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Email : vweisz1@unl.edu
Vicky received a B.A. (1975) from the University of Rochester; a Ph.D. (1981) in Clinical Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis; and an M.L.S. (Masters in Legal Studies, 1994) from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She did her clinical internship at the University of Minnesota Health Sciences Center (1977-78).
The first decade of Vicky's professional experience was in the clinical practice of psychology, primarily with children, families, and young adults. Vicky began a post-doctoral fellowship at the Center on Children, Families and the Law (CCFL) in 1991 in order to retread her research skills and to obtain the MLS degree. She has been a research assistant professor at CCFL since 1994. Vicky also continues to maintain a very tiny private practice (2-3 clients per week).
Most of Vicky's research interests fall into the general area of "children in difficult circumstances", i.e. child custody, child maltreatment, international children's rights, and child bone marrow donors.
Vicky is currently involved in several projects. She is a trainer for preservice training of newly hired child protective service workers. Her main focus is the development of interviewing and assessment skills of new workers, particularly regarding their work with children. Vicky is also directing (with Evelyn Labode, CCFL) the State Court Improvement Project which is a federally funded project contracted through the Nebraska Supreme Court. The first year of the project has involved a detailed assessment of judicial functioning regarding maltreated children, especially those in out-of-home placement.
Vicky is also a member of the Task Force of the Child Advocacy Center of Lincoln and Lancaster County, a group that has been working toward the establishment of a safe, child-friendly environment for interviews and medical examinations of child abuse victims. Vicky has lead the effort in developing an evaluation of the current experience of child victims and legal outcomes of alleged perpetrators that will be compared to experiences and outcomes next year when the Center in up and running.
Vicky is also currently seeking funding to continue some pilot research she has done with child bone marrow donors. She hopes to be able to determine what psychosocial risks and benefits exist for child and adolescent sibling bone marrow donors and whether the age of the donor, the outcome of the donation for the recipient, or the donor's involvement in the decision making process have an impact on the risks and benefits. (If anyone reading this has ideas about funding, Vicky would love to hear from you!) Finally, Vicky is collecting data, with Helen Levesque, a former CCFL postdoc, for a project about women's patterns of success. This project is intended to determine how a select group of highly educated women define and achieve success for themselves in their professional and personal lives.
Vicky's own personal life keeps her busy and happy with her husband Alan, their children Stefanie and Michael, and their golden retriever, Caleb. To see Vicky with a few of her friends please CLICK.
Recent and pending publications include: