Staff Clinical Neuropsychologist
Kent State University and Summa Health System
Kent, Ohio
Mary Beth Spitznagel, PhD completed her degree in clinical psychology at Ohio University and postdoctoral fellowship at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. With specialized fellowship training in clinical neuropsychology, her early research focused on caregiver burden in family members of people with dementia.
After providing care for her dog with a terminal illness, she expanded her focus to consider how caregiver burden affects pet owners, and how owners’ distress, in turn, affects veterinarians. Together with her Clinical Scholars Team, she has developed an evidence-based program to reduce this transfer of owner burden to workers in veterinary medicine, a significant risk factor for stress and burnout, and hopes to reduce mental health stigma in the field.
She maintains a science blog related to this work at www.petcaregiverburden.com. Dr. Spitznagel is currently a staff neuropsychologist for Summa Health System in Akron Ohio and an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Kent State University.
