Biography
Tatiana Matlasz received her B.A. in Psychology and Health and Human Services from SUNY University at Buffalo in 2014. She then earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Louisiana State University in 2021. She completed her predoctoral internship at the Bureau of Prisons Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, North Carolina and her postdoctoral fellowship in forensic psychology at the University of New Mexico.
Personal Statement
Tatiana has worked in a variety of clinical and forensic settings, such as inpatient hospitals, a county jail, a federal prison, substance use treatment facilities, private practice, and a Court Clinic. Her forensic evaluation experience includes competency to stand trial, sanity, and violence risk assessments--including for defendants facing the death penalty--and she has published manuscripts related to violence risk and competency assessment. She has also worked with various mental health, judicial, and law enforcement agencies in research and policy-oriented capacities.
Broadly defined, Tatiana's research interests surround the severe behavioral and emotional problems that put individuals at risk for interaction with the legal system (e.g., callous-unemotional traits, severe mental illness); policy regarding the way different systems interact with individuals with mental illness and other underserved populations; and approaches to diagnostic and forensic assessment of such individuals.
Areas of Specialty
forensic psychology; developmental psychopathology; aggression and violence
Key Publications
Journal Article
Matlasz, Tatiana, Frick, P, J Clark, J, E 2022 Understanding the Social Relationships of Youth with Callous-Unemotional Traits Using Peer Nominations. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, vol. 51, Issue 4, 530-542
Journal Article
Matlasz, Tatiana, Frick, P, J Robertson, E, L Ray, J, V Thornton, L, C Wall Myers, T, D Steinberg, L, Cauffman, E, 2020 Does Self-Report of Aggression After First Arrest Predict Future Offending and Do the Forms and Functions of Aggression Matter? Psychological Assessment, vol. 32, Issue 3, 265-276
Journal Article
Matlasz, Tatiana, Brylski, J, L Leidenfrost, C, M Scalco, M, Sinclair, S, J Schoelerman, R, M Tsang, V, Antonius, D, 2017 Cognitive Status and Profile Validity on the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) in Offenders with Serious Mental Illness International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, vol. 50
Gender
Female
Languages
- English
Research and Scholarship
One line of my research has focused on examining the social relationships of antisocial and psychopathic persons--a somewhat understudied area--to improve interventions that may enhance their relationships and ultimately reduce the negative outcomes associated with problematic social functioning, particularly given that antisocial individuals, especially those with psychopathic traits, are often particularly difficult to treat. Relatedly, I have also disseminated scholarship on topics surrounding violence risk assessment and the ways in which both mental health professionals and the legal system interact with antisocial and violent individuals.