Quantitative Methods
- Biostatistics
- Psychometrics & Scale Reliability
- Effect Sizes & Confidence Intervals
- Reliable & Clinically Significant Change
- Program Evaluation
- R · SPSS
Graduate researcher · Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CACREP)
Zachary D. Rife
A counselor-in-training in Liberty University's CACREP-accredited M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling — on the path to LPC and, in time, LMFT. This site stages research in progress in clinical mental health statistics drawn from public data and DSM-5-TR diagnostics, with brief, case-applied notes on the therapeutic approaches each condition indicates.
- Field
- Behavioral
Science - Institution
- Liberty
University - Program
- Clinical Mental
Health Counseling
Profile
Profile.
I’m a counselor-in-training pursuing a CACREP-accredited M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Liberty University, with the long-term goal of licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and, eventually, a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT).
My academic foundation pairs a B.S. in Psychology — human development, psychopathology, and research methods — with quantitative training that carries directly into counseling research. That combination shapes how I work: an interest in why people change, disciplined by a concern for how we can actually measure it.
My scholarship starts with the data — applying biostatistics to clinical mental health questions using publicly available datasets, and reading the DSM-5-TR to classify what those numbers describe. I work from public data to study symptom severity, comorbidity, and treatment response at the clinical level; only then do I turn, briefly and case by case, to the therapeutic approaches the evidence indicates. Looking further out, I intend to continue into an Ed.S. in Community Care & Counseling with a Marriage & Family Therapy cognate, and ultimately a Ph.D. in Counselor Education & Supervision.
Education
Academic preparation.
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Liberty University
M.A. Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CACREP)
In progressAdmitted to Liberty’s CACREP-accredited Clinical Mental Health Counseling program — the graduate foundation for licensure as an LPC. Anticipated continuation: an Ed.S. in Community Care & Counseling (Marriage & Family Therapy cognate) and a Ph.D. in Counselor Education & Supervision (CACREP).
- Counseling Theories & Techniques
- Ethical & Legal Issues in Counseling
- Human Growth & Development
- Multicultural Counseling
- Psychopathology & Diagnosis (DSM-5-TR)
- Group Counseling
- Career Development & Counseling
- Research & Program Evaluation
- Assessment in Counseling
- Crisis, Trauma & Grief Counseling
- Practicum & Internship
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Liberty University
B.S. Psychology — Honors
The clinical and scientific foundation for graduate counseling work — human development, psychopathology, and the research methods behind evidence-based practice. Inducted into Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology.
- Abnormal Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Theories of Personality
- Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences
- Research Methods
- Cognitive Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Counseling & Helping Relationships
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Liberty University
A.A. Accounting
An early degree that shaped how I think — with rigor, ethics, and an eye for detail. The quantitative discipline carries directly into counseling research, assessment, and program evaluation.
Honors & Affiliations
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Dean's List
Liberty University
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Delta Mu Delta — International Honor Society in Business
Liberty University chapter
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Omega Nu Lambda — National Honor Society for Online Students
Liberty University chapter
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Psi Chi — International Honor Society in Psychology
Liberty University chapter
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Tau Sigma — National Honor Society for Transfer Students
Liberty University chapter
Methods
Methodological training.
Competencies under active development across the quantitative and qualitative traditions, with the clinical and ethical frameworks that ground counseling research.
Qualitative Methods
- Thematic Analysis
- Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
- Grounded Theory
- Semi-Structured Interviewing
- Coding & Memoing
- Trustworthiness & Rigor
Clinical & Diagnostic Frameworks
- DSM-5-TR Diagnosis
- Differential Diagnosis
- Case Conceptualization
- Evidence-Based Practice
- Treatment Planning
- Family Systems & Genograms
Publications
Publication board.
Current manuscripts and working papers. Each is backed by a supporting-research repository so any claim can be independently back-tested or audited. Nothing here is peer-reviewed unless stated.
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Statistical Methods for Clinical Mental Health: Secondary Analyses of Public Data
Abstract — Applying biostatistics to clinical mental health questions — symptom severity, comorbidity, and treatment response — through reproducible secondary analyses of publicly available clinical and behavioral datasets. Code and figures are versioned so every result can be reproduced.
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Reading the DSM-5-TR: A Structured Reference to Diagnostic Classification
Abstract — A structured, plain-language reference to the DSM-5-TR classification system — how disorders are organized, how criteria are applied, and what changed from DSM-5 — built as a working tool for diagnosis and case formulation.
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Clinical Case Studies: Statistics, Diagnosis, and Therapeutic Approach
Abstract — A growing set of disorder-focused case studies, each pairing a condition's statistics — drawn from public data — with its DSM-5-TR criteria and a brief note on the evidence-based therapeutic approaches it indicates.
Supporting research
Supporting research.
The reproducible components beneath the publications — data, analysis, protocols, and instruments — each versioned in its own repository and rendered as a standalone site. This is the audit trail: open the source and re-run the work.
Fig. 01 — Quantitative · Biostatistics
Statistics in Clinical Mental Health
The data core: reproducible biostatistics applied to clinical questions — symptom severity, comorbidity, and treatment response — through secondary analyses of publicly available clinical datasets, with the code and figures versioned so every result can be reproduced.
Fig. 02 — Reference · Diagnosis
DSM-5-TR Diagnostic Reference
A structured reference to the DSM-5-TR: how the diagnostic classes are organized, how criteria are applied in practice, and what shifted from DSM-5 to the text revision — assembled as a working tool for accurate diagnosis and case formulation.
Fig. 03 — Applied · Case Studies
Clinical Case Studies
Where the statistics and the diagnosis meet the person: disorder-focused case studies that pair a condition’s statistics — drawn from public data — with its DSM-5-TR criteria, then close with a brief, evidence-based note on the therapeutic approaches it indicates.
Contact
Let's correspond.
Open to research collaboration, supervision and faculty correspondence, and solicitations related to counseling research. The most reliable way to reach me is email.