William Stiers, Ph.D., ABPP

Assistant Professor

Dr. Stiers is a Rehabilitation Psychologist and Neuropsychologist who joined the faculty of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine during 2005. 

Dr. Stiers clinical work involves assisting individuals with disabilities or chronic health conditions and their families in coping with and adjusting to physical and cognitive limitations, in order to increase psychological health, independence and choice, functional abilities, and social participation:

• Provides psychological evaluation and treatment of persons with spinal cord injury, burns, amputations, multiple sclerosis, neuromuscular disorders, chronic pain, injured workers, and other physical disabilities.
  
• Provides neuropsychological evaluation and treatment of persons with stroke or cerebral aneurysm, traumatic brain injury, brain tumor, multiple sclerosis, dementia, and other conditions of the brain.
  

Dr. Stiers research includes studying the structure, process, and outcome of Rehabilitation Psychology training programs.  He is interested in clinical rehabilitation outcomes in health care systems, and how these relate to the organization, delivery, and effectiveness of care.  He is also interested in gaze-tracking deficits following brain injury, and their effect on daily functional activities. 

Dr. Stiers has served as an Executive Board member of the American Psychological Association Division of Rehabilitation Psychology, and as an Editorial Board member of the journal Rehabilitation Psychology.  He wrote the official 2005 Guidelines for Post-Doctoral Training in Rehabilitation Psychology.  He has been an investigator on many Federal research grants, has produced a number of professional publications and presentations, and has served as a research grant reviewer for State and Federal agencies, as well as a scientific manuscript reviewer for a number of journals.  He has also been an item-writer for the national Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology.  He has provided clinical and research supervision to psychologists and physicians in training. 

Dr. Stiers previously worked as a Senior Research Health Scientist in Health Services Research with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as an Assistant Professor in Health Resources Management with the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and as a private-practice clinical psychologist.

Education:

• Ph.D., Counseling Psychology, Northwestern University
• M.A., Counseling Psychology, Northwestern University
• B.A., Experimental Psychology, Northwestern University

Faculty Appointments:

• Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (current)
• University of Kansas School of Medicine, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine / Department of Psychiatry (1993-2005)
• Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Michigan, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (1991-1993)

Hospital and Administrative Appointments:

• Johns Hopkins University Medical Center; Baltimore, MD (current)
• Good Samaritan Hospital; Baltimore, MD (current)
• University of Kansas Medical Center; Kansas City, KS (1993-2005)
• University of Michigan Medical Center; Ann Arbor, MI (1991-1993)

Specialty Certifications:

• Board Certified in Rehabilitation Psychology, American Board of Professional Psychology

Representative Publications:

McDowd J, Filion D. Pohl P, Richards L, Stiers W.  “Attentional abilities and functional outcomes following stroke.”  The Journals of Gerontology – Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences; 2003, 58(1):45.

Pohl P, McDowd J, Fillion D, Richards L, Stiers W.  “Implicit learning of a perceptual-motor skill after stroke.”  Physical Therapy; 2001, 81(11):1780.

McPeak L, Stiers W, Cope DN.  “Disability evaluation following traumatic brain injury.”  Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America:  Disability Evaluation; 2001, 12(3):587.

Stiers W, Tait R.  “Psychological Assessment Tools in Impairment Ratings and Disability Evaluations.”  In Rondinelli R, Katz R (eds).  Impairment Rating and Disability Evaluation.  Orlando, FL, W. B. Saunders, 1999.

Representative Presentations:

Stiers, W.  “Health and behavior assessment and intervention.”  Missouri State Psychological Association Annual Conference, St. Louis, 2003. 

Stiers, W., Stucky, K.  “Structure and funding of education and training models in rehabilitation psychology.”  Rehabilitation Psychology Annual Conference, New Orleans, 2002 and the American Psychological Association Annual Conference, Chicago, 2002.

Stiers, W.  “Psychologists’ contributions to physical impairment and disability ratings.”  American Psychological Association Annual Conference, Washington D.C., 2000.

Stiers, W.  Discussant:  “Families of special-needs children:  Impact and treatment outcomes,” American Psychological Association Annual Conference, Boston, 1999.

Representative Research Grants:

Co-Investigator, “Attention and Motor Learning Following Stroke.”  National Institute on Aging:  $350,984; 1997-2002.

Principal Investigator, “Rehabilitation Outcome Monitoring and Assessment.”  Kansas University Research, Inc.:  $14,466; 1996-1997.

Co-Investigator, “Characterizing Measures of Stroke Rehabilitation Outcomes.”  U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs:  $260,900; 1996-1999.

Co-Investigator, “Characterizing Measures of Stroke Outcome."  Glaxo/Wellcome Co.: $176,637; 1995-1996.

Current Address:

Rehabilitation Psychology and Neuropsychology
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
5601 Loch Raven Blvd. / POB 406
Baltimore, MD  21239

Phone:  410/532-4700
Fax:  410532-4770
E-mail:  wstiers1@jhmi.edu