Category: Berger Institute News

On Monday, September 23rd, Claremont McKenna College’s Athenaeum and the Berger Institute welcomed Dr. Anna S. Lau in giving an eye-opening, evening presentation on the research-to-practice gap for evidence-based practice in mental health. Dr. Lau is a child clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. In her presentation, Dr. Lau focused on the current views of evidence-based practice in mental health, the trouble with getting evidence-based research into practice while serving diverse families, and studies on how evidence-based practices can be adapted to be more culturally responsive.

“Effect sizes fall when evidence-based practices move from research to practice settings,” states Dr. Lau. She shares that many of these studies are from a specific sample of people from university settings who are somewhat similar. These researched, evidence-based practices, while very effective with the university samples, may not fare as well with the varying and more complex needs of clients from the larger community. Many practitioners in response may either adapt the evidence-based practices, possibly compromising its effectiveness, they may discard the evidence and rely on their expertise, or they may ignore the complex needs of their clients and rely too much on the research. In studying this, Dr. Lau found that many community therapists actually make pretty good calls when adapting the research, such as lengthening the pacing or omitting small components, with the integrity of the evidence-based practice still intact. Dr. Lau and others “want to give community therapists more support in leaning into the evidence-based practices” and how it can be adapted to fit their clients’ needs.

To keep up with Berger Institute events, click here. For the CMC Athenaeum speaker schedule, click here.

Stop by and give a warm welcome to Jessica, Berger Institute’s new Research Coordinator. Jessica serves as the Lab Manager for the research arm of the Institute. She will be hiring and training Research Assistants, helping with study recruitment, delving into data analysis, and helping to publicize the research at the Institute.

Through working at multiple research labs before graduating with her Psychology degree from Berkeley in 2018, Jessica developed a strong interest in the study of emotion regulation, mental health, and interpersonal relationships. “It’s really interesting seeing how they all intertwine,” says Jessica, who described this interest as really blooming under her mentor, Dr. Ariel Starr, a professor at the University of Washington.

Upon seeing the open position at the Institute, Jessica was immediately interested: “This is definitely hitting almost all of the key points I have in my research interests,” shares Jessica. “I’m really excited to see the results. . .to look at the hard science data like cortisol and blood pressure and all of these things, and then linking it to mental health, I feel like is such a good strength, and it’s where the field needs to go.” Jessica is also very excited to work with Dr. Doan and Dr Smiley (at the AMH Care lab). “They are such strong women, and I get really excited when they’re teaching me something,” says Jessica.

If you would like to talk to Jessica more, she can be reached at jesvicman@cmc.edu or by stopping by the Institute office at Bauer North 224. “My door is always open if [there are] questions about clinical experience, research experience, the Marvel Universe, etc.” smiles Jessica.

Berger Institute researchers and students were excited to present their research April 25-27 at the 99^th Annual Western Psychological Association (WPA) Convention in Pasadena. Presenting both through posters and talks, the Berger Institute researchers engaged attendees with topics ranging from effects of maternal behavior to children’s helping behaviors to connections between physical health, mental health, and race. Students and recent alumni had the opportunity to share their research and practice discussing their research professionally to a wide audience. In addition, students attending the conference had the opportunity to learn about new research and network.

In addition to multiple posters, the Berger staff and students presented a series of talks focused on parenting behaviors and emotion regulation in both parents and children. The presentation ended with a lively Q&A with several questions from researchers, students, and even practitioners who were in the audience. For more information on recent research from Berger Institute staff and students, click here.

On Thursday, April 11^th, a panel of CMC faculty and staff came together to discuss Asian mental health and identity with the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) community on campus. Any other interested students, faculty, and staff were welcomed as well. Co-hosted by the Asian Pacific American Mentors (APAM) and the Berger Institute, the event was created to bring awareness to the issue, especially in light of recent events on campus. Panelists had friendly and informal discussions with attendees over dinner at the Athenaeum and then dived into more formal discussions on mental health. Topics revolved around how APIDA communities and 7C’s students respond to mental health issues, how having faculty of color on campus benefits the students, and strategies to help improve well-being. To keep track of future panels and events through the Berger Institute, follow us here. For more information on APAM, click here. For mental health resources on campus, visit the 7C’s Monsour Counseling Services site here.

Special thanks to our contributors: Anushree Belur, Courtney Chan, Wei-Chin Hwang, Michael Chen, and Gayle Lee!