Jefferey A Buchanan

Dr. Jeffrey A. Buchanan

Ph.D., University of Nevada, 2004

Area(s) of specialization

Applied Behavior Analysis, Alzheimer's disease and related conditions

Research Interests

Management of challenging behaviors in dementia patients

Identification of preferences in nonverbal populations

Education of caregivers of persons with dementia

Ageism

Benefits of written emotional expression on physical and psychological well-being

Current research

We are currently working on projects that involve examining methods for identifying preferred activities/stimuli in persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD) that have impaired verbal abilities. We are also conducting a study examining the effects of an intervention to reduce aggressive behavior in persons with AD. In addition, I have students working on a study that will involve assessing college student's knowledge and stereotypes about older adults. However, I am open to working with students to develop their own research ideas in the general area of geropsychology.

Selected Publications

• Buchanan, J.A. & Berg, T. (in press). Evidence based practices by service delivery
  process. To appear in E. McDonel Herr, S. Levkoff, H. Chen, J. E. Fisher, J. McIntyre (Eds.) Beyond Experience: Implementing Evidence-Based Behavioral Health Practices for Older Adults. New York: Springer
• Fisher, J.E., Cardinal, C., Yury, C. & Buchanan, J.A. (in press). Dementia. In J.E. Fisher
  & W. O’Donohue (Eds.) Practice guidelines for evidence-based psychotherapy. New York: Springer.
• Henderson, D., Varble, D., & Buchanan, J. (2003). Elder abuse: Guidelines for treatment.
  In W.T. O’Donohue & E.R. Levensky (Eds.), Handbook of forensic psychology. San Diego, CA: Elsevier.
• Yury, C.A., Buchanan, J.A., Gentry, R.A., LeRoux, H., & Fisher, J.E. (2003). Assessing
  mental competency in the elderly. In W.T. O’Donohue & E.R. Levensky (Eds.), Handbook of forensic psychology. San Diego, CA: Elsevier.
• Fisher, J.E. & Buchanan, J.A. (2003). Stimulus preference assessment. In W. O’Donohue,
  J.E. Fisher, & S. Hayes (Eds.), Cognitive-behavior therapy: A clinician’s step-by-step guide to empirically-supported treatments (pp. 402-406). New York: Wiley and Sons.
• O’Donohue, W., & Buchanan, J.A. (2002). The mismeasure of psychologists: A review
  of the psychometrics of licensing requirements. In W. O’Donohue & K.E. Ferguson (Eds.), Handbook of professional ethics for psychologists (pp. 81-100). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
• Buchanan, J.A. & Fisher, J.E. (2002). The use of noncontingent reinforcement in the
  treatment of disruptive vocalization in elderly dementia patients. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 35, 99-103.
• Henderson, D., Buchanan, J.A., & Fisher, J.E. (2002). Violence and the elderly
  population: Issues for prevention. In P. Schewe (Ed.), Preventing violence in relationships: Interventions across the life span (pp. 223-246). Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association.
• O’Donohue, W., Buchanan, J.A., & Fisher, J.E. (2000). Characteristics of empirically-supported treatments. Journal of Psychotherapy Research and Practice, 9, 69-74
  Selected presentations
• Buchanan, J.A. & Berg, T. (2005, October). “Strategies for managing challenging
  behaviors in persons with dementia.” Presentation at the 11th annual Alzheimer’s and
  Dementias conference, Mankato, MN.
• Buchanan, J.A. (2005, September). “Falls and feelings.” Presentation at the Putting the
  Breaks on Falls conference sponsored by the Age Well Network, Mankato, MN.
• Fisher, J.E. & Buchanan, J.A. (2004, November). “Designing restraint-free environments
  for elderly persons with cognitive disorders.” Workshop presented at the meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, Washington, D.C.
• Buchanan, J.A., Fisher, J.E., & Hadden, J.E. (2003, October). Presentation of preferred
  stimuli as an intervention for escape-maintained aggressive behavior in dementia patients. Paper presented at the meeting of the Mid-American Association for Behavior Analysis, Milwaukee, WI.
• Fisher, J.E., Buchanan, J.A., & Fredericks, D. (2000, November). Behavior analytic
  interventions for dementia patients: Restraint-free methods for maintaining behavioral repertoires. Paper presented at the meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, New Orleans.
• Hadden, J.E., Fisher, J.E., Buchanan, J.A., Fredericks, D., & Porter J. (1999, November).
  Assessing the functions of problem behavior in dementia patients. Paper presented at the meeting of The Gerontological Society of America, San Francisco, CA.

Courses taught

• Abnormal Psychology
• Health Psychology
• Psychology of Aging
• Behavioral Assessment