Dr. Thomas is a licensed clinical psychologist who has promoted health and wellness throughout her career by combining teaching, clinical practice, research, consultation and administrative responsibilities in a variety of settings, including academic departments, a medical center, EAP, college counseling center and private practice settings. Her interests are in clinical health psychology, positive psychology, and mindfulness-based interventions. Current research interests include the psychosocial correlates of obesity, particularly in African Americans, and the relationships between psychosocial variables and bariatric surgery outcomes in a diverse patient sample. Dr. Thomas maintains a private practice where she conducts pre-surgical psychological evaluations of candidates for bariatric surgery, engages in consultation with surgeons and medical staff, and provides individual psychotherapy. She has also provided numerous health and wellness-related presentations to community-based and professional groups. Dr. Thomas is committed to developing a clinical psychology doctoral program at the Washington, D.C. Campus where students are excited about being in the program and faculty are excited about their role in training the next cadre of psychologists.
Dr. Thomas enjoys sharing the intellectually stimulating field of psychology with others and encouraging learners to perform to their fullest potential. In teaching, she includes the application of psychological principles to real world contexts and to working with culturally diverse and underserved populations. She is committed to the training of future psychologists who approach all areas of practice well-grounded in theory and research; who have well-developed multicultural competence; and who have excellent critical thinking, writing and oral communication skills.