Jenna Tomei

Class of 2009: B.A. in Psychology with Minor in Psychology and Law

Where have you worked and/or studied since you graduated from USC?

After graduating from USC, I attended California State University, Fullerton and received a Master of Science degree in Clinical Psychology. During my master’s program, I worked at a clinical and forensic neuropsychology private practice, Armando de Armas, Ph.D., Inc. I also worked as a marriage and family therapist trainee at Helpline Youth Counseling. As a therapist trainee, I provided therapeutic services to youth and families where child abuse had occurred. After receiving my masters, I was accepted into the doctoral program at Sam Houston State University in Texas, where I am currently working towards my Ph.D. in clinical psychology, with an emphasis in forensics. As part of the program, I am working for the Psychological Services Center, a community clinic where I conduct therapy, forensic assessments for the courts, and assessments for disability services. I also work in several research labs with a focus on diversity and the law, trial consultation, competence to stand trial, and mental health and physical activity. I have also had the opportunity to work as a trial consultant in Houston within the civil law arena.

What was the most beneficial thing you did as a student at USC to prepare you for post-graduation?

As someone who has had to write a thesis and is currently working on a dissertation, being a part of the Psychology Honors Program at USC was an invaluable experience. I learned how to develop a project idea from the literature, collect data, analyze results, and present them at the USC Undergraduate Research Symposium. After learning what it takes to see a project through from start to finish, I felt much more equipped to take on the types of projects I have faced as a graduate student.

What course did you enjoy the most?

Taking Forensic Psychology as a student really solidified that I wanted to pursue this area of study. After taking the course and getting involved in practical applications, I discovered that I wished to be an expert witness for the court system, conducting assessments for competence to stand trial, sanity, risk, etc.

If you were an undergraduate again, is there anything that you would do differently?

I got involved in Dr. Thomas Lyon’s research lab (out of the Gould School of Law) when I was a junior at USC and I got to be a part of some really interesting studies about child witnesses. However, I wish I had gotten involved in research earlier, so that I could have been a more active member of the lab and garnered some publications out of my work.

Have you won any awards, accolades, etc. after you graduated from USC?

I have presented my research at several national conferences and currently have two first-author papers under review for publication. Presented paper titled “Parent-Adolescent Discrepancies of Parental Monitoring and Adolescent Delinquency” at the annual meeting of the American Psychology-Law Society in New Orleans, LA. Presented “The Juvenile Adjudicative Competence Interview (JACI): Current Usage in Juvenile Competence to Stand Trial Evaluations” at the annual American Psychology-Law Society conference in Portland, OR. Published research titled “The Juvenile Adjudicative Competence Interview (JACI): Current Usage in Juvenile Competence to Stand Trial Evaluations” in the Journal of Knowledge and Best Practices in Juvenile Justice and Psychology. Published research titled “Perceived Credibility of Character Witnesses: Implications for Trial Consultation” in The Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice.