Meet Dr. Ryan Landoll, PhD, ABPP, a dual board-certified Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychologist at the U.S. Department of Defense.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences or the Department of Defense.
Ryan R. Landoll, PhD, ABPP
Board Certified in Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology and Clinical Psychology
Correspondence: ryan.landoll@usuhs.edu
- Tell us about your current professional roles and your career working with children and families as a psychologist with the Department of Defense (DOD):
I have worked with children and families in the DoD since my internship at the Malcolm Grow Medical Clinic, Joint Base Andrews in 2011. I interacted with military-connected youth through our Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) program, formerly called “BHOP” (for Behavioral Health Optimization Program) in the Air Force. At my first military assignment after internship, I created a PCBH program in pediatrics at Shaw Air Force Base, which allowed military families in Sumter, SC to access care locally when the closest child psychology services were over an hour away. I have continued to work in primary care settings throughout my career and now also conduct research with military families in my current role as the Assistant Dean for Preclinical Sciences in the Office for Student Affairs and an Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. I am also an officer in the Air Force Reserve, where I serve as the IMA to the Mental Health Consultant to the Surgeon General, advising Air Force Reserve Command on mental health policy.
- What did you find most meaningful or fulfilling in your service as a Department of Defense (DOD) psychologist in public service?
At the end of the day, it is always inspiring to serve those who have chosen a life of service to our country. Military “brats” are some of the kindest and most resilient children I have ever met and many of them carry that same sense of service as their parents, even though they were not the ones who made the decision to serve. Additionally, as a service member myself, it is incredibly gratifying to give back directly to the community that has taken care of me and my children.
- What would you like other psychologists to understand about your past and current professional roles and how they have fostered your growth as a professional?
I always tell folks that I trained at the University of Miami to be a child-focused academic scholar – and then joined the Air Force for internship and spent ten years on active duty primarily working in a clinical role with adults. What this taught me is the value of working across the incredible diversity of our scope of practice. I’ve gotten to deploy to Afghanistan as a SERE psychologist, which is someone who works with folks who have been held in captivity – and an opportunity I never imagined I would have but has shaped tremendously how I approach my clinical practice. So in the end, I enjoy being able to see the parallels across different parts of our field – how my clinical practice is shaped by my research training, and how that practice helps me ask better research questions. I enjoy how the socioecological model helps us understand how a child fits within the various systems of family and school and peers, who are in turn influenced by their own systems; and how this same systems thinking can help us understand a service members experience in the context of their unit, commander, and the broader military community. I encourage other psychologists to remember that at the core, our degree is teaching us to “think like a scientist” and to look for the parallels across as many different experiences as you can gather.
Another thing that my work in the DoD has taught me that I hope other psychologists will embrace is the incredible power and resilience of the human spirit. My daughter would talk about attending 3 different pre-K programs before she was 5, or my son will talk about how I deployed right after his 2nd birthday. When folks hear about all the challenges service members and their families face, it can be easy to feel like it is so tough and want to provide sympathy. Don’t get me wrong – our military families face trauma and need compassionate care. And at the same time, it is so important for them to be seen as the strong, resilient and powerful kids they are!
- What advice do you have for other DOD psychologists who may be interested in seeking board certification through ABPP?
One of my favorite things about the board certification process is how much it encourages self-reflection and the value of peer supervision. It can be really easy in the DoD to be pushed into positions of leadership early in your career and can be hard to advocate for the additional post-license supervision requirements for board certification. However, it is incredibly worth it and can result in some unique and amazing opportunities for continued mentorship. I also would encourage you to be willing to advocate for yourself and to ask for help. In order for me to meet the post-doctoral requirements for my second board certification in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, I had to ask colleagues of mine to do supervision after I had been licensed for over 5 years. It can feel scary to be back in a supervised role after all that time, but it was such a meaningful and valuable experience. We ask our patients to have a growth mindset and to show cognitive flexibility – we can benefit from practicing the same with humility. I love to be reminded that I can always learn and grow and the board certification process has been some of the best growth experiences in my career!