Early Career Specialists

• Tell us about your current professional roles and activities. 

My current professional role includes providing clinical care within primary care, two specialty geriatrics clinics, and my own private practice (kubepsychologicalservices.com). I specialize in care at the intersection of health and aging, helping older adults and their family members adjust to health changes in later life. I also coordinate a series of consultation groups for clinicians working with older adults. 

• What do you enjoy most about your job? 

I enjoy providing clinical supervision and helping trainees grow their interest and confidence in working with other adults. 

• What inspired you to get board certified? 

I was inspired to seek board certification by my graduate school advisor/dissertation chair. Overall, seeking board certification was a testament to my commitment to learning and excellence within geropsychology.  

• How has board certification contributed to your professional activities? 

Board certification has given me an opportunity to get more involved in my specialty board and build strong professional connections within geropsychology. I serve as the Board of Trustee representative and President-elect for my specialty board. Additionally, I serve on the ABGERO credentials committee, consultation committee, and MOC committee. 

• What advice would you give to psychologists or trainees interested in pursuing board certification? 

I know the process can seem daunting, but I recommend that you get started as soon as possible. This could mean submitting your general application or reaching out to your specialty board to ask for guidance or mentorship. I found the process to be supportive and collegial. Looking back, I wish I had gotten out of my own head and started sooner! 

• What are some goals that you are currently working toward? 

I’m passionate about supporting post-licensure clinicians to feel more confident and competent to work with older adults. As the landscape of those seeking mental health services grays, it’s extremely important to have clinicians with awareness of later life conditions and the expertise to treat them. Over the past several years, a group of geropsychology colleagues and I have been developing a series of consultation groups for clinicians wishing to expand their skills in working with older adults. These groups are open to master and doctoral level clinicians, although one group is specifically designed to support psychologists interested in board certification who do not meet the supervised training aspect of our specialty board requirements. You can learn more about these consultation groups by emailing me directly or by visiting https://copgtp.org/consultation/ or https://abgero.org/.