THEN and NOW: 17 YEARS LATER,

LAGEMANSTILL HELPING THERS

SARAH

Much has changed, yet stayed the same, for Sarah Lageman ’97 since she was featured in the spring 2004 Winthrop Magazine.

In 2004, Lageman, who majored in psychology and biology as a Trustee Scholar at Winthrop, was a doctoral student at the University of Flori- da where she studied clinical and health psychol- ogy with a concentration in neuropsychology. Her research had her working with breast cancer patients and studying the cognitive effects of different cancer treatments such as chemothera- py, radiation and endocrine therapy — work she found “very rewarding.”

Fast forward 17 years, and Lageman has spent the last 11 years at Virginia Commonwealth Uni- versity (VCU), where she was hired to spearhead a neuropsychology practice at the university’s Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center.

Her move from Florida to Virginia featured stops along the way. After receiving her doctorate de- gree, she completed her one-year clinical intern- ship at West Virginia University, then completed a two-year fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Minne- sota before accepting her first faculty position at Emory University in Georgia.

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Expanding Client Engagement Opportunities On what brought her to VCU, Lageman said: “It was an exciting opportunity in which I was grateful to participate. Building a new clinical service and clinical research program was challenging but very personally rewarding.”

Today, she spends 60-75 percent of her time on clinical work while clinical research rounds out another 20-35 percent of her time. “In my clin- ic work, I do neuropsychological assessments, which evaluate cognitive and mood changes that can occur with neurologic disease. I also provide individual and couples therapy to help people adjust to changes that are occurring and to treat depression and anxiety, which can co-occur with certain neurologic problems,” explained Lageman, who also delivers guest lectures as an associate professor.

The day of the week determines her work. On Mondays and Tuesdays she conducts neuropsy- chological evaluations in the mornings. In the af- ternoons, she scores the tests and then interprets them and writes the neuropsychological reports. On those afternoons she sees a few patients. On Wednesdays, she see the majority of her therapy

clients. On Thursdays and Fri- days, she finishes the neuro- psychological reports and gives feedback to the patients and family members. She also does clinical research on these days as well as attends lab meetings and various departmental facul- ty meetings.

On her research days, she’s examining caregiver issues related to Parkinson’s disease. She and her research col- leagues did a study of caregiver depression, anxiety and burden at their VCU clinic and a clinic in Guadalajara, Mexico. They have been exploring the data

and have had lots of students get involved in var- ious manuscripts. She also is working with other colleagues to look at how a new test from the National Institutes of Health can be used in ethnic minority communities and what modifications need to be used to interpret the data from the test correctly. In addition, she and another neurol- ogist in the Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Center are studying which activities of daily living predict decline in individuals with Parkinson’s disease dementia and Lewy Body dementia.

Changes and Consistency One aspect of her work that has changed since 2004 is navigating a pandemic. “We stopped in-person clinic visits for 3.5 months and then experienced a huge increase in clinical referrals.

Building a new clinical service and clinical research

program was challenging but very personally rewarding. - Sarah Lageman

” “

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Lageman was first introduced to Winthrop Magazine readers in the spring 2004 edition. This photograph from that edition captured Lageman, who

was a doctoral student at the University of Florida at the time, working on research with breast cancer patients.

We are just one clinic, but our experience seems to mirror others and highlights the increasing need for psychological services for all kinds of people,” said Lageman. “On the positive side, the pandemic has led to our field embracing online services more so than ever before. Virtual psychotherapy in particular has been covered by insurance companies, and there is momentum to have virtual therapy continue, which will allow much greater access to therapy for remote areas as well as individuals with various disabilities or who are home-bound for various reasons.”

While the scope of her research and work has changed over the 17 years since the Winthrop Magazine last featured Lageman, one aspect of her life’s work has remained the same: helping others at a time when they need it most.