WI Student Presents at IARR Conference

First-year Clinical student, Anthony Lucas will be presenting a paper with Dr. Lauren Shapiro at this year's International Association for Relationship Research conference in June. The paper explores the inter- and intra-personal dynamics involved in the decision to marry. Thematic analysis was conducted on semi-structured interviews with 48 newlyweds.

Major themes included: The collaborative nature of envisioning and constructing a shared future, the role of social pressure and support- in the form of cultural scripts and family prodding-and the conceptualization of marriage as a vehicle for expressing love and commitment to one's partner as well as communicating a shift in relationship status to the community.

WI Student Presents at NCORE

Munn Saechao was invited to present at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE) on May 30th in Forthworth, TX. Munn will co-facilitate a training on the topic: Affirming our Asian American cultural identities in the context of current political times (Individually yet collectively, individualized yet unified while having our needs met on college and university campuses). Munn will utilize her dissertation and her experience as a social worker to discuss the development of culturally sensitive programs for underrepresented Southeast Asian students on university campuses.

Munn was also invited to present her dissertation at the Sacramento Valley Psychological Association (SVPA) student research conference on May 13th in Sacramento, CA. Her dissertation is titled: Three to Four Decades Later: Examining Stressors And Resiliency Factors For Elderly Iu-Mien Refugees.

Meet HSU's New Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity Executive Director

Cheryl Johnson, Psy.D., has recently been named Executive Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Humboldt State University.

In this role, Johnson will also serve as the HSU Title IX Coordinator. Her appointment begins July 1, 2017. Read more: https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2017/may/1/meet-hsus-new-office-diversity-e...

WI Student Is Chair-Elect of CPAGS

Third-year student, Crystal Faith Cajilog, was recently Chair-Elect of the California Psychological Association of Graduate Students (CPAGS). CPAGS is the graduate student division of the California Psychological Association (CPA). Its purpose is to expand leadership, networking, research, advocacy, and scholarship opportunities for California Psychology graduate students. Ms. Cajilog works with adolescents at San Mateo County's Youth Services Center and conducts court-ordered assessments.

She has held several leadership positions with CPA's Federal Advocacy Committee, Pipeline to Advanced Degrees in Psychology (PaDiP) for Historically Underrepresented Students, University of California San Francisco's Mabuhay Health Center, and Bohol Circle Inc. in Alameda, CA. Her clinical interests include working with bio-psycho-social focus, substance addiction, psychological assessment (forensic and child), and Filipino American psychology. Other interests include legislative advocacy, outreach to marginalized students to enter the field of psychology, and mental health outreach to address mental health stigma in communities of color.

Publication by Nathan Greene & Katie McGovern

Gratitude, psychological well-being, and perceptions of posttraumatic growth in adults who lost a parent in childhood

Findings from an online survey of 350 adults who experienced early parental death showed that current dispositional gratitude was positively correlated with psychological well-being and posttraumatic growth and negatively correlated with depression. Further, 281 participants produced textual responses indicating they could remember the time following their parent's death.

Increases in gratitude attributable to the experience of losing a parent were reported by 79% of these participants. They associated their increased gratitude with a newfound belief that life is precious and with greater appreciation for loved ones. Direction of change in gratitude was associated with psychological well-being, posttraumatic growth, and depression. Read more: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07481187.2017.1296505

WI Student WPA Convention Presentation

Marussia Role, M.A. will be providing a poster presentation on her dissertation research at the Western Psychological Association (WPA) annual convention in April. To understand the lived experiences of transgender women in the adult film industry, Ms. Role completed nine in-depth, semi-structured interviews exploring transgender women's experiences, motivations, likes, and dislikes of the adult film industry.

She completed this research under the guidance of her chair, Dr. Balis, and second reader, Dr. Shapiro. Ms. Role looks forward to sharing the results of this study with the psychology community.

WI Student in the News

Nouf Alrashid is the only Arabic-speaking counselor who works at Oakland International through Partnerships for Trauma Recovery (PTR), a nonprofit that provides psychological care and school clinicians for refugees in the Bay Area.

Read article: Oakland Schools Face Increased Challenges to Support Newcomer Students http://www.oaklandpost.org/2017/03/09/oakland-schools-face-increased-cha...

Former Wright Institute Instructor and UC Berkeley Postgrad dies at 69

Former UC Berkeley postgraduate researcher and UC Extension instructor L. Jay Citron died in his home Dec. 26, three months short of his 70th birthday. Read more here.

Dr. Alicia del Prado Recognized for "IamPsyched; Inspiring Histories, Inspiring Lives: Women of Color in Psychology"

Faculty member Dr. Alicia del Prado is recognized for helping support the "IamPsyched; Inspiring Histories, Inspiring Lives: Women of Color in Psychology", a media pop-up museum.

For more information on this important exhibit, please see the article:, "'I am Psyched!' Tour Shines Light on Black Female Psychologist's Race Contributions" at http://www.afro.com/psyched-tour-shines-light-black-female-psychologists...

Wright student & faculty elected to AAPA, Division on Practice (DoP) Executive Committee

Congratulations to Wright Institute Psy.D. student Meiyang Kadaba who has been elected for the Student Representative seat for the Division on Practice (DoP) within the Asian American Psychology Association (AAPA)!

"The Division on Practice (DoP) provides a forum for Asian American psychologists who have vast interests in the provision of clinical services to the mental health community and in bridging the gap between research and practice. The DoP offers a platform to foster collaborations between researchers and practitioners on research that truly informs practice with API clients and on current practice trends that can guide future research on API mental health issues. Furthermore, the DoP provides the networks, support, resources and institutional visibility for AAPI practitioners that reflect the core mission of AAPA."