Jackie Hersh, Ph.D. 

Emma graduated from Appalachian State University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology (Departmental Honors) in May 2019. In her experience as an undergraduate, she worked as a research assistant in the REACT lab and MASC lab, completed an honors thesis, and interned at the ASU Psychology Clinic. Her career goal is to practice as a clinical psychologist in rural North Carolina, improving access to evidence-based mental health services in underserved communities through research that informs her practice (and vice versa). Her research interests include adapting and disseminating evidence-based treatments to better serve underserved and minoritized youth in rural settings (e.g., low SES, racially and/or ethnically diverse, LGBTQ+). Her master’s thesis focused on adapting a growth mindset single-session intervention for use in a rural, school-mental health setting as a precursor to mental health treatment. Additionally, Emma served as the Student Membership Officer in the ABCT Dissemination and Implementation Science Special Interest Group.

Maryam is deeply committed to improving mental health care in rural areas, aiming to eliminate stigma and provide effective, accessible services, especially to underserved populations. Her research focuses on developing strategies and interventions that address mental health challenges across different cultures. Additionally, Maryam is interested in shaping policies that inform the delivery of evidence-based interventions. Her thesis was a novel study that explored contextual factors (barriers or facilitators) that influence mental health help-seeking behaviors, creating a scale to assess these factors. The aim was to understand the impact of these factors on mental health help-seeking behaviors among racial and ethnic marginalized (REM) college students. The study hoped to facilitate the development and modification of interventions for racially and/or ethnically marginalized individuals. Maryam also serves as a graduate student clinician at the AppState Psychology Clinic, where she provides evidence-based interventions and assessment services to both the college and community population under the supervision of a licensed psychologist.

Hi, my name is Anna, I am originally from England, UK, where my background has been working as an Assistant Psychologist (like a paid practicum) within the National Health Service (NHS). This included working directly with children, adolescents, and their families in a specialist eating disorder service and with adults in a neurodevelopmental assessment service. Prior to this, I obtained an MSc in Developmental Psychology and Clinical Practice. I am passionate about working with children and their families in the local community, including developing relationships with local schools, nonprofits and various related organizations. I am interested in community-based research that directly impacts and improves the lives of the people it aims to serve. I am driven to involve children, young people, families, and teachers where I can in my research endeavors. I am also interested in adapting evidence-based interventions for groups of individuals. My dream would be to involve youth and experts by experience as collaborators in research from the ground-up.  Currently I am conducting my thesis research with Dr. Hersh where I am investigating student knowledge, attitudes, and experience toward receiving the Coping Power-Rural (CP-R) intervention, a classroom-based coping-skill intervention that has been adapted for use in rural schools. Using a mixed-methods approach (collecting data using surveys and interviews), I hope to gain insight into whether the intervention increases knowledge and adaptive coping behaviors. Additionally, I want to understand whether the CP-R program aligns with what youth would want mental health support in their school to look like. My intention is that the findings will inform future adaptations of CP-R, considerations around youth mental health needs in schools, and approaches toward designing mental health supports to meet student’s needs. The youth perspective is often overlooked in this type of research; I am hopeful that I can amplify their voice and inspire others to become more active in directly involving youth in research.

Katie graduated from Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in May 2023. During her time as an undergraduate, she researched factors that influenced educational outcomes in adolescents and college-aged students. She also completed an honors thesis that focused on improving the validity of an assessment of post-traumatic growth. Additionally, she worked as an intern at the Mind Body Institute where she was able administer neurocognitive exams to assess for Alzheimer's and Dementia. Her current research interests include adapating mental health interventions for underserved populations and reducing stigma regarding mental health. Her thesis will focus on the feasibility of Social Anxiety Disorder interventions in rural school systems. Her career goal is to practice as a clinical psychologist to service adolescents in underserved rural communities. 

Patricia graduated from the University of Miami with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Biology in May 2024. During her undergraduate, she served as a research assistant and as a lab coordinator in a team dedicated to studying child/adolescent emotions and behavior. This opportunity allowed her to coordinate with caregivers and facilitate data collection from youth to assess their emotional functioning, specifically examining patterns of irritability, anger, and emotional outbursts. She also completed an honors thesis investigating the associations between childhood adversity, emotional impulsivity in adulthood, and sleep quality. Broadly, she is interested in examining ways to improve mental health care accessibility for underserved individuals who face significant barriers to services. Her current research is investigating how caregivers’ childhood family environments impact their present levels of parenting stress, with a particular focus on the role of psychological flexibility in this association.