Charles R. Carlson PhD

Dr. Charles R Carlson, Ph.D., ABPP, obtained his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Vanderbilt University in 1983. He completed a residency in behavioral medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 1984 and began his academic career as an assistant professor of psychology at Wheaton College. He established a program of clinical research at Wheaton that involved undergraduate and graduate student collaborators in the study of self-regulation strategies for persons experiencing chronic muscle tension and anxiety. In 1988, he moved to the Department of Psychology at the University of Kentucky where he is the Robert H. and Anna B. Culton Professor of Psychology and Dentistry.

He is currently serving as chair of the Psychology Department and also as the Director of Behavioral Medicine and Research at the Orofacial Pain Center in the University's College of Dentistry. Dr Carlson has been awarded the diplomate in clinical health psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology and the Navy's Civism Award in 2001. His research and clinical interests over the past 25 years have focused on the management of pain and anxiety disorders. He has published extensively with his graduate students in psychology and dentistry during this period, with articles appearing in journals such as Pain, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, and Journal of Orofacial Pain. His active research projects are primarily focused towards exploring the role of self-regulation strategies for the long-term management of chronic pain in the head and neck regions. Recently, however, he has extended his research on self-regulation to examine the roles of religiosity and spirituality in young adults sexuality and substance use.