CYNTHIA DSAUZA
TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY• MAIL STOP 1250 • LUBBOCK, TX 79409
PHONE 806-834-7335• E-MAIL CM.DSAUZA@TTU.EDU
CURRENT POSITION
September 2014- Present
Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
Assistant Professor, Addictive Disorders and Recovery Studies
ACADEMIC EXERIENCE
August 2010- August 2013
Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy
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Clinical interest in addiction, recovery, eating disorder, food addiction.
Research interest in addiction, recovery, eating disorders, food addiction and spirituality.
August 2008-August 2010
Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy
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Clinical interest in minority, immigrant and multiracial couples and families.
Research interest in Binge Eating disorder, eating disorder assessment and recovery.
August 2002-May 2006
Wesleyan College, Macon GA
B.A in Psychology, Cum Laude
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Interest in personality characteristics (competitiveness, perfectionism), their appraisal
as stressors and impact on undergraduate GPA.
CLINICAL EXPERIENCE
September 2012-June 2014
Lubbock, TX
TTU- Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery,
Group Facilitator
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Co-facilitate an eating disorder recovery support group for students belonging to
the Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery and from the community.
June 2012-August 2014
TTU/HSC-Employee Assistant Program, Lubbock, TX
Therapist
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Work with individuals, couples and families to assess, identify and treat
interpersonal issues. Concerns range from job issues and martial problems to
addiction and mood disorders. Responsibilities also include working with other
agencies and organizations (like physicians, mental healthcare providers, lawyers
and probation officers).
July 2010-May 2012
TTU-Family Therapy Clinic, Lubbock, TX
Clinical Intern
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Worked with individuals, couples and families to assess, identify and work towards
solutions to interpersonal problems. Responsibilities also included working with other
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CYNTHIA DSAUZA
TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY• MAIL STOP 1250 • LUBBOCK, TX 79409
PHONE 806-834-7335• E-MAIL CM.DSAUZA@TTU.EDU
agencies and organizations (like physicians, mental healthcare providers, lawyers and
probation officers) to make sure that clients got the best care possible.
Sept 2009-July 2010
Child Advocacy Center of the South Plains, Lubbock, TX
Clinical Intern
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Provided assessment and therapy for children who have experienced physical and
sexual abuse with the help of Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. In
addition, parents and guardians were also made to participate in the process and
included in therapy.
Jan 2009-Dec 2009
TTU-Family Therapy Clinic, Lubbock, TX
Clinical Intern
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Met with individuals, couples and families to identify, assess and find solutions to
interpersonal concerns.
Sep 2008-August 2009
TTU-Early Head Start, Lubbock, TX
Mental Health Specialist
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Provided mental health support to the children and parents who are part of TTUEarly Head Start program. Duties included observing children in the classrooms,
administering the ASQ-SE, meeting with parents to address behavioral or
relationship concerns and conducting psycho-educational workshops.
LICENSE AND CERTIFICATIONS
 HIPPA Privacy and Security Certified (2012)
 Twogether in Texas Pre-martial counselling Certified (2011)
 Associate’s License in Marriage and Family Therapy (2010)
 Trauma Focused CBT Certified (2009)
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
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Post-doctoral Research Associate, Dr. Kitty Harris, September 2013- August 2014. Worked with
Dr. Harris on establishing the Institute for Addiction Disorders and Recovery
Research at TTU. Worked on research projects looking at resilience, spirituality, food
addiction and addiction recovery in young adults.
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Recovery leadership, Adventure and Wellness Program, Todd Maison, September 2013- Present.
Worked with Todd Maison on establishing the Recovery leadership, Adventure and
Wellness Program at TTU. Created online longitudinal assessment of pilot course and
assisted in course development.
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Doctoral Dissertation, Dr. Doug Smith (Chair), September 2012- June 2013. Doctoral
dissertation was on the effect of personal history of addiction, family functioning and
gender on binge eating behaviors and food addiction. Study found that men and
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CYNTHIA DSAUZA
TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY• MAIL STOP 1250 • LUBBOCK, TX 79409
PHONE 806-834-7335• E-MAIL CM.DSAUZA@TTU.EDU
women are significantly different in terms of eating behaviors and the variables that
impact this.
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Apprentice Reviewer, Journal of Marriage and Family Therapy, Fall 2012. Nominated by a
faculty member as an apprentice reviewer to JMFT. Reviewed articles submitted to
the Journal of Marriage and Family Therapy on eating disorders and couples.
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7000 Project (Doctoral), Dr. Anne Prouty (Chair), September 2011- August 2012. Doctoral
research project examined the usefulness of the EAT-26 in a college sample of men
and women. Study also looked at the prevalence of binge behaviors in this population.
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Replication Project, Dr. Kitty Harris, Fall 2010- Summer 2013. Assisted with refining
project’s code book, IRB documents and project survey. Additionally, traveled to
replication partner colleges for data collection. Worked with a team to enter collected
data from Texas Tech and five other universities. Helped with data analysis for the
purposes of presentations, grants and publications.
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7000 Project (Masters), Dr. Sara Smock (Chair), September 2009- December 2009. Masters
research project examined the literature relating to collegiate recovery communities
and their effectiveness in terms of long term recovery.
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Replication Project, Dr. Sara Smock, July 2009- July 2010. Assisted with refining project’s
code book and IRB documents. Kept in contact with the participating colleges from
around the US in reference to project and its status.
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Relational Violence Project, Dr. Gunnur Karakurt, Spring 2009. Assisted in organizing the
first wave of the project with Dr. Karakurt and her assistant.
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Food Intake project, Dr. Stephanie Plunkett, Spring 2005. Assisted with administering the test
to participants over a period of 2 months. Data was then coded and entered for
analysis.
TEACHING AND PRESENTATION EXPERIENCE
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Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Annual Conference, Spring 2015. Presented current
research on the development and treatment of food addiction.
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TTU Obesity Research Cluster Seminar, Spring 2015. Presented the case for why Food
Addiction could be considered an “addictive disorder” in its own right.
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TTU Family Therapy Symposium, Spring 2015. Introduced the topic of Food Addiction,
including a discussion on the research evidence and the treatment options available.
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CYNTHIA DSAUZA
TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY• MAIL STOP 1250 • LUBBOCK, TX 79409
PHONE 806-834-7335• E-MAIL CM.DSAUZA@TTU.EDU
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Introduction to Eating Disorders, Texas Tech University, Summer 2014. Taught an
undergraduate, introductory course on a variety of disordered eating behaviors,
including Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa, Obesity, Food Addiction, Night Eating
Syndrome and Body Image Disturbance.
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Poster Presentation, American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, Fall 2010.
Presented a poster on that examined binge eating behaviors in the college population.
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Diversity Presentation, Dr. Nicole Springer, Fall 2010. Talked to Dr. Springer’s class about
mental health in other cultures and the issues that arise when working with people
who of a different cultural background as the practitioner.
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Research Presentation, with Dr. Sara Smock, Texas Tech University , Spring 2010. Presented
original research done as part of the Replication project at the CSAR Annual
Conference on Students in Recovery.
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Poster Presentation, Texas Tech Graduate Student Poster Competition, Spring 2009. Presented a
poster on the comparison of presenting problems between Caucasian and Hispanic
clients at the TTU-MFT Clinic.
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Diversity Presentation, Texas Tech University, Fall 2009. Talked to Dr. Sara Smock’s class
about working as a therapist in culturally diverse settings.
PUBLICATIONS

Dsauza, C., Morris, N., Smith, D., Harris, K.S., Prouty, A., Linville, D. (in review).
Differences between clinical and sub-clinical diagnosis of food addiction in a
community sample of men and women. Eating Behaviors.
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Walker, S., Dsauza, C., Kimball, T. and Harris, K. S. (in review). Students in Recovery:
The Effects of Age on Well-being in a Collegiate Recovery Community. Alcoholism
Treatment Quarterly.
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Dempsey, J. P., Harris, K., Shumway, S., Kimball, T., Herrera, J. C., Dsauza, C.,
Bradshaw, S. (in review). Resilience and Prefrontal Cortex Activation to Cues during
Addiction Recovery. Journal of Alcohol and Drug Dependence.
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Harris, K. S., Dempsey, J. P., Hayes, N. D., Dsauza, C., Stapp-Smith, A., Wilkes, M. T.,
and Downs, A. B. (in rewview). Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy as a Potential
Biological Assessment of Addiction Recovery: Preliminary Findings. The American
Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 41(1), 8.
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CYNTHIA DSAUZA
TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY• MAIL STOP 1250 • LUBBOCK, TX 79409
PHONE 806-834-7335• E-MAIL CM.DSAUZA@TTU.EDU
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Smock, S. A., Baker, A. K., Harris, K. S., & D'Sauza, C. (2011). The role of social
support in collegiate recovery communities: A review of the literature. Alcoholism
Treatment Quarterly, 29(1), 35-44.
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D'Sauza, C. (2010). A Review of “Intercultural Couples: Exploring Diversity in Intimate
Relationships”. Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, 9(1), 85-86. doi:
10.1080/15332690903473101
GRANTS SUBMITTED
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TTU Obesity Research Cluster Grant (2015)
TTU Faculty Development Grant (2014)
SPECIAL SKILLS
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Fluent in English and Urdu (written, reading and spoken)
Computer proficiency in Windows, Office, Medical Manager, SPSS, AMOS
Experience in survey development and data collection through Qualtrics
Trained in grant proposal management in CAYUSE
AWARDS RECEIVED
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TTU Excellence in Health Scholar (2012-2013)
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TTU Substance Abuse Services Scholar (2011-2013)
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CJ Davidson Human Sciences Scholar (2011-1012)
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TTU Broyles HS Scholarship (2010-2011)
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Faculty Representative of the TTU MFT Students’ Association
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Texas Tech MFT Scholarship (2009-2010)
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Texas Tech University Helen DeVitt Jones Scholar (2008-2010)
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Texas Tech University Dunn and Diekemper Scholar (2008-2009)
RESEARCH INTERESTS
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Addictions and recovery in emerging adults.
Spirituality and its impact on resilience in recovery from addictions.
Eating Disorders and long term recovery from these conditions.
Treatment of Binge Eating Disorder and Food Addiction.
The role of holistic wellness in recovery maintenance.
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CYNTHIA DSAUZA
TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY• MAIL STOP 1250 • LUBBOCK, TX 79409
PHONE 806-834-7335• E-MAIL CM.DSAUZA@TTU.EDU
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