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Meet the Director and Team — Clinical Health Psychology at St. Rita's Medical Center

Welcome from the Program Director

Thank you for your interest in the Clinical Psychology Training Program at Mercy Health St. Rita’s Medical Center. St. Rita’s is recognized for its commitment to providing quality evidence-based care to the greater Lima area. Our patients represent a wide breadth of diagnostic diversity, making St. Rita’s an ideal place to train. Psychology trainees work with multidisciplinary teams of psychiatrists, nurses and many other disciplines to provide exemplary care. One of the greatest strengths of our training program is a collegial working environment.  

We provide an opportunity for balance structured supervision while learning practice autonomy, allowing each trainee to develop their personal style, while also helping them exceed training competencies. We are proud of the training opportunities that we are able to offer and hope this introduction conveys our sense of enthusiasm for the work we do. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at psychologytraining@mercy.com. We look forward to hearing from you. 

Samantha Cain, PhD | Program Director

Graduate School: University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio in 2019
Internship: Clinical health psychology internship at Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI in 2019

Dr. Cain has worked predominantly in health psychology in various placements including advanced heart care, heart and lung transplant, kidney transplant, liver transplant, weight management, consultation liaison, family medicine and internal medicine.Her current position includes completing psychological evaluations and follow-up care for patients active in St. Rita’s weight management program, works closely with family medicine residents evaluating communication skills with patients and also carries a general mental health case load. Additionally, Dr. Cain has ongoing research in the areas of health literacy and perspectives among members of interdisciplinary teams.

Esther Strahan, PhD | Rehabilitation Supervisor

Graduate School: Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind.
Internship: Veteran’s Affairs Illiana Health Care System, Danville, Ill.
Post-doctoral training in clinical health psychology: Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio

Dr. Strahan has worked in a variety of academic and clinical settings. Her post-doctoral training and clinical work have focused on health psychology and rehabilitation psychology, with particular emphasis on CBT for insomnia, management of delirium, treatment of chronic pain and functional gut disorders and adjustment to disability, along with generalist work. Her published research is primarily focused on the impacts of anxiety on life outcomes. She serves as a book reviewer for Family Medicine and is a faculty member in the St. Rita’s Family Medicine Residency Program.

Contact Us

Program Coordinator: Samantha Cain, PhD, trainer director
Email address: psychologytraining@mercy.com