Dr. Diefenbach completed her graduate training in clinical psychology at Louisiana State University. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship specializing in the treatment of late-life anxiety at the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center. Dr. Diefenbach's primary clinical and research interests are in the psychopathology and cognitive-behavioral treatment of anxiety and related disorders. She has particular expertise with generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and trichotillomania. Dr. Diefenbach is the principal investigator on the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) funded study “Screening for GAD among Frail Elderly” and is co-investigator on the NIMH-Funded study “Stepped Care for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders (David Tolin, Principal Investigator). She is the principal investigator on the Hartford Hospital funded study entitled “The Cognitive-Enhancing Effects of D-Cycloserine among Non-demented Elderly.”

Representative Publications:

Diefenbach, G. J., Tolin, D. F., Gilliam, C. M., & Muenier, S. A. (in press). Extending cognitive-behavioral therapy for late-life anxiety to home care: Program development and case examples. Behavior Modification.

Webb, S. A., Diefenbach, G.J., Wagener, P., Novy, D. M., Kunik, M., Rhoades, H. M., & Stanley, M. A. (in press). Comparison of self-report measures for identifying late-life generalized anxiety disorder in primary care. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology.

Diefenbach, G. J., Disch, W. B., Robison, J. T., Baez, E., & Coman, E. (in press). Anxious depression among Puerto Rican and African-American Older Adults. Aging and Mental Health.

Tolin, D. F., Franklin, M. E., Diefenbach, G. J., Anderson, E., & Meunier, S. A. (in press). Pediatric trichotillomania: Descriptive psychopathology and an open trial of cognitive-behavioral therapy. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.

Tolin, D. F., Diefenbach, G. J., Flessner, C. A., Franklin, M. E., Keuthen, N. J., Moore, P., Piacentini, J., Stein, D. J., & Woods, D. W. (in press). The Trichotillomania Scale for Children: Development and Validation. Child Psychiatry and Human Development.

Diefenbach, G. J., Tolin, D. F., Meunier, S. & Worhunsky, P. (2008). Emotion regulation and trichotillomania: A comparison of clinical and nonclinical hair pulling. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 39, 32-41.

Diefenbach, G. J. (2008). Anxiety and panic disorders. In E. A. Capezuti, E. L. Siegler, & M. D. Mezey (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of elder care: The comprehensive resource on geriatric and social care 2^nd edition. (pp. 58-60). New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Franklin, M.E., Tolin, D.F., & Diefenbach, G.J. (2008). Trichotillomania. In S. Taylor, J.S. Abramowitz, & D. McKay (Eds.), Obsessive-compulsive disorder: Subtypes and spectrum conditions. (pp. 139-159). New York, Elsevier.

Diefenbach, G. J., Abramowitz, J. S., Norberg, M. M., & Tolin, D. F. (2007). Changes in quality of life following cognitive-behavioral therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 3060-3068.

Tolin, D.F., Hannan, S., Maltby, N., Diefenbach, G.J., Worhunsky, P., & Brady, R.E. (2007). A randomized controlled trial of self-directed versus therapist-directed CBT for OCD patients with prior medication trials. Behavior Therapy, 38, 179-191.

Diefenbach, G. J., Tolin, D. F., Hannan, S., Maltby, N., & Crocetto, J. (2006). Group treatment for trichotillomania: Behavior therapy versus supportive therapy. Behavior Therapy, 37, 353-363.

Diefenbach, G. J. (2006, Spring). Integrating anxiety services into community care management. Anxiety Disorders: A Quarterly Report, 7-9.

Diefenbach, G. J., & Goethe, J. (2006). Clinical interventions for late-life anxious depression. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 1, 41-50.

Diefenbach, G. J. (2006). Culture-bound syndromes: Nervios. In Y. Jackson (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Multicultural Psychology. (pp. 141-142). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Franklin, M.E., Tolin, D.F., & Diefenbach, G.J. (2006). Trichotillomania. In E. Hollander & D.J. Stein (Eds.), Handbook of impulse control disorders. (pp.149-173). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.

Tolin, D. F., Abramowitz, J. S., & Diefenbach, G. J. (2005). Defining “response” in clinical trials for OCD: A signal detection analysis of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 66, 1549-1557.

Stanley, M. A., Veazey, C., Hopko, D., Diefenbach, G., & Kunik, M. E. (2005). Anxiety and depression in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): A new intervention and case report. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 12, 424-436.

Abramowitz, J. S., Tolin, D. F., & Diefenbach, G. J. (2005). Measuring change in OCD: Sensitivity of the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 27, 317-324.

Diefenbach, G. J., Tolin, D. F., Hannan, S., Crocetto, J., & Worhunsky, P. (2005). Trichotillomania: Impact on psychosocial functioning and quality of life. Behavior Research and Therapy, 43, 869-884.

Diefenbach, G. J., Tolin, D. F., Crocetto, J.,  Maltby, N., & Hannan, S. (2005). Assessment of trichotillomania: A psychometric evaluation of hair pulling scales. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 27, 169-178.

Tolin, D. F., Diefenbach, G. J., Maltby, N., & Hannan, S. E. (2005). Stepped care for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A pilot study. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 12, 403-414.

Wetherell, J. L., Hopko, D. R., Diefenbach, G. J., Averill, P. M., Beck, J. G., Craske, M. G., Gatz, M., Novy, D. M., & Stanley, M. A. (2005). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for late-life generalized anxiety disorder: Who gets better? Behavior Therapy, 36, 147-156.

Tolin, D. F., Maltby, N., Diefenbach, G. J., Hannan, S. E., & Worhunsky, P. (2004). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for medication nonresponders with obsessive-compulsive disorder: A wait-list controlled open trial. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 65, 922-931.

Diefenbach, G. J., Robison, J. T., Tolin, D. F., & Blank, K. (2004). Late-life anxiety disorders among Puerto Rican primary care patients: Impact on well-being, functioning, and service utilization. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 18, 841-858.

Stanley, M. A., Diefenbach, G. J., & Hopko, D. R. (2004). Cognitive behavioral treatment for older adults with generalized anxiety disorder: A therapist manual for primary care settings. Behavior Modification, 28, 73-117.

Lovejoy, D.W., Diefenbach, G.J., Licht, D.J., & Tolin, D.F. (2004). Tracking levels of psychiatric distress associated with the terrorist events of September 11, 2001:  A review of the literature. Journal of Insurance Medicine, 35, 114-124.

Bailley, S. E., Lachar, D., Rhoades, H. M., Diefenbach, G. J., Espadas, A., & Varner, R. V. (2004). Quantifying symptomatic change during acute psychiatric hospitalization using new subscales for the anchored Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Psychiatric Services, 1, 68-82.

Stanley, M. A., Diefenbach, G. J., Hopko, D. R., Novy, D., Kunik, M. E., Wilson, N., & Wagener, P. (2003). The nature of generalized anxiety in older primary care patients: Preliminary findings. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 25, 273-280.

Beck, J. G., Novy, D. M., Diefenbach, G. J., Stanley, M. A., Averill, P. M., & Swann, A. C. (2003). Differentiating anxiety and depression in anxious older adults: Implications for cognitive and affective models. Psychological Assessment, 15, 184-192.

Diefenbach, G. J., Hopko, D. R., Feigon, S., Stanley, M. A., Novy, D. M., Beck, J. G., & Averill, P. M. (2003). “Minor GAD”: Characteristics of subsyndromal generalized anxiety disorder in older adults, Behaviour Research and Therapy, 41, 481-487.

Stanley, M. A., Beck, J. G., Novy, D. M., Averill, P. M., Swann, A. C., Diefenbach, G. J., & Hopko, D. R. (2003). Cognitive behavioral treatment of late-life GAD. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71, 309-319.

Stanley, M. A., Hopko, D. R., Diefenbach, G. J., Bourland, S. L., Rodriguez, H., & Wagener, P. (2003). Cognitive-behavior therapy for late-life generalized anxiety disorder in primary care: Preliminary findings. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 11, 92-96.

Diefenbach, G. J., Mouton-Odum, S, & Stanley, M. A. Affective correlates of trichotillomania. (2002). Behaviour Research and Therapy, 40, 1305-1315.

Averill, P. M., Diefenbach, G. J., Stanley, M. A., Breckenridge, J. K., & Lusby, B. (2002). Assessment of shame and guilt in a psychiatric sample: A comparison of two measures. Personality and Individual Differences, 32, 1365-1376.

Diefenbach, G. J., & Stanley, M. A. (2001). Cognitive behavioral treatment of generalized anxiety disorder in late life. In L. Vandecreek and T. L. Jackson (Eds.), Innovations in clinical practice: A source book (Vol. 19) (pp. 63-77). Sarasota, FL: Professional Resource Press.

Diefenbach, G. J., & Stanley, M. A. (2001). Anxiety and panic disorders. In M. D. Mezey (Ed.), Encyclopedia of elder care: The comprehensive resource on geriatric and social care (pp. 61-63). New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Diefenbach, G. J., McCarthy-Larzelere, M.E., Williamson, D. A., Mathews, A., Manguno-Mire, G. M., & Bentz, B. G. (2001). Anxiety, depression, and the content of worries. Depression and Anxiety, 14, 247-250.

Diefenbach, G. J., Stanley, M. A., & Beck, J. G. (2001). Worry topics reported by older adults with and without generalized anxiety disorder. Aging and Mental Health, 5, 269-274.

Diefenbach, G. J., Stanley, M. A., Beck, J. G., Novy, D. M., Averill, P. M., & Swann, A. (2001). Examination of the Hamilton scales in assessment of anxious older adults: A replication and extension. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 23, 117-124.

Akkerman, R. L., Stanley, M. A., Averill, P. M., Novy, D. M., Snyder, A. G., & Diefenbach, G. J. (2001). Recruiting older adults with anxiety. Journal of Mental Health and Aging, 7, 385-394.

McCarthy-Larzelere, M. E., Diefenbach, G. J., Williamson, D. A., Netemeyer, R. G., Bentz, B. G., & Manguno-Mire, G. M. (2001). Psychometric properties and factor structure of the worry domains questionnaire. Assessment, 8, 177-191.

Diefenbach, G. J., Reitman, D., & Williamson, D. A. (2000). Trichotillomania: A challenge to research and practice. Clinical Psychology Review, 20, 289-309.

Diefenbach, G. J., Diefenbach, D. L., Baumeister, A., & West, M. (1999). Portrayal of lobotomy in the popular press: 1935-1960. Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 8, 60-69.

Netemeyer, R. G., Burton, S., Cole, L., Williamson, D. A., Zucker, N., Bertman, L., & Diefenbach, G. (1998). Characteristics and beliefs associated with probable pathological gambling: A pilot study with implications for the national gambling impact and policy commission. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 17, 147-160.

Top