Clinical Assessment Core
The Clinical Assessment Core provides expert consultation on clinical assessment, supplies trained diagnosticians/evaluators to conduct clinical assessments in Center studies, and oversees the PMHARC Cohort in providing a comprehensive database of HIV and mental health risk factors.
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Core Personnel
Core Director: Mary Beth Connolly Gibbons, PhD
Dr. Gibbons is the director of the Center for Psychotherapy Research at Penn. Dr. Gibbons has a program of research focused on developing interventions for depression to meet the needs of community settings. Her program includes adapting evidence-based psychotherapies to meet the needs of community stakeholders, evaluating the comparative effectiveness and mechanisms of change of evidence-based psychotherapies in community settings, and developing and evaluating performance improvement interventions to improve outcomes in the community. Central to this program of research has been the development of pragmatic assessments to evaluate symptoms, treatment mechanisms, barriers to services, and fidelity.
Co-Director: J. Cobb Scott, PhD
Dr. J. Cobb Scott completed a B.A. in Psychology at Wesleyan University, a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with specialization in Neuropsychology at the San Diego State University/ University of California, San Diego Doctoral Program, and clinical internship at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. Dr. Scott joined the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry in 2013. Broadly, his research interests include the cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology of psychiatric disorders and substance use. More specifically, Dr. Scott is interested in characterizing dysfunctional neurocircuitry in PTSD; understanding the brain-behavior overlap between PTSD and substance use; understanding relationships between cannabis use, cognitive functioning, and mental health, and examining the relationship between neuropsychological and everyday functioning outcomes, such as treatment response, in psychiatric disorders.
Co-Investigator: Paul Crits-Christoph,PhD
Dr. Crits-Christoph has served as director of the Center for Psychotherapy Research at Penn for the past 22 years and has held continuous NIMH funding since 1985. He also served as the Director of the PMHARC Clinical Assessment Core from 2013-2021. In addition to his current work in community based studies of major depressive disorder, he has been involved in as a site PI on large scale multicenter HIV risk reduction trials in the NIDA Clinical Trials Network. He is also co-director of a Scientific Working Group on Addictions and HIV within the Penn Center for AIDS Research. In addition, Dr. Crits-Christoph has been involved in the development of numerous scales for psychiatric research, including scales for the assessment of manic and depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, interpersonal problems/themes, and scales for measuring treatment process and outcome, such as measures of the therapeutic alliance and treatment fidelity measures.
Research Coordinator: Yaz Liow, BS
Yaz has served as a Research Coordinator for PMHARC Core C since June 2025. They graduated from Yale University in 2025 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Comparative Literature with a certificate in Education Studies. Previously, Yaz worked as a research coordinator at the Emotion, Health, and Psychophysiology lab, where they conducted research in social psychophysiology, the collective experience of awe, and the effects of social stigma on physical and mental health.
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Our Services
The Clinical Assessment Core provides expert consultation on the assessment of mental health risk factors, neuropsychiatric assessment, and HIV risk factors. All pilot study PIs are invited to reach out to the Clinical Assessment Core and request meetings to discuss assessment strategies for investigations. Drs. Gibbons and Crits-Christoph provide expert consultation on mental health diagnostic assessments and assessments of mental health and HIV risk factors. Dr. Cobb Scott is available to provide expert consultation on neuropsychiatric assessment.
In addition, the Clinical Assessment Core trains and supervises diagnosticians to conduct all interview-based psychiatric assessments (e.g., Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-V, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression) for the pilot studies and other NIH funded studies affiliated with the Center. The diagnosticians meet monthly with a diagnostic supervisor to review previous cases thus ensuring proficiency of clinical assessment conduct. Some of the clinical assessments the diagnosticians are trained in include:
1. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5). This is a semi-structured clinical interview for DSM-5 diagnoses. Use of this clinical assessment has been frequently used to determine eligibility for participation in a study.
2. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D). This is a widely known a clinician-administered assessment scale for depression.
3. Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). This clinician-administered scale is to determine the presence of suicidality and suicidal intent.
4. Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) Training. This clinician-administered scale is considered the “gold standard” for assessing psychotic symptoms for schizophrenia and other disorders.
The Clinical Assessment Core oversees a core battery that we encourage all pilot investigators to implement when possible. The goal of administering the same measures across pilot studies is to eventually build a pooled database of core measures containing substantially larger sample sizes than individual studies. This larger database will allow Center investigators to generate broader questions for exploratory analyses regarding the interactions of mental health and HIV status. The core battery includes the following self-report measures:
1. Risk Assessment Battery (RAB). This is a self-report questionnaire designed to assess high-risk behaviors associated with HIV transmission. The measure yields two scores: Drug Risk Behavior (e.g. sharing needles, IV drug use) and Sex Risk Behavior (e.g., exchanging sex for drugs, unprotected sexual activity).
2. The Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale (BASIS-24). This is a 24 item self-report inventory designed to measure mental health status from the patient’s point of view. The items cover 6 domains including: depression/functioning, interpersonal relationships, psychotic symptoms, alcohol/drug use, and emotional lability.
3. PROMIS Item Bank v1.0 – Emotional Distress – Depression – Short Form 8a. This 8-item short-form measure assesses self-reported negative mood (sadness, guilt), views of self (self-criticism, worthlessness), and social cognition (loneliness, interpersonal alienation), as well as decreased positive affect and engagement (loss of interest, meaning, and purpose).
4. PROMIS Ability to Participate in Social Roles and Activities Short-Form 8a. This 8-item form assesses one’s perception of their ability to engage in their normal social roles and activities.
5. The Accountable Health Communities Health-Related Social Needs Scale (AHC-HRSN). This is a 10-item self-report inventory developed by a team at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to assess social determinants of health including living situation, food insecurity, transportation needs, utility needs, and interpersonal safety.
The PMHARC Cohort
The Clinical Assessment Core oversees the PMHARC cohort which follows individuals living with HIV to assess a broad range of mental health and HIV risk factors. Participants in the cohort participate in an extensive assessment yearly that includes a mental health diagnostic assessment, a self-report battery of mental health and HIV risk factors, a cognitive neuropsychiatric assessment, and a blood draw for evaluation of biomarkers.
The PMHARC Cohort was launched in late 2024 and aims to engage 2 new participants per month. Pilot investigators can consider analyses using existing data to explore preliminary research questions of interest. In addition, investigators may consider working with the Cohort Investigative team to recruit new participants into the PMHARC Cohort and pilot investigations simultaneously to enrich pilot study assessment potential.
For Investigators, Click here to see the PMHARC Cohort Data Dictionary.
For Potential Participants, Click here to evaluate whether you are eligible for the PMHARC Cohort and to register for participation.
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For More Information
To learn more about our current treatment programs, research protocols, or to ask specific questions about the Core, please call us at 215-349-5222 or contact us via email:
Mary Beth Connolly Gibbons, PhD: gibbonsm@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Yaz Liow, BS: yaz.liow@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
J. Cobb Scott, PhD: scott1@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
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