Dr. DiTomasso, Chairman of the Department of Psychology, is board certified in clinical psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology, a Fellow of the Academy of Clinical Psychology, a Founding Fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, and a licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He has extensive experience in cognitive behavioral therapy, graduate-level teaching, research/program evaluation and psychological consultation in medical settings.
Dr. DiTomasso graduated with a BA in psychology magna cum laude in 1973 from La Salle University and then pursued and completed an MS degree in general-experimental psychology from Villanova University in 1975, where he was the recipient of a research assistantship. This was a rigorous program that provided a solid foundation in scientific psychology and, later, an empirical focus for his clinical work. It was at Villanova where Dr. DiTomasso took his first course in Behavior Therapy and discovered an area of study devoted exclusively to helping people through the use of empirically-derived techniques based upon learning principles - a perfect match for his interests. The next year he entered the PhD program in Professional-Scientific Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and over the next four years he refined his interest in behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, and research methods. While at Penn he was awarded a teaching fellowship and was mentored in the art of teaching. Subsequently, he attended the June Institute in Behavior Therapy and completed an internship under the direction of Joseph Wolpe, MD at the Behavior Therapy Unit, Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, Temple University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. Upon graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, he was awarded the William E. Arnold Dean's Award in recognition of outstanding leadership and scholarship. He later obtained postdoctoral training and supervision in cognitive-behavioral therapy from David Burns and Arthur Freeman and completed a certificate in cognitive therapy under the direction of Arthur Freeman, EdD, ABPP.
Over the next 20 years, Dr. DiTomasso worked full time as associate director of the West Jersey Health System Family Medicine Residency and directed the Behavioral Medicine training, taught resident physicians, provided case consultation to physicians, developed and conducted health risk behavior groups, conducted research and treated medical patients suffering from stress and stress related disorders. He also served as an editorial consultant for the Journal of Behavioral Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry and the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. In addition, he maintained a part-time private practice and served as an adjunct associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
He began teaching at PCOM as an adjunct professor at the very beginning of the PsyD program in Clinical Psychology and joined the department full-time in July 1998 as professor, vice-chairman and director of clinical research. While at PCOM, Dr. DiTomasso spearheaded and coordinated the accreditation process which ultimately led to the accreditation of the PsyD program in Clinical Psychology. He is also actively involved in the development of educational outcome assessments and processes and serves as chairman of the college-wide Student Learning Outcomes Committee.
Dr. DiTomasso's major areas of interest are cognitive-behavioral assessment, therapy, and consultation, anxiety and anxiety-related disorders, primary care psychology, patient non-adherence, developing assessment instruments for health risk behaviors, and research design, measurement, methodology and program evaluation. Over the past several years, Dr. DiTomasso and his dissertation students have been developing and studying a variety of new measures including The MAD-AS, an anger questionnaire, The Inventory of Cognitive Distortions (ICD), and the HABIT (Health Adherence Behavior Inventory). Dr. DiTomasso was recently named as the recipient of the Dondero Award from LaSalle University, honoring an alumnus who has distinguished himself in promoting the science and/or practice of psychology according to the humanistic values that were at the basis of the life and teaching of the late John Dondero, PhD.
Selected Publications:
DiTomasso, R.A., Cahn, S.C., Panichelli-Mindel, S.M. & McFillin, R.K. (2013). Specialty Competencies in Clinical Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.
DiTomasso, R.A., Golden, B., & Morris, H. (Eds.) (2010). The Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Approaches in Primary Care. New York: Springer.
DiTomasso, R.A., Freeman, A., Carvajal, R. & Zahn, B. (2010). The cognitive model of anxiety. In D. Stein (Ed.), Anxiety Disorders, Second Edition. American Psychiatric Press.
DiTomasso, R.A., Golden, B., & Morris, H. & Chiumento, D. (2010). Primary Care, The Biopsychosocial Model and Cognitive Behavioral Approaches. In R.A. DiTomasso, B.A. Golden, & H. Morris (Eds.), The Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Approaches in Primary Care. New York: Springer.
DiTomasso, R.A., Knapp, S., Golden, B.A., & Veit, K. (2010). The Cognitive-Behavioral Clinician: Roles and Functions and Ethical Challenges in Primary Care. In R.A. DiTomasso, B.A. Golden, & H. Morris (Eds.), The Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Approaches in Primary Care. New York: Springer.
Cos, T., DiTomasso, R.A., Cirelli, C. & Finkelstein, L. (2010). Consultation Models in Primary Care. In R.A. DiTomasso, B.A. Golden, & H. Morris (Eds.), The Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Approaches in Primary Care. New York: Springer.
DiTomasso, R.A., Cahn, S., Cirelli, C. & Mochan, E. (2010). Evidenced-Based Models and Interventions in Primary Care. In R.A. DiTomasso, B.A. Golden, & H. Morris (Eds.), The Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Approaches in Primary Care. New York: Springer.
Gosch, E., DiTomasso, R.A., Findiesen, A. (2010). Behavioral Strategies. In R.A. DiTomasso, B.A. Golden, & H. Morris (Eds.), The Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Approaches in Primary Care. New York: Springer.
DiTomasso, R.A., Chiumento, D., Singer, M., & Bullock, O. (2010). Nonadherence to Medical Advice. In R.A. DiTomasso, B.A. Golden, & H. Morris (Eds.), The Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Approaches in Primary Care. New York: Springer.
DiTomasso, R.A., Chiumento, D., & Morris, H. (2010). Hypertension. In R.A. DiTomasso, B.A. Golden, & H. Morris (Eds.), The Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Approaches in Primary Care. New York: Springer.
DiTomasso, R.A., Morris, H., Boyle, P., & Finkelstein, L. (2010). Diabetes. In R.A. DiTomasso, B.A. Golden, & H. Morris (Eds.), The Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Approaches in Primary Care. New York: Springer.
DiTomasso, R.A., Golden, B.,& Morris, H. (2010). Effective Practice and Future Directions in Primary Care. In R.A. DiTomasso, B.A. Golden, & H. Morris (Eds.), The Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Approaches in Primary Care. New York: Springer.
DiTomasso, R.A., Hale, J.B, Timchack, S.M. (2007). Behavioral perspectives. In A. Freeman & M. A. Reinecke, Personality disorders in children and adolescents. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
DiTomasso, R.A. & Gosch, E.A. (Eds.) (2002). Comparative treatments for anxiety disorders. New York, Springer.
