Helping Give Away Psychological Science/UNC Speaker Series/Fall 2022-Spring 2023

In the spring of 2023, HGAPS had the privilege of hosting 4 speakers covering a range of topics relevant to undergraduate students, graduate students, and seasoned psychologists alike. This series of events was made possible thanks to a grant funded by the Student Government Association at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Continue below for descriptions of each talk, links to recordings of the presentations (where applicable), and promotional flyers used to advertise each event over our Social Media.

Please note that this event is currently ongoing, and additional information will continue to be added by our team of editors throughout 2023.

= Speaker Series Spring 2023 Individual Talks =

Perfect Storms and Double-edged Swords: Recent advances in research on adolescent social media use and mental health - 04/04/2023
Presented by Dr. Sophia Choukas-Bradley

Sophia Choukas-Bradley, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, Director of the Teen and Young Adult Lab, and Assistant Professor of Developmental, Clinical, and Social Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research studies interpersonal and sociocultural influences on adolescent mental health, with an emphasis on gender, sexuality, social media use, body image, LGBTQ+ youth, and intersectionality.

What was this presentation about?

Nationally representative data suggest a teen mental health crisis, especially among girls and youth with marginalized identities. During adolescence, youth experience major biological and social–cognitive changes, heightened attunement to peers, and increased awareness of social justice issues. These factors create a complex set of opportunities for both positive and maladaptive development, especially for youth with marginalized identities. Today’s adolescents navigate identity development in the era of social media, which can promote opportunities for identity exploration, social connection, and resilience—but can also increase exposure to discrimination, victimization, and problematic social comparisons.

This talk presented recent quantitative and qualitative research findings from Dr. Sophia Choukas-Bradley and colleagues, regarding adolescent mental health in the era of social media, with a focus on (1) how social media may create the “perfect storm” for exacerbating adolescent girls’ body image concerns, and (2) social media as a “double-edged sword” for LGBTQ+ adolescents and other youth with marginalized identities.

Watch the YouTube video recording of the talk here.

Racial and Ethnic Mental Health Disparities in Children's Mental Health Services Use and Potential Solutions - 03/30/2023
Presented by Dr. Andrea Young

Andrea Young, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University. As a researcher and licensed clinical psychologist, she has gained national recognition for her work characterizing the complex predictors and outcomes of children's mental health service use. Dr. Young's work focuses on the treatment and diagnosis of childhood mood disorders, empirical strategies to characterize aggression in youth, mood disorder comorbidity, and the development of targeted interventions to improve children's psychosocial outcomes through increasing overall access to evidence-based services.

What was this presentation about?

a. Describe racial and ethnic disparities in access to children's mental health services.

b. Identify social structures that present barriers or facilitators to children's access to health care

c. Identify 1-2 strategies to help improve equitable access to children's mental health services

Watch the YouTube video recording of the talk here.

Better decisions, better care: Using measurement-based care to support clinical decision-making - 02/01/2023
Presented by Dr. Amanda Jensen-Doss

Amanda Jensen-Doss, PhD, is a Professor and the Director of Clinical Training for the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami, in addition to serving as the principal investigator and faculty advisor of the CIELO Lab. She is nationally recognized for her research, which aims to characterize and improve youth clinical care through the implementation of evidence-based assessment tools and treatments in clinical care settings. Dr. Jensen-Doss's work has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

What was this presentation about?

This talk provides an overview of evidence-based assessment, and discussed measurement-based care as a cornerstone of clinical treatment.

Specifically, Dr. Jensen-Doss described how measurement-based care (MBC) is the systematic use of assessment data to track treatment processes (e.g., alliance) and clinical outcomes, with feedback utilized to support clinical decision-making. Clinical guidelines for delivering mental health treatments support the use of MBC (American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice, 2006; Kazdin, 2008; Lewis et al., 2019; Weisz et al., 2014) and consensus statement endorsed by nearly 40 mental health organizations identifies MBC as foundational to evidence-based practice (Coalition for the Advancement and Application of Psychological Science, 2018). Dr. Jensen-Doss described how MBC can be used to support clinical care, with a specific focus on youth clients.

Watch the YouTube video recording of the talk here.

Let's Talk About Self-Compassion - 11/10/2022
Presented by Dr. Erica Wise

Erica Wise, PhD, is a licensed psychologist who taught graduate courses on campus for over 20 years. She is nationally recognized for her workshops on ethics and self-care for psychologists and other health care professionals. Dr. Wise consulted on the development of UNC's new college thriving course and she is passionate about promoting mental wellness, self-compassion, and positive connections on campus.

What was this presentation about?

This event provides an overview of ethics, self-care, and self-compassion, combining examples, resources and opportunities for small group discussion to create an empowering evening of sharing ideas and support.

Goals:

(a) acknowledging the pervasive level of stress in the community and caring professions

(b) prioritizing self-awareness, self-care and self-compassion as helping students, trainees, and clients as well as ourselves

(c) learning at least three resources that are available online or on campus

Note that this talk was not recorded so that participants might feel more comfortable discussing sensitive topics in small groups.