Educational History
2004-present, Doctoral Candidate
Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Major Area: Clinical Psychology
Major Professor: Joyce L. Carbonell, Ph.D.
Dissertation: Revisiting the sex differentiation hypothesis: A refinement and model comparison of Lilienfeld's (1992) models
September 2004, Passed Preliminary Doctoral Exam
2002-2004, Master of Science
Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Major Area: Clinical Psychology
Major Professor: Joyce L. Carbonell, Ph.D.
Thesis: An examination of racial differences in the MMPI-2 profiles of incarcerated women
Graduate Honors:
Society for the Psychology of Women (Division 35) Hyde Graduate Student Research Grant: $ 500.00
Congress of Graduate Students Conference Presentation Grant: $ 300.00
University Fellowship for academic year 2004-2005
1998-2002, Bachelor of Arts
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
Major Area: Psychology
Major Professor: Joseph B. Hellige, Ph.D.
Undergraduate Honors:
Graduated Cum Laude
Departmental Honors
Dean's List, seven semesters
Current Research Interests
Gender differences in the expression of impulsivity and cluster B personality disorders, personality assessment; cultural issues in assessment and mental health services provision; criminal behavior in women.
Research Activities
Publications:
Buckner, J.D., Castro, Y., Holm-Denoma, J.M., & Joiner, T.E. Jr.
(Eds.) (2007). Mental
Health Care for People of Diverse Backgrounds.
Abington, UK: Radcliffe Publishing.
Castro, Y., Buckner, J.D., & Holm-Denoma, J.M (2007). Introduction
to empirically informed mental health services for diverse populations.
In, J.D. Buckner, Y. Castro, J.M. Holm-Denoma, & T.E. Joiner, Jr.
(Eds.), Mental Health Care for People of Diverse Backgrounds. Abington, UK: Radcliffe Publishing.
Gordon, K.H. & Castro, Y. (2007). The assessment, diagnosis,
and treatment of psychiatric disorders in lesbian, gay, and bisexual
clients. In, J.D. Buckner, Y. Castro, J.M. Holm-Denoma, & T.E.
Joiner, Jr. (Eds.), Mental Health Care for People of Diverse Backgrounds. Abington, K: Radcliffe Publishing.
Hunter, L.R., Buckner, J.D., Holm-Denoma, J.M., & Castro, Y. (2007). The
delivery of mental health services for clients of diverse backgrounds:
Summary and future directions. In, J.D. Buckner, Y. Castro, J.M. Holm-Denoma,
& T.E. Joiner, Jr. (Eds.), Mental Health Services Provision for
Diverse Populations Within An Empirically Informed Approach. Abington,
UK: Radcliffe Publishing.
Lima, E., Stanley, S., Kaboski, B., Reitzel, L. R., Richey, A. J.,
Castro, Y., Williams, F. W.,Tannenbaum, K., Stellrecht, N., Jakobsons, L., Wingate, L.R., &
Joiner, T.E. (2005). The incremental validity of the MMPI-2: When does therapist
access not enhance treatment outcome? Psychological Assessment, 17(4), 462-468.
Manuscripts Under Review:
Castro, Y., Gordon, K.H., Brown, J.S., Cox, J.C., & Joiner, Jr., T.E. (n.d.). The impact of a leader model on women's self-
selection for leadership. Manuscript submitted for review.
Castro, Y., Gordon, K.H., Brown, J.S., Cox, J.C., & Joiner, Jr., T.E. (n.d.). Examination
of racial differences on the MMPI-2 clinical and Restructured Clinical scales in an
outpatient sample. Manuscript submitted for review.
Castro, Y., & Joiner, Jr. T.E. (n.d.). RCd and total number of clinical scale elevations are
significant but redundant predictors of premature termination. Manuscript
submitted for review.
Holm-Denoma, J.M., Gordon, K.H., Donohue, K.F., Waesche, M., Castro, Y., Merrill,
K., Brown, J.S., Jakobsons, L.J., Buckner, J., & Joiner, T.E. Jr. (n.d.). Revisiting Rosenhan: A case for the clinical utility of diagnostic labels. Manuscript submitted for review.
Van Orden, K.A., Witte, T.K., James, L.M., Castro, Y., Gordon, K.H., Braithwaite, S.,
Hollar, D., & Joiner, Jr., T.E. (n.d). Seasonal variation in suicidal ideation: The
mediating role of belongingness. Manuscript
submitted for review.
Manuscripts in preparation:
Gallagher, A., Carbonell, J.L., Castro Y., & Joiner, Jr., T.E. (n.d.). The effects of
alternate instructions on the validity of MMPI-2's of court ordered clients. Manuscript in preparation.
Gordon, K.H., Castro, Y., Holm-Denoma, J.M., & Joiner, Jr., T.E. (n.d.). Conformity to
cultural body shape ideals and eating disorder symptoms among Hispanic,
Black, and White college women. Manuscript in preparation.
Poster Presentations:
Carbonell, J.L., Gallagher, A., & Castro, Y. The effect of
additional instructions on the MMPI-2 profiles of court ordered clients (April,
2007). Poster presented at the MMPI-2/MMPI-A Workshops and 42nd Annual
Symposia. Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
Gordon, K.H., Castro, Y., Holm-Denoma, J.M., & Joiner, Jr. J.E. Conformity to cultural
body shape ideals and eating disorder symptoms among Hispanic, Black, and
White college women (April 2007). Poster presented at the 5th annual Graduate
Research Day at Florida State University. Tallahassee, FL.
Castro, Y., & Carbonell, J.L. An examination of the racial differences in the
MMPI-2 profiles of incarcerated women (2005, April). Poster presented at the 3rd
annual Graduate Research Day at Florida State University. Tallahassee, FL.
Carbonell, J.L., & Castro, Y. The effects of a leader model on women's self-selection for
leadership (2004, April). Poster presented at the 2nd annual Graduate Research Day at The Florida State University. Tallahassee, FL.
Hellige, J.B., Castro, Y. & Adams M.A. (2003, March). The effect
of task difficulty on categorical and coordinate processing of visuospatial stimuli. Poster
session presented at the 10th annual meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience
Society, New York, NY.
Professional Activities
Membership in Professional Associations:
2006-present: American Psychological Association, Division 45, Society the Study of Ethnic Minority Issues, student member
2006-present: American Psychological Association, Division 35, Society for the Psychology of Women, student member
2006-present: American Psychological Association, Division 12, Society for Clinical Psychology, student member
2003-2006: American Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology, student member
2002-2003: Cognitive Neuroscience Society, student member
Professional Workshops Attended:
April, 2007: MMPI-2/MMPI-A Workshops and 42nd Annual Symposia. Ft Lauderdale, Florida.
March, 2006: Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior, 33a Jornada Informativa: Salud Mental (Institute for Mexicans in the Exterior: 33rd Informative Conference: Mental Health). Guadalajara, Jalisco.
Invited Oral Presentations:
March, 2006: Kathryn Gordon, and Yezzennya Castro
Topic: An Introduction to Culturally Sensitive Mental Health Services Provision
FSU Psychology Clinic Tallahassee, Florida
April, 2004: Kathryn Gordon, Yezzennya Castro, Kendra Tannenbaum, and Lara Jakobsons
Topic: Mental Health Issues Related to Autism Spectrum Disorders
Center for Autism and Related Disabilities Tallahassee, Florida
Departmental Service:
2006-2007: Clinical Graduate Student Advisory Committee. Brad Schmidt,
Ph.D., Chair.
2006-2007: Committee for Diversity in Clinical Science. Jeanette Taylor, Ph.D., Chair.
2005-2007: Committee for Increasing Diversity in the Clinical Psychology Curriculum. Brad Schmidt, Ph.D., Chair.
2003-2005: Clinical Graduate Student Advisory Committee. Mark Licht, Ph.D., Chair.
2003-2006: Interview Weekend Committee. Joyce Carbonell, Ph.D., Chair.
Supervised Teaching Experience
Spring 2006, Spring 2007: Teaching Assistant
PSY 5325: Assessment Practicum.
Florida State University Department of Psychology
Supervisors: Joyce Carbonell, Ph.D. and Kristen Schmidt, Ph.D., instructors.
Fall 2005, Fall 2006: Teaching Assistant
SOP 3742: Psychology of Women
Florida State University Department of Psychology
Supervisor: Joyce Carbonell, Ph.D., instructor
Supervised Clinical Experience
August 2006-August 2007: Psychological Trainee
Southwestern State Hospital
Thomasville, Georgia
Supervisor: Leonard Bailey, Ph.D.
July 2006-August 2007: Psychological Trainee
Kristen L. Schmidt, Ph.D.
Tallahassee, Florida.
Supervisor: Kristen L. Schmidt, Ph.D.
August 2005-August 2007: Psychological Trainee
Florida State University Crisis Management Unit
Tallahassee, Florida
Supervisor: Joyce Carbonell, Ph.D.
October 2004-June 2006: Psychological Trainee
Panhandle Area Educational Consortium
Migrant Education Program, Quincy, Florida
Supervisor: Elena Reyes, Ph.D.
August 2003-April 2005: Psychological Trainee
Florida State University Psychology Clinic
Tallahassee, Florida
Supervisors: Thomas Joiner, Ph.D., Donald Kerr, Ph.D.
August 2003- August 2004: Psychological Trainee
State of Florida Department of Juvenile Justice
Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys
Specialized Treatment Program
Mariana, Florida
Supervisor: Teion Wells Harrison, Ph.D.
