Department of Psychology

Tracy Cruise

Tracy Cruise, Ph.D.

Professor and Director, Psychology Clinic

Education

Dr. Cruise earned her PhD in School Psychology (1998) from Illinois State University; a M.S. in Clinical Psychology (1993) from Illinois State University; and her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University) in 1991. Her dissertation was entitled An Examination of Differences Between Peer- vs. Adult-Perpetrated Child Sexual Abuse: The Effects and Mediators. Dr. Cruise is a licensed clinical psychologist and licensed school psychologist in Illinois.

Teaching Areas

Dr. Cruise teaches undergraduate courses, including PSY 380 Introduction to Clinical Psychology and PSY 251 Personality and Adjustment. Within the School Psychology Specialist program, she teaches PSY 541 Practicum I: Orientation to School Psychology; PSY 543 School Psychology Practicum III: Consultation & Assessment; and PSY 544 School Psychology Practicum IV: Evaluation & Intervention. Courses she instructs in the Clinical/Community Mental Health program include PSY 571 Group Processes and Group Psychotherapy; PSY 574 Professional Issues in Clinical/Community Mental Health; PSY 576 Family Therapy; and PSY 589: Practicum in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Dr. Cruise also serves as director of the WIU Psychology Clinic, provides direct therapy services, and supervises graduate students’ clinical activities.

Research Interests

Historically, Dr. Cruise’s research focused on predictors of negative outcomes of childhood sexual abuse. For example, do factors associated with abuse or aspects that occur after the abuse (e.g., disclosure or cognitive interpretation) predict outcomes. More recently, Dr. Cruise's research interests regard supervision and how direct training in supervision impacts supervisor and supervisee satisfaction. She is currently co-creator and coordinator of the Illinois School Psychology Association’s Supervisor Credential Program, a model program for professional development for school psychology supervisors based on the DEP Supervision Model for School Psychology.

Recent Scholarly Activities

Cruise, T. K. (in press). Problems in professional competency. In D. J. Simon & M. E. Swerdlik (Eds.), Supervision in school psychology: The developmental/ecological/problem-solving model (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.

Cruise, T. K., & Aeilts, A. K. (2020). Sexual assault and coercion. In S. Hupp & J. Jewell (Eds.), The encyclopedia of child and adolescent development. New York: Wiley & Sons.

Simon, D. J., Swerdlik, M. E., Cruise, T. K., & Stein, C. J. (2019, October). ISPA supervisor credentialing program: A statewide training initiative in best practices in supervision. Trainers’ Forum, 36, 6-17.