of the scan with their final drafts.
Our initial task is to conduct a systematic literature review (according to PRISMA guidelines; Page et al., 2021) of peer-reviewed, published empirical studies across the major health care professions investigating Rest’s Component I in the process of moral behavior (Rest, 1982; 1983; 1984; 1986; 1994). Our aim is to bring some clarity and consensus to the definition and operationalization of this first component. We hope that with that accomplished, we may open a robust path to model-driven empirical research into the ethical decision-making processes of clinical psychologists.
Awards
Student Research Award
Learn MorePROSE Finalist
Learn MoreTeam
Alumni
Contact
- Loma Linda, California, United States
How You Can Visit Our Lab: Please email Dr. Sonne expressing your interest in attending one of our lab meetings to help you decide whether it may be a good match for you and your interests.
