Did you know that some mental health problems are treatable with specific, relatively short-term evidence-based therapies? And if so, how do you know which providers practice these treatments?

Today we're talking with Professor Peter Tuerk, a clinical psychologist who specializes in evidence-based treatments for anxiety spectrum disorders and who serves as director of the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development’s Sheila C. Johnson Center for Clinical Services, a community-facing outpatient and training clinic.

In our conversation, Peter helps us differentiate between general mental health care and evidence-based treatments for specific mental health problems, like the anxiety spectrum disorders he specializes in, that include obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. But according to Tuerk, not enough practitioners are trained in these treatments.

As a practicing clinician who directs the clinic where our graduate students are training to become practitioners, Peter shares how the School of Education and Human Development programs are designed to launch new practitioners into the field well trained in these areas and discuss his efforts to support the learning of professionals already practicing.

Peter Tuerk: https://education.virginia.edu/about/directory/peter-tuerk

Shiela C. Johnson Center for Clinical Services: [https://education.virginia.edu/research-initiatives/sheila-c-johnson-center-clinical-services ](

Schools are regularly making important decisions that impact the quality of their students' education. Add technology like artificial intelligence that is advancing lightning fast into the mix and schools are at risk of implementing products that have little evidence of actually working.

So how do they get their hands on the evidence they need to make informed decisions? That question is at the heart of the work conducted by education researchers like Vivian Wong. In this episode, Vivian shares why education research is so important and why now—with the rapid deployment of all kinds of technology, including AI—is a critical time for it to continue.

November 14, 2025 Note: At the time of recording, the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) contract had been canceled along with many other Institute of Education Sciences (IES) research contracts. Since then, the U.S. Department of Education has begun reinstating a subset of those terminated contracts. Public disclosures indicate that the WWC contract has been approved for reinstatement in a limited form, including website operations but not yet the full research-review activities previously conducted. The status and scope of the reinstated WWC contract remain unclear.

Vivian Wong:

For those in education, today’s guest likely needs no introduction. Carol Ann Tomlinson, the William Clay Parrish Professor Emerita at the UVA School of Education and Human Development, is a world-renowned expert in differentiation, an idea that connects to how teachers see and teach each student in their class.

In this conversation, Carol shares her definition of what exactly differentiation means and how her definition has evolved over time.

With 21 years of teaching experience, during which she was named Virginia’s Teacher of the Year, Tomlinson transitioned into academia, investing in a generation of future teachers at the UVA School of Education and Human Development. Her scholarship generated hundreds of publications, including books that have been translated into 14 languages. Though officially retired, Carol still works with educators across the US and around the world.

Looking back over her career, one principal reigns supreme for her when it comes to teaching: the power of human connection.

https://education.virginia.edu/about/directory/carol-ann-tomlinson