This column spotlights early career professionals (ECP) within the field of child and family policy. Successful ECPs from a variety of career paths are chosen to help graduate students, interns, and early ECPs in making wise training and career choices. Our current spotlighted ECP is great role model for members interested in conducting policy-relevant research in academia.
Sonia Rubens, PhD, is a clinical child psychologist and an assistant professor of counseling psychology at Santa Clara University. Rubens has an impressive publication record, with nearly 40 peer-reviewed publications, most of which are focused on understanding and promoting healthy sleep habits in youth. She is particularly interested in the link between exposure to chronic and acute stressors, sleep, and mental health in children and adolescents, as well as contextual and cultural factors that influence these associations.
Thinking back on her career trajectory, Rubens finds that her personal experiences in college greatly influenced her career path and research interests. Rubens was in the middle of her undergraduate degree at Tulane University when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. In returning to the city after the storm and getting involved in the rebuilding efforts, she was struck by the psychosocial needs of the city’s residents. She immediately began assisting on a study examining post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in school children in New Orleans and has been building on that work ever since.
Rubens matriculated to the Clinical Child Psychology program at the University of Kansas where she worked with Paula Fite, PhD, and Eric Vernberg, PhD. While at the University of Kansas, Rubens collaborated on a range of innovative and policy-relevant studies. For example, many of the studies Rubens conducted with Fite examined the complex associations among sleep, early adversity exposure (e.g., violence exposure), and psychopathology among adolescents, particularly Latino youth.
As part of her training, Rubens also spent a year as a clinical child psychology intern at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia before embarking on a postdoctoral pediatric psychology fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. These clinical experiences further impressed upon Rubens the importance of applying research findings to the improvement of children’s lives. As Rubens said: “I see the work that we do as a way to help carve a pathway for children to develop into the best forms of themselves. Finding ways to support youth in their development can lead to wonderful things for them, and that in itself is very motivating.”
Now, as an assistant professor, Rubens continues to examine the impact of trauma exposure on psychosocial functioning in youth, with a particular focus on the role of sleep in that association. Children who are exposed to trauma are at increased risk of sleep problems, and sleep problems are associated with a number of mental and physical health concerns. Many effective interventions to address sleep problems in children have been developed, so Rubens is examining the possibility that sleep could be a mechanism of intervention to address the needs of youth exposed to trauma to prevent or reduce the impact of those experiences on mental health. Rubens considers the practical and policy implications of her findings and makes sure to disseminate her results to those who need the information most. For example, much of the research that Rubens conducts is in school settings. Once a study is complete, she works with the schools to find ways to use the results to improve the academic and psychosocial growth of students.
In addition to her program of research, Rubens is also actively involved in service relevant to child and family policy. She serves on the Executive Board for Div. 37 as the member-at-large for communication and technology. She also sits on the Div. 37 Committee for Early Career Psychologists (ECP). When asked what advice she would give ECPs doing research in child and family policy, Rubens says to pay attention to self-care needs so that you can do your best work. Given the challenges of being in this field, it is important to avoid burn out. She also stresses the importance of mentorship. Specifically, Rubens recommends finding good mentors and collaborators: “Find people with whom you can work well, and those who can give good guidance, as these types of mentors and collaborators can make the work that we do that much more powerful.”
Given her extensive expertise on sleep, Rubens is also currently a member of the Pediatric Sleep Councilopens in new window, which was created to provide accurate and up-to-date information on sleep in young children for parents and caregivers. The Pediatric Sleep Council includes pediatric sleep experts, including physicians, psychologists, and researchers, from across the globe. As a member on the council, Rubens provides articles and videos to the public based on her research to help parents understand their children’s sleep habits and how best to promote healthier sleep patterns.
Rubens has already made remarkable contributions to the field of child and family policy via research, service, and teaching. She is passionate about her work and has improved the lives of many. We wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors and thank her for her insights to our students and ECPs.