https://www.spelman.edu/images/faculty/Profiles/natalie-watson-singleton.jpg?sfvrsn=30e89350_0

Faculty Name

Natalie Watson-Singleton, Ph.D.

Title

Associate Professor

Department

Psychology

Phone

404-270-5634

Office Location

Giles Hall 317

Education

Ph.D., M.A., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
B.A., University of Dallas

Biography

Dr. Watson-Singleton received her Ph.D. in clinical/community psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She completed her clinical psychology pre-doctoral internship at Emory University in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She is currently a faculty fellow at Emory University/Grady Health System with the Grady Nia Project and an assistant professor at Spelman College.

Dr. Watson-Singleton strongly identifies as a clinical-community psychologist, which is reflected in her teaching, scholarship, and clinical-community work. She is passionate about teaching courses related to clinical psychology and mental health, often seeking opportunities to incorporate values, like intersectionality and Black feminist theory, into her courses.

Dr. Watson-Singleton is also committed to sustaining an active program of research related to topics on Black women’s health and wellness (e.g., self-efficacy, depression, anxiety) and culturally relevant applications of mindfulness-and compassion-based interventions. Her research is also translational; she works to bridge science and practice in order to develop and implement treatment programs that are innovative and culturally relevant.

Honors & Awards

  •  Association for Women in Psychology (AWP) Women of Color Psychologies Award for an exceptional manuscript by and about women of color, 2015

  • Frederick & Ruby Kanfer Award for excellence in research, scholarship, and service aimed at improving the psychological lives of all individuals., 2015
  • List of Instructors Ranked as Excellent, 2014
  • Herman Eisen Award for Professional Contributions to Clinical/Community Psychology., 2013
  • Social Activism Award, 2011
  • Sidney M. Jourard Student Paper Award, 2010
  • Travel Award, 2010
  • Graduate College McNair Fellowship, 2011
  • Summer Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, 2009


Courses Taught

PSY 327 Abnormal Psychology
PSY 408 Theories and Techniques of Counseling
PSY 418 Theory of Psychometric Instruments
PSY 414 Black Women, Trauma, and Intervention (Independent study in conjunction with the Grady Nia Project

Research Interests

  • Black women’s health
  • “Strong Black Womanhood” schema
  • Health disparities
  • Mind-body interventions
  • Mindfulness and compassion-based interventions 

Publications

Zhang, H., Watson-Singleton, N.N., Pollard, S.E., Pittman, D.M., Lamis, D.A., Fischer,  N.L., Patterson, B., Kaslow, N.J. (2017). Self-Criticism and depressive symptoms: Mediating role of self-compassion. Journal of Death and Dying.

Kapoor, S., Dominque, H.K., Watson-Singleton, N.N., Are, F., Elmore, C., Crooks, C., Madden, A., Mack, S., Pfiefer, J., & Kaslow, N.J. Childhood abuse, self-efficacy, spiritual well-being, and suicide resilience in African American women. Journal of Family Violence.

Watson, N. N., Black, A.R., & Hunter, C.D. (2016). African American women’s perceptions of mindfulness meditation training and gendered race-related stress. Mindfulness, 7, 1034-1043.

Watson, N. N., & Hunter, C.D. (2016). “I had to be strong:” Tensions of the ‘Strong Black Woman’ race-gender schema in the lives of African American women. Journal of Black Psychology, 42(5), 424-452.

Watson, N. N., & Hunter, C.D. (2015). Anxiety and depression among African American women: The costs of strength and negative attitudes toward psychological help-seeking. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 21(4), 604-612.

Joseph, N.J., Watson, N. N., Wang, Z., Case, A., & Hunter, C.D. (2013). Rules of engagement: Public regard and cultural race-related stress as predictors of Black Caribbean Immigrants’ engagement with African American culture. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 19(4), 414-423