David Shumaker, PhD

Education

• PhD, University of South Carolina
• BA, Harvard University

Internship: Carolinas Medical Center-Randolph/Behavioral Health System, Charlotte, North Carolina

Post-Doctoral Fellowship: Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry Children & The Law Program fellowship in pediatric forensic psychology; Licensed Psychologist and Health Services Provider, MA.

Specialty Areas

Existential-integrative therapy; Divorce and child custody; Child and adolescent anxiety disorders.

My research interests recently have focused on existential anxiety in adolescence and how existential-integrative therapy can be effectively incorporated into empirically validated treatment approaches with this population. I am specifically interested in learning more about the adolescent and young adult experience of existential anxiety and which personality configurations from a Five Factor Model perspective correlate with existential anxiety. In addition, having previously worked as a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) in Massachusetts conducting custody evaluations, I have a strong research interest in both forensic assessment methodology and treatment considerations for working with children and adolescents whose parents are divorced or separated..

Publications

• Shumaker, D., & Manning, C. (2021). Existential Implications of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). The Humanistic Psychologist., DOI:10.1037/hum0000265
• Shumaker, D., & Kelsey, C. (2020). The existential impact of high-conflict divorce on children. Person-Centered & Experiential Psychotherapies. DOI: 10.1080/14779757.2020.1717985.
• Shumaker, D., Killian, K., Cole, C., Hruby, H., & Grimm, J. (2017). Existential anxiety, personality type, and therapy preference in young adults. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, DOI: 10.1177/0022167817702783.
• Shumaker, D. (2017).  Existential Integrative Approaches to Treating Adolescents.  New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. 
• Karavalaki, Maria & Shumaker, D. (2016).  An Existential-Integrative (EI) Treatment of Adolescent Substance Abuse. The Humanistic Psychologist. 44(4), 381-399.