Dr. Tamina Toray Professor of Psychology

Office: Todd 318 Phone: (503) 838-8712 Fax: (503)838-8618 E-mail address: torayt@wou.edu

POSITION:

Professor, Psychology Division
    Western Oregon University
    Monmouth , OR 97361
    (503) 838-8712
    e-mail: torayt@wou.edu         

          
   Affiliate Faculty, Colorado State University

   College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences

EDUCATION:

    1992     Ph.D.   Oregon State University, Family Studies                      
                Title of dissertation:  "The Relationship Between Adolescent
                 Substance Abuse, Personality, and Gender: A Study of
                 Residential Treatment."

    1982   M.A.    Northeast Missouri State University, Counseling (Truman State University)             

    1980   B.S.    Colorado State University, Human Development and Family Studies Minor: Criminal Justice

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

The impact of loss and grief across the lifespan, adolescents and adults, the human/animal bond, stress and coping and eating  disordered behaviors in young adults.

EMPLOYMENT BACKGROUND:

1992- Present: Professor, Psychology Division, Western Oregon University .

July 2001- July 2002: Director, Family Support Service Argus Institute for Families and Veterinary Medicine Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital

COURSES TAUGHT:

1988-Spring 1992:  Instructor, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, Oregon State University, and Instructor, Western Oregon University.

1988-1989:  Research Assistant, Parent Caring Project, Oregon State University

Responsibilities included: collecting and coding data from face to face and telephone interviews.

 

1986-1988:    Therapist, Santa Maria Youth and Family Center , Santa Maria , CA .

Responsibilities: Created and implemented an Affective Education program at Adam Elementary School. Provided individual and family therapy to clients at Youth and Family Center.  Co-facilitated a parent support group and a group for sexually abused boys aged 7-10.

 

1986-1987:     Instructor: Allan Hancock Community College , Santa Maria , CA .

 
          1985-1986:     Therapist, Osteopathic Clinic, Wichita, Kansas.

Responsibilites:  Provided short term out-patient therapy to clients referred by staff physicians using  individual, marital and family therapy modalities for treatment; presentation of monthly workshops on  various mental health topics including: Stress Management, Improving Communication Skills, and Health and Wellness; co-facilitated grief and loss support groups.  

1986-1987:     Instructor: Allan Hancock Community College , Santa Maria , CA .

 
1985-1986:     Therapist, Osteopathic Clinic, Wichita, Kansas.

Responsibilites:  Provided short term out-patient therapy to clients referred by staff physicians using  individual, marital and family   therapy modalities for treatment; presentation of monthly workshops on  various mental health topics including: Stress Management, Improving                     Communication Skills, and Health and Wellness; co-facilitated grief and loss support groups.  

1981-1983:       Assistant Director of Testing Services, Northeast Missouri State University .

Responsibilities: Coordination and implementation of the university-wide testing program including freshman, sophomore, and senior students to determine the value of undergraduate education; planned yearly budget; provided supervision of student interns; evaluated test data; provided counseling services to students including academic, career and personal issues; served as a member of the Academic Standards Committee. 

MANUSCRIPTS PUBLISHED:

Cooley, E. & Toray, T. & Roscoe, L.  (2010) Reactions to Loss Scale: Assessing Grief in College Students OMEGA--Journal of Death and Dying , 61, 25 – 51.

Cooley, E. & Toray, T, Wang, M.C., & Valdez, N.N. (2008). Maternal effects on daughters’ eating pathology and body image.  Eating Behaviors, 9, 52-61.

Cooley, E., Toray, T., Valdez, N. & Tee, M. (2007). Risk factors for maladaptive eating patterns in college women.  Eating and Weight Disorders, 12, 132-140.

Toray, T. (2004). The Human-Animal Bond and Loss. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 26,  244-259.
 
Cooley, E. & Toray, T.  Body Image and Personality Predictors of Eating Disorder Symptoms During the College Years (2001). International Journal of Eating Disorders, 30 ,48-56.
 
Toray, T. & Cooley, E. (2001).  Disordered Eating in Freshman Women: A prospective study.
Journal of College Health, 44, 229-235.
 
Toray, T. & Cooley, E. (1998). Coping in College Students: The Value of Experience. Journal of College Student Development, 39, 291-295.
 
Toray, T. & Cooley, E. (1997).  Bulimic Symptoms and Self-Efficacy in Weight Fluctuations.  The Journal of Psychology, 31, 383-394.
 
Moran, P., Davies, M. & Toray, T. (1994). Behavioral, emotional, and psychological outcomes among adolescents in a drug treatment program: A comparison of maltreated and non-maltreated youth.  Journal of Child and Adolescent Drug Use, 4, 17-34.
 
Toray, T., Coughlin, C., Vuchinich, S., & Patricelli, P., (1991). Gender differences associated with adolescent substance abuse: Comparisons and implications for treatment. Family Relations, 40, 338-344.

BOOK  CHAPTERS PUBLISHED:

Toray T., Children's Bereavement Over the Deaths of Pets (2010) in Corr, C.A. and Balk, D.E. Children's Encounters with Death, Bereavement, and Coping. New York: Springer Publishing.

“Children’s Friendships and the Death of a Friend”, in Corr’s & Corr’s, 1996 edition of
 Helping Children cope with death and bereavement , New York: Springer Publisher.

 "Interpersonal Communication" in Donatelle, Davis and Hoover's, 1994, 3rd edition of Access to Health, Harper Collins Publisher.

BOOKS  & MANUSCRIPTS REVIEWED:

          Family Therapists and Veterinary Professionals: Opportunities for Collaboration, in Journal of Marriage and Family Therapy.

          Papalia and Olds, Human Development, 7th edition, McGraw-Hill Publishers.
 
          Berger’s, The Developing Person, 4th edition, Worth Publishers.

MANUSCRIPTS IN PROGRESS:

Cooley, E., Toray, T., Roscoe, L., & McMahan, E., Restrspective Study of Student Bereavement: RTL Validation.

Toray, T. & Cooley, E. College student loss: An investigation of the influence of mental health factors on college student retention.

Toray, T. & Cooley, E. Complicated grief in a university setting: The influence of perfectionism, impulsivity, depression and type of loss.

INVITED TALKS AND PLENARY PRESENTATIONS:

November 2011. How to Cope with Loss During the Holidays. Willamette Hospice, Salem, OR.

November, 2006. Pet Remembrance Ceremony: Laurelhurst Veterinary Clinic and Dignified Pet Services of Portland .

September, 2006. Personality: Understanding Self and Working with Others. Lecture to the incoming cohort of veterinary students, Oregon State University, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Corvallis, Oregon.

October, 2006. Coping with Loss: Working in Long-term Care Facilities. Presentation at Oregon Health Care Association’s annual conference. Portland, Oregon

May, 2006. Clinical Communication Skills: Application to Veterinary Medicine. Two lectures presented to the junior Veterinary class, Oregon State University, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Corvallis, Oregon, Fall, 2005.

May, 2005. The human-animal bond: Clinical Communications Skills. Talk presented at Small Animal Rounds, Oregon State University, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Corvallis, Oregon.

March, 2004. The human-animal bond and loss. Talk presented at Small Animal Rounds, Oregon State University, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Corvallis, Oregon.

April, 2004, Complicated grief in a university setting. Poster presented at Western Psychological Association, Phoenix, Arizona.

January, 2003. College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins Colorado, Fort Collins, Colorado.  Invited Speaker, Practice Management Course: Stress and coping in veterinary medicine.

December, 2003. Coping with pet loss. Talk sponsored by Laurelhurst Veterinary Hospital, Portland, Oregon.

January, 2003. Hospice Day of Remembrance. Corvallis, Oregon.

Fall, 2003. Working with older adults: Issues of grief and loss. Presented to the staff at Terwilliger Plaza , Portland Oregon .

February, 2003. Western Veterinary Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada. Plenary Speaker: Clinical communication skill training.

 
December, 2002.  Family present euthanasia. Invited presentation by the Portland Veterinary Association, Portland, Oregon

February, 2002. Tufts University College of Veterinary Medicine Annual Conference on Euthanasia, Grafton, Mass. Plenary speaker: A Bond-Centered Approach to End-of-Life Issues in Veterinary Medicine.

March, 2002. College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins Colorado.  Invited Speaker: Grief Support Techniques in a Bond-Centered Practice.

May, 2002. Plenary Speaker: 20^th International Conference on Death and Bereavement, Kings College, Ontario Canada. Adolescent Grief and Loss: The impact of the Internet. 

September, 2001. Colorado Veterinary Association’s Annual Meeting, Steamboat Springs Colorado.  Invited speaker: Burnout in Veterinary Medicine.

September, 1999.  Invited guest at the annual International Work Group on Death, Dying and Grief.   Boulder Colorado, September, 1999.  Meeting resulted in a shared international research project on  the topic of university student bereavement in conjunction with faculty from Colorado State University and the University of Sydney.

April 16-19th, 1998.  Presented the “Last Lecture” sponsored by the Council of Teachers of  Undergraduate Psychology (CTUP). Joint Conference of the Western Psychological Association and Rocky Mountain Psychological Association’s meeting, Albuquerque, N.M.

PAPERS PRESENTED AT PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS:

Cooley, E. & Toray, T. Tee, M. & Valdez, N. (2006).  Risk Factors for Maladaptive Eating Patterns in Early College Years. Poster presented at Western Psychological Association, Palm Springs , CA .

Toray, T.,Cooley, E., Hall, B., Pannas, E. (2006). Coping with Loss: The Reaction to Loss Scale.

Poster presented at Western Psychological Association, Palm Springs, CA.

Cooley, E. & Toray, Coleman, T., Druliner, E., Sanchez, L.  (2006). Attachment Styles and Eating Pathology as Predictors of Depression. Poster presented at Western Psychological Association, Palm Springs, CA.

Esposito, L., Terris, E., Pannas, E., & Parson, S. (2005). Adaptive and maladaptive responses to losses in college freshmen.  Paper presented at Oregon Academy of Sciences, February 24, Corvallis, OR.

Hall, B., Jasper, E., & Hickman, D. (2005) Mental health, loss and academic outcomes for college freshmen. Paper presented at Oregon Academy of Sciences, February 24, Corvallis, OR.

Terris, E., Esposito, L., Hall, B., Jasper, E., Toray, T., & Cooley, E.  (2005). An investigation of complicated grief in a college population.  Presented at the Association of Death Education and Counseling, April 1, Albuquerque, NM

Jasper, E., Hall .B.  Tomlin, S., Pannas, E., Terris, B., Cooley,E., & Toray, T.  (2005)  Predicting depression in college freshmen: Which models work? Poster presented at Western Psychological Association, April 15, Portland, OR

Hall, B., Jasper, E., Esposito, L., Hickman, D., Toray, T., & Cooley, E.  (2005). Mental health, loss and academic outcomes for college freshmen.  Poster presented at Western Psychological Association, April 15, Portland, OR

Terris, E., Esposito, L., Pannas, E., Tomlin, S., Hickman, D.,Toray, T., & Cooley, E. (2005). Grief and Loss Responses During the Freshmen Year.  Poster presented at Western Psychological Association, April 16, Portland, OR

Jasper, E., Hall, B., Esposito, L., & Cooley, E. (2004)  Impulsivity, attachment styles and disordered eating in college women.  Paper presented at Oregon Academy of Sciences, February 28, Portland,         OR

Pannas, E., Terris, E. & Toray, T. (2004) An investigation of complicated grief in college females. Paper presented at Oregon Academy of Sciences, February 28, Portland, OR

Cooley, E., Toray, T, Esposito, L., Friesen, L., Jasper, E., & Hall, B. (2004).  Impulsivity, attachment  styles and disordered eating in college women.  Poster presented at Western Psychological Association, Phoenix, AZ, April 22.

Cooley, E., Toray, T, Esposito, L., Jasper, E., Hall, B., Pannas, E., & Terris, E. (2004). Attachment styles, impulsivity and the interpersonal model of depression.   Poster presented at Western Psychological Association, Phoenix, AZ, April 23.

Toray, T, Cooley, E., Jasper, E., Terris, E., Perry, T., & Pannas, E. (2004).  An investigation of complicated grief in college females.  Poster presented at Western Psychological Association, Phoenix, AZ, April 22.

Toray, T & Turner, J. (2001). College student loss: An international study of bereavement. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Oregon Academy of Sciences, University of Portland, Eugene OR.

Toray, T. & Cooley E. (2000).  Coping Behaviors and Eating Pathology: A 3-Year Longitudinal Study. Presented at Western Psychological Association 80^th Annual Convention. Portland State University, Portland, Oregon.

Toray, T. & Cooley, E.  (1998). Eating as Coping Behavior: Scale Development.   Presented at the 78th Annual joint Conference of the Western Psychological Association and Rocky Mountain Psychological Association’s meeting, Albuquerque, N.M.

Toray, T.  April 24-27, 1997.  A preliminary evaluation of “Children Cope with Divorce” seminar. Presented at the 77th Annual Convention of the Western Psychological Association, Seattle, W.A.

Toray, T. & Cooley, E. (1997) Disordered eating in college women: Development in the freshman year.  Presented at the 77th Annual Convention of the Western Psychological Association, Seattle, W.A.

Toray, T. & Cooley, E. (1996).  Avoidance-Based Exercise and Maladaptive Eating and Dieting  Patterns. Presented at the 11th Annual meeting of the American Academy of Sports Psychologists in   Willamsburg, Virginia.

Toray, T. (1996).  Coping Styles and Class Standing in a College Population. Presented at the 76th annual Western Psychological Association Meeting, San Jose, California.

Toray, T. & Cooley, E., April, 1996.  Eating as Emotion-Focused Coping: Assessing Individual  Differences. Presented at the 76th annual Western Psychological Association Meeting, San Jose,   California.

Toray, T. October, 1995. Bulimic Symptoms and Self-Efficacy in Weight Fluctuations. Presented at the 123rd American Public Health Association Meeting in San Diego, CA.

Toray, T. & Cooley, E.  (1994).  Self-schemas, emotional awareness and self-efficacy in weight fluctuators. Presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Sports Psychologists (A.A.S.P.) in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

Toray, T.  (1994).  Weight fluctuation and self-efficacy in a college population.  Presented at the 52nd annual meeting of the Oregon Academy of Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR.

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS:

Association of Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) 

          Western Psychological Society (WPA)

          Oregon Academy of Sciences (OAS)

NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETIES:

Phi Kappa Phi

TEACHING AWARDS & HONORS:

• Recipient of the Oregon Academy of Science 2007 Award for Outstanding Teacher at the University Level
  
• Who’s Who in Death Dying, Suicide and Bereavement Community (Awarded by King’s College Centre for Education about Death and Bereavement)
• 2000-2004 Nominated Teacher of the Year Award, Western Oregon University.
• 1998-2000 Nominated “Convocation Speaker” by the Senior Class, Western Oregon University.
• Initiated into Phi Kappa Phi national honor society.
• Oregon State University, received the Herbert F. Frolander award for the University's Most  Outstanding Teaching Assistant.
• Colorado State University, received the "Most Valuable Teacher” awarded by the College of Human Resource Sciences.

 

COMMUNITY SERVICE::

Developed and implement workshops and seminars on various topics in psychology including; grief  and loss, communication skills, human/animal bond and end-of-life concerns, normative adolescent development, adolescent risk behaviors, suicide prevention, health and wellness, human sexuality, and parent education.

• Board of Directors, and officer Benton Hospice- 2002-to present.

• Member Ethics Committee  and Palliative Care Committee Benton Hospice
• Adviser, Center for Grieving Children, Corvallis Oregon.
• Association for Death Education and Counseling:  Service on Test Committee and Re-certification Committee.