Global Mental Health Lab

?? New publication alert! ??? What helps college students stay well during times of major distress — like the height of the COVID-19 pandemic? ?? Answer: DBT skills — specifically the “ABC PLEASE” skills ?? ???Our findings offer a snapshot of what helped some folks stay grounded during that challenging time. While non-experimental and limited to a college student sample, this [EMA] study adds to the conversation around: ? Low-cost, scalable interventions to support mental health ? The importance of practical, accessible emotion regulation skills ?? I feel so grateful to my co-authors Jaymes Rombaoa and Saida Heshmati, and Tyler Owen, who led this project, and also for my research assistants in the Global Mental Health Lab at Pitzer College who helped with participant recruitment and data collection: Yilin Li, Julia H., Lila Avenda?o, Lizbeth Valdivia-Jauregui, and Jenna Ledbetter ?? Check out a pre-print of our paper here ?? https://lnkd.in/ewQm7_Hz #mentalhealth #DBT #emotionregulation #research

Ugh, I wish I could have been there for Part 2! ?? But it was an absolute honor to be a trainer for Part 1 of this Intensive and to provide consultation to 4 of the 8 Indonesian DBT teams. I’m looking forward to the follow-up session (Part 3) in May! A huge thank you to Darien Alfa Cipta, Alvin Saputra, Leslie Melisa, and Putri Rosarie for all your dedication in bringing this life-saving treatment to Indonesia. It’s truly an honor to work alongside you! Ayo kita bisa. Semangat!

As people with Down syndrome see their life expectancy increase worldwide, they face unique health challenges. Rhea Mistry ’25 wanted to ensure that clinicians are equipped and educated to support them. Last summer Mistry started her project, “Addressing Healthcare Disparities Faced by Aging Down Syndrome Populations.” She developed it for her senior thesis this past fall. She began her research as a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) John R. Lewis Undergraduate Public Health Scholar at the UC Davis MIND Institute. A behavioral neuroscience major, Mistry worked as a research assistant for Pitzer’s Global Mental Health Lab and Department of Natural Sciences. #Pitzer #PitzerCollege

Do you know a college student (or recent graduate) who is considering a career in mental health? If so, please share this post with them: The Post Baccalaureate Child and Adolescent Clinical Fellowship, McLean Hospital might be a great fit. The 2-year fellowship is a full time job with additional training and mentorship opportunities, all within affiliate hospitals of Harvard Medical School. Several of my Pitzer College graduates have participated in and loved this program! I'm one of the advisors for the program. Next month, I’ll co-host an informational session, along with the Director, Fairlee C. Fabrett, Ph.D. Our panel will include a mix of alumni and current fellows: ? Addison Kay, former PostBac, enrolled in MSW ? Lucia O'Sullivan, current PostBac, applying to med school ? Krandhasi Kodaiarasu, former PostBac, enrolled in clinical PhD ??? When: Tuesday, January 14, at 8am PT (11am ET) ?? Link: Scan QR codes for more info and to register ?? Where: On zoom Happy New Year! ???

Last week was packed with learning, connecting, and unexpected fun! At Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, I reconnected with my former Global Mental Health Lab manager, Sarah M.. I awarded her with the one-and-only “Lab G.O.A.T.” trophy! Thank you, Sarah, for your leadership these past 2+ years and for helping me build the Youth and Family Institute - Los Angeles! On my way to Philly, I spent a day in Boston at McLean Hospital training some of the psychology fellows at Harvard Medical School in DBT-informed parent coaching and family therapy. With a follow-up training on zoom today. Thank you, Fairlee C. Fabrett, Ph.D. and Matthew Schrock, for the opportunity and the new fleece! ?? On a whim, I also attended my first pro football game with Roger Pottanat and Blaise Aguire. Super fun. —Go Birds! ?? #mentalhealth #dbt

I'm one of the diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) advisors for the Post Baccalaureate Child and Adolescent Clinical Fellowship, McLean Hospital. If you’re a college student considering a career in the mental health field, this program might be a great fit for you. The clinical and research training opportunities are hosted within McLean Hospital’s Simches Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and across the Mass General Brigham system, all affiliates of Harvard Medical School. Fairlee C. Fabrett, Ph.D., director of the PBac program, will host an?informational session on Friday, November 1 at 11:30am EST. See posters and QR codes for more details and to register. Let me know if you have any questions about the program. Alternatively, you can reach out to one of my former Pitzer College students who are part of the PBac Fellowship: Addison Kay, Annie Davenport, Annie Lewis, Augusta Bryan, Daniella Levy, Hannah Lak, Morgane Monjauze, Tanvi Duggal, some of whom are also my Global Mental Health Lab alumni! Here's a link with more information and a testimonial video featuring some of our stellar fellows: https://lnkd.in/d_ECifz4 #dbt #mentalhealth

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) has officially made its way to China and is being implemented in more than a dozen hospitals. Earlier this month, I attended the 1st Chinese International DBT Conference in Nanjing. The conference, hosted by Chun Wang and the Nanjing Brain Hospital, was truly exceptional. The whole experience felt like a dream, one that my colleagues and I have been working towards for many years. It was incredibly rewarding to see several of the teams I’ve helped train across China since 2017—in cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chongqing, and Changchun—officially recognized as centers for DBT treatment, training, and research by the Asia-Pacific Association for DBT. During the conference, I taught a workshop on DBT-informed parent coaching and co-led a demonstration of DBT group supervision. I also met up with my mentor, Zach Rosenthal, who is now super involved in the world of DBT in China! I got to meet his brilliant PhD student, Yanyan my 师妹 (younger lab sister). During her keynote talk, my other ‘lab sister’ Shian-Ling, paid a touching tribute to our late advisor, Clive Robins. I feel deeply grateful to play a small part in bringing this life-saving treatment to China. It’s one of the most meaningful things I’ve done. And it’s beautiful to get to do this work in community with people I love??? Julia, Leslie, Faria, Vibh, Anthony, Andre, Esme, Erica, Clerissa, Maggie, Mariah, Tim, Sarah, Yusi, Youth and Family Institute - Los Angeles, Global Mental Health Lab, #dbt “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” -African proverb

For students aspiring to become counselors and therapists, Associate Professor of Psychology Marcus Rodriguez emphasizes real-world experience in his classes. To that end, Pitzer’s Community Engagement Center (CEC) connects Rodriguez’s students to the Pomona Unified School District (PUSD) for semester-long internships. Pitzer students give emotional support to PUSD students as peer counselors under the guidance of social workers. The CEC recently helped arrange a training for 130 teachers, counselors, and principals from all four middle schools in PUSD. Rodriguez co-led the training to teach educators about dialectical behavior therapy skills and validation strategies to make sure that their students feel seen, heard, and supported. #Pitzer #PitzerCollege #MentalHealth

I lived in China for more than 9 years but haven’t been back since 2019. I will finally return next month. ?? I was invited to teach a workshop on Parent Coaching in DBT (https://lnkd.in/gNXSSEHp) at the 1st Chinese International Dialectical Behavior Therapy Conference in Nanjing on September 7-8. At the conference, I will also provide a case consultation demonstration along with my friend Leslie Anderson, and I will participate on a panel with my Duke University lab-sister, Shian-Ling Keng, and our mentor, Zach Rosenthal. Finally, Chun Wang will present results from our 13-site RCT study examining the efficacy of DBT skills groups in inpatient hospital settings. Here is a link to learn more about the inaugural Chinese International #DBT Conference: https://lnkd.in/gWBFwD5E These photos are from some of my in-person DBT trainings in Beijing, Shanghai, and Wuhan prior to the start of the pandemic. I look forward to reconnecting with my friends, colleagues, and also our Global Mental Health Lab research collaborators! #mentalhealth #globalhealth #suicideprevention

This past week, I attended a 5-day writing retreat along with Carla Walton, Emily Cooney, and Tony DuBose in Waiheke Island. Each day, we wrote for at least 6 pomodoros -- that is, 25 minutes of work, followed by 5 minutes of rest. We each worked on independent writing projects: books, articles, podcasts. Then in the afternoons, we read, revised, and gave feedback on each other’s drafts. I made significant progress on my projects. We also enjoyed great fun, lovely hikes, yummy food, cozy car rides, and a few early morning swims in the Pacific Ocean…during the New Zealand winter! If you’ve never been on a writing retreat, I highly recommend it. If you have, I’d love to hear about it. We organized our own, but you can also join one organized by independent facilitators.