Joint PhD Program News

Congratulations to Natasha Johnson, Joint Doctoral Program in Social Work and Psychology, for successfully defending her dissertation, "You Must Work Twice as Hard for Half as Much: Racial Socialization, Racial Identity, and Racism Awareness in Adolescence." Her committee chairs were Daphne Watkins and Stephanie Rowley. Johnson was awarded the Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation and will be working as a postdoctoral fellow with the U-M School of Public Health.

PhD student Change Kwesele recently published “‘It’s Not a Quick Fix.’ Notes for the ‘good’ white people: Insights on conversations about race at work” on Medium.  Kwesele breaks down why the choice of words matters.  “White people must be mindful of how certain ‘polite’ words and conversations have been used to harm Black people.”

Janelle Goodwill, Joint PhD student in Social Work and Psychology, successfully defended her dissertation "A multi-method analysis of stigma, social support, and suicide ideation among Black college students." Her committee consisted of Daphne Watkins, Jacqueline Mattis (co-chairs), Robert J. Taylor and Myles Durkee.

The National Institute of Mental Health is funding Lauren White, Joint PhD student in Social Psychology and Social Work, to study a new suicide prevention model, Promoting Community Conversations About Research to End Suicide. The program is a health intervention designed, supported and implemented by remote communities in Northwest Alaska to decrease youth suicide. Professor Lisa Wexler is the principal investigator.

Sara Stein, Joint PhD student social work and psychology discussed MI Frontline Support a program offering mental health care to essential workers during the Coronavirus pandemic. The program makes it easier for frontline workers to connect with licensed clinicians. 

Associate Professor Matthew Smith and SIMmersion LLC were awarded a $3.1 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. Smith is the scientific lead developing a virtual simulation, which will help autistic teens and young adults learn effective ways to talk and interact with customers, coworkers and supervisors in work settings. Joint PhD student Kari Sherwood is assisting with this project.

Clinical Associate Professor Julie Ribaudo, Joint PhD Student Sara Stein and the team from Zero to Thrive have created a trauma-informed coloring book for young children and their caregivers. Children may struggle to understand COVID-19. In the absence of concrete explanations, children can often imagine the worst and blame themselves for the changes they are experiencing.  Georgie and the Giant Germ was developed to support caregivers in holding difficult conversations and to give children a way to express and manage their worries.

Michigan’s frontline workers are providing essential services during the pandemic and they are also dealing with unprecedented stress.  Knowing the potential impact of this stress on workers’ psychological well-being, a team including Joint PhD student Sara Stein LMSW, MS and Joy Wolfe Ensor, PhD ‘83, has created MI Frontline Support, a mental health initiative to help frontline workers in Michigan get easy-to-access support from clinicians. Other team members include Erin Barbossa, Felicia Brabec and Sarah Jurkovic.

“The mental health of our doctors, nurses, delivery personnel, grocery clerks, gas station attendants and other essential workers is paramount now more than ever,” says Sara Stein “They are putting their own health and safety, not to mention that of their families, at risk to save others affected by the outbreak, provide needed food and deliver crucial necessities to Michiganders. I feel it’s our responsibility, as social workers and psychologists, to ensure that frontline workers who are supporting all of us during this pandemic can access the mental health care they need.” Members of MI Frontline Support along with members of the southeast Michigan mental health community delivered an online psychoeducational presentation on the mental health risks of the pandemic to frontline workers. 

MI Frontline Support’s priority is to develop a detailed list of mental health clinicians who can provide services to essential workers in need. “We invite all licensed Michigan mental health professionals to join this initiative. The list will reduce the barriers that make it difficult to find a provider,” says Stein. MI Frontline Support is removing the long wait to find a therapist, providing easy insurance information for clients who have insurance, pay what you can for those who still have resources, and some volunteer services for frontline workers who can't afford anything. 

You can do your part:

• If you are a licensed clinician who wants to be added to the directory of available providers go to MIFrontlineSupport.com and fill out the Google form.  
• If you are working or know of someone on the frontlines who is suffering from stress, emotional strain and physical exhaustion and needs help coping, share the list of providers.

During this global pandemic, it is essential to protect Michigan’s frontline workers. Interventions such as MI Frontline Support bolster the mental well-being for workers exposed to COVID-19.