Jumi Hayaki

Psychology Department
Dean of Faculty Development
Associate Health Professions Advisor

Professor
Ph.D., Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

Fields: Clinical psychology; eating disorders; substance use disorders; emotional dysregulation

• CV (PDF) »

Email: jhayaki@holycross.edu
Office Phone: 508-793-2612
Office: Fenwick 116
PO Box: 217A
Zoom Office Hours: Mondays 9:00-10:00 AM, Tuesdays 3:00-4:30 PM, Thursdays 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM and/or by appointment
(please e-mail me with at least three specific date/time options)

Courses

Research Methods in Psychology (Psyc 201)

This course provides an overview of the design and conduct of psychological research. We will examine the ethical, design, measurement, and dissemination issues that researchers face in their studies of human and animal behavior and thought. You will also have hands-on opportunities to apply and practice your research skills by designing and carrying out your own psychological research study, which you will then write up in APA style and present orally at the Annual Psychology Research Colloquium at the end of the semester. Prerequisite:Statistics (Psyc 200).

Psychopathology (formerly Abnormal Psychology; Psyc 229)

In this course, we will explore the broad range of psychological distress in the human experience. We will examine the theories and empirical research regarding the causes, nature, and treatment of psychological disorders. You will quickly discover that the field of psychopathology is filled with many unanswered questions and a great diversity of opinion. Throughout the course, we will devote considerable attention to these questions and controversies, as well as to their societal and political landscape. Prerequisite: Introductory Psychology (Psyc 100).

Seminar: Eating and Its Disorders (Psyc 334)

In this upper-level clinical psychology seminar, we will explore select themes from the eating disorder field. Topics include the following: the classification and diagnosis of eating and related disorder; body image dissatisfaction; family influences on eating disorders; understudied populations with eating disorders; eating disorder-genic cognitions and emotions; comorbidity between eating disorders and other psychological problems; (relapse) prevention of eating disorders; and approaches to the treatment of eating disorders. For the psychology major, this course either satisfies the advanced course requirement or serves as an elective. The course is also an elective for the Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies concentration. Prerequisite: Psychopathology (Psyc 229).

Seminar: Substance Use, Misuse, and Abuse (Psyc 337)

In this upper-level clinical psychology seminar, we will explore select themes from the substance abuse field, with a primary emphasis on alcohol. Topics include definitions of addictive behaviors; familial transmission of substance use problems; alcohol, sex, and drinking norms among youth; legal debates such as the minimum legal drinking age and the depenalization/decriminalization of marijuana use; philosophies regarding, and clinical approaches to, substance abuse recovery. This course satisfies the advanced course requirement or serves as an elective for the psychology major. Prerequisite: Psychopathology (Psyc 229).

Seminar: Mental Health & Culture (Psyc 340)

This course explores the impact of culture on the prevalence, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health and illness. Here, “culture” is broadly defined and includes (but is not limited to) gender, ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, and sexual orientation. Topics include mental illnesses that disproportionately affect members of one or more gender, ethnic group, or social class; ethnic and other cultural differences in mental health help-seeking behavior; non-Western indigenous ways of healing; psychotherapy research with underserved populations; and multicultural competence in psychosocial service delivery. The class is primarily discussion-based, and students conduct oral poster presentations of their final projects. Prerequisite: Abnormal Psychology (Psyc 229).

Research

Welcome to the Hayaki Emotion Dysregulation Lab!

Brief Overview

My research program examines the role of dysfunctional emotional processes in adult psychopathology. Specifically, I am interested in the role of emotional dysregulation in two phenomenologically related areas of clinical distress: eating disorders and substance use disorders. Previous research has shown that individuals who experience symptoms of eating disorders and substance abuse—even at subclinical levels—exhibit a number of deficits in emotional regulation, including a greater tendency to experience certain negative emotions (e.g., shame), poor coping responses to unpleasant emotional states, and a general lack of experiential emotional awareness.

An underlying theme of my research is the notion that eating disorders and substance abuse may share core emotional deficits. For instance, the inability to tolerate negative affect, particularly anxiety, is known to be one proximal cause of binge eating. Evidence also suggests that this same emotional state can trigger episodes of heavy drinking or illicit drug use. Eating disorders and substance abuse may thus involve common emotional precursors. If certain maladaptive emotional states represent core vulnerabilities across psychological disorders, then these areas of overlap may also respond to similar treatment strategies. The goal of my work is therefore to identify the emotional mechanisms associated with these two areas of psychopathology. This research carries many clinical implications, such as (a) early detection of those individuals most at emotional risk of developing an eating or substance use disorder and (b) identification and definition of emotional targets for clinical intervention.