Category: Transdiagnostic
Emily Bernstein, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist
Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Somerville, Massachusetts
Nicole LeBlanc, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
Massachusetts General Hospital
Needham, Massachusetts
Stephanie Pinder-Amaker, Ph.D.
Chief Diversity Equity & Inclusion Officer & Director College Mental Health Program
McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts
Emily Bernstein, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist
Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Somerville, Massachusetts
Evan M. Kleiman, PhD
Assistant Professor
Rutgers, The State university of new jersey
Piscataway, New Jersey
Kate Bentley, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts
Emily Lattie, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Chicago, Illinois
Katherine Cohen, M.A.
Graduate Student
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, New York
Universities across the country are facing a mental health crisis. An estimated half of students meet diagnostic thresholds for a psychiatric disorder in the past year and more suffer from subthreshold symptoms. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors overwhelmed counseling centers. Today, the lack of services available to students can be devastating. And community providers are unable to fill in the gaps. The country at large is experiencing unprecedented waitlists and shortages of mental health professionals. Moreover, only a fraction of students with mental health problems are even seeking help.
It is clear that existing systems and models of care are insufficient. Campuses need new, scalable, accessible, and—critically—evidence-based options. For example, this includes providing preventative and early interventions that do not rely on already over-burdened counseling center clinicians; reducing mild symptoms or preventing the development of symptoms at all outside of the current system should reduce the bottleneck and conserve clinician time for more severe cases that need more individualized, intensive face-to-face services. This also includes reaching the enormous number of students who are not presenting for treatment, whether because of perceived need, stigma, cost, or other barriers. There is great opportunity to innovate novel approaches to meeting these students where they are.
The goal of this symposium is to introduce researchers and clinicians to exciting new directions in this space. These projects highlight promising, scalable strategies as well as critical challenges that require attention. The symposium highlights research covering new methods of treatment delivery (e.g., apps, virtual sessions, hybrid models), new adaptations of validated interventions, and actionable take-aways for clinicians, administrators, researchers, and other stakeholders. Speaker 1 will present a single session CBT-based workshop tailored specifically to support graduate students and administered over Zoom and by peers. Speaker 2 will detail DBT skills videos designed to support college students during the COVID-pandemic. Speaker 3 will present a hybrid program that combines a brief in-person treatment with smartphone app-based support. Speaker 4 will discuss clinician and students’ respective experiences with the switch to telehealth at counseling centers during the pandemic. Finally, in a large national survey of over 10,000 students, Speaker 5 will explore students' beliefs about telehealth, in-person, and hybrid models of care and thus provide key stakeholder insights for designing and improving programs moving forward. The Discussant, a leader in college mental healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion, will lead the group and audience in a review of broader lessons learned, open questions, priorities, and future directions. Together, these talks will offer insight into how therapists, researchers, and broader university communities can help students during this crisis. These data can support more directed work in treatment development, implementation, and testing.
Presenter: Emily E. Bernstein, Ph.D. – Massachusetts General Hospital
Co-author: Nicole LeBlanc, Ph.D. – Massachusetts General Hospital
Co-author: Richard J. McNally, Ph.D. – Harvard University
Presenter: Evan M. Kleiman, PhD – Rutgers, The State university of new jersey
Co-author: Evan M. Kleiman, PhD – Rutgers, The State university of new jersey
Co-author: Jesse Finkelstein, M.A. – Rutgers University
Co-author: Annmarie Wacha-Montes, PsyD – Northwell Health
Co-author: April L. Yeager, PhD – Rutgers University
Co-author: Allison K. Ruork, Ph.D. – Rutgers University
Co-author: Qingqing Yin, M.S. – Rutgers University
Co-author: John Kellerman, MA – Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Co-author: Joanne Kim, MA – Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Co-author: Molly Stern, PsyM – Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Co-author: Linda Oshin, Ph.D. – Rutgers University
Co-author: Shireen L. Rizvi, ABPP, Ph.D. – Rutgers University
Presenter: Kate Bentley, Ph.D. – Massachusetts General Hospital
Co-author: Adam Jaroszewski, Ph.D. – Massachusetts General Hospital
Co-author: Madison E. Taylor, BA – Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Co-author: Olivia Lozy, BA – Rutgers, The State university of new jersey
Co-author: Kaileigh P. Conti, PhD – Rutgers University
Co-author: W. Reese Mayer, PhD – Rutgers, The State university of new jersey
Co-author: Annmarie Wacha-Montes, PsyD – Northwell Health
Co-author: Evan M. Kleiman, PhD – Rutgers, The State university of new jersey
Presenter: Emily G. Lattie, Ph.D. – Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Co-author: Emily Hersch, MA – Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Co-author: Katherine Cohen, M.A. – Stony Brook University
Co-author: Clarisa Wijaya, PhD – Northwestern University
Co-author: Kofoworola Williams, M.P.H., Ph.D. – Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
Co-author: Bayley Taple, PhD – Northwestern University
Presenter: Katherine Cohen, M.A. – Stony Brook University
Co-author: Divya Manikandan, BS – The University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Co-author: Matthew Jirsa, MHSA – The University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Co-author: Amy Gatto, MPH – Active Minds
Co-author: Sasha Zhou, PhD – Wayne State University