About Us

The Psychological Recovery & Interpersonal Support Mechanisms (PRISM) Lab is a research team housed within Bard's Psychology Program. In the PRISM Lab, we examine how social contexts -- and especially our closest relationships -- can shape trajectories of mental health, mental illness, and resilience to trauma and stress. 

Our lab uses a range of well-validated and innovative psychological research methods, including lab observations, digital phenotyping of technology-based social exchanges, and online surveys, as well as individual and dyadic study designs, to identify how social support and mental health problems are bidirectionally related to each other.

The long-term goal of our research is to identify the strengths and struggles of informal social support providers like close family, romantic partners and friends, and to provide them with evidence-informed recommendations for how to help individuals struggling with their mental health.