Debora Bell

Debora Bell serves as Professor and Department Chair of the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri, with 25+ years as Director of Clinical Training and Executive Director of the MU Psychological Services Clinic. Her leadership spans national organizations including the Council of Chairs of Training Councils and APA Commission on Accreditation.

Dr. Bell's research centers on Health Service Psychology (examining doctoral student mental health, licensure barriers, and cultural adaptations of evidence-based interventions) and Youth Emotional Adjustment (focusing on social-cognitive processing and emotion regulation in anxiety/depression). Her work integrates cross-cultural perspectives, particularly for marginalized racial/LGBTQ+ communities.

Recent publications highlight pandemic-era adaptations in training clinics, systemic racism in psychology education, and neurocognitive mechanisms of youth depression. Key trends include telehealth implementation, financial stress impacts on trainees, and international collaborations on emotional development.

Dr. Bell has held editorial leadership for Education and Training in Professional Psychology and spearheaded national dialogues on antiracist training frameworks, though no specific scientific awards are documented in the source material.

Her advising record includes 21+ graduate students across clinical and developmental projects, supported by grants for:

• COVID-19 distress programs for adults/youth
• Rural stress interventions for farm/ranch families
• Culturally adapted evidence-based services for underserved communities

She directs two labs: the Health Service Psychology Professional Issues Lab (addressing training/service delivery systems) and the Youth Anxiety and Depression Lab (studying emotion regulation in diverse youth cohorts), both collaborating with the MU Psychological Services Clinic and international partners.