Research and clinical practice
Spencer Hills is a mobile crisis clinician in rural Oregon whose research focuses on exercise prescription in behavioral health. He is interested in how the intensity, duration, and timing of exercise affect psychological outcomes, and what dose is sufficient to produce meaningful improvement.
Research interests
In reviewing exercise interventions in behavioral health, Hills found that studies reported different features of the exercise dose, making it difficult to compare what participants actually did. He proposed the Seven Specifier Framework for Exercise Prescription to give researchers and clinicians a common way to describe those interventions. He presented the framework at the Society of Behavioral Medicine’s Annual Meeting in April 2026 and built Exercise Px so others could try applying it and offer feedback.
His master’s thesis examined how specific patterns of social media use were associated with disordered eating in 100 adults. His clinical work also informs his writing and teaching on rural behavioral health, where he examines how local norms, distance, and the availability of services shape access to care.
Background
Hills earned his M.A. in Applied Clinical Psychology from Pacific University in January 2026. He completed his undergraduate degree in psychology with a minor in kinesiology at Pacific in 2023.
He has coached skiing, mountain biking, and rowing and worked as a bike mechanic, ski technician, ski patroller, and outdoor guide. Outside of work, he’s usually outdoors or in his workshop.