Presenter: Erica Marshall Lee, PhD; Suzann Smith Lawley, PhD; Desiree Frain, PsyD; Anne Werkheiser, B.A.

CE Details: 3CE, Intermediate

A call to social justice action is included in proposed revisions to APA's Ethical Principles and many guidelines for practice and training, highlighting a growing need for tools to take effective action. Reflective practice involves critical self-reflection of identities, interpersonal dynamics, and oppressive systems, yielding insights which can enhance clinical efficacy and promote social change. Through didactic and experiential approaches, reflective practice will be explored as a fundamental tool for engaging in social justice action across the professional lifespan. We will emphasize methods and strategies for advancing social justice in supervision, training, and practice.

PRESENTER QUALIFICATIONS

Desiree Frain, Psy.D. (she/her/hers) is completing her postdoctoral fellowship at Emory University and Grady Health Systems as she progresses toward licensure as a clinical psychologist in Georgia. She completed her graduate studies at Regent University in her home state of Virginia where she engaged in varied practica experiences with the diverse population of the Hampton Roads area. Dr. Frain finished her predoctoral internship at Georgia Regional Hospital in Atlanta, where she provided clinical services to primarily underserved persons diagnosed with severe mental illnesses (SMI). Dr. Frain defended her doctoral dissertation titled Shame as a Mediator between Negative Faith-Community Reactions to Sexual Assault Disclosure and Psychological Outcomes in June of 2022. Her clinical interests include borderline personality disorder, recovery-oriented cognitive therapy, and trauma-focused therapy. During her postdoctoral fellowship, she is pursuing additional experiences in supervision and training in preparation for a career in training future mental health professionals with a social justice action-oriented perspective.

Dr. Suzann Lawry is a clinical psychologist who is committed to using her professional roles of psychotherapist, supervisor, consultant, and educator to promote Social Justice. Dr. Lawry’s research interests are in the contextual factors associated with Impostor Phenomenon and Burnout. She maintains a private practice in Atlanta, Georgia and she is a supervisor and adjunct faculty in the Clinical Psychology program at Georgia State University.

Erica Marshall - Lee, PhD, ABPP (she/her/hers) is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory School of Medicine. Dr. Marshall - Lee received her undergraduate, master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Mississippi and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine. Her areas of research are centered on social justice advocacy and equity, diversity, and inclusion with a specific focus on individuals with serious and persistent mental health concerns and minoritized communities, and behavioral healthcare learning. She is interested in addressing physical and mental healthcare disparities with minoritized communities, and culturally competent and responsive care, education, and training. She enjoys promoting mental health and well-being, and social justice, and advocacy through work with her professional affiliations at national, state, and institutional levels

Anne E. Werkheiser, B.A. (she/her) is a 3rd-year graduate student in the clinical psychology PhD program at Georgia State University. Anne earned bachelor’s degrees in psychology and Spanish from Goucher College. After graduation, she worked as a clinical research assistant at University of Maryland, Baltimore studying innovative treatments for psychosis spectrum disorders. She is currently collecting data for her thesis studying worry as an emotion regulation strategy. Anne has worked clinically with individual adult therapy clients with anxiety and mood disorders and is currently completing a practicum at Grady Behavioral Health providing CBT for psychosis to clients with psychosis spectrum disorders and other forms of severe and persistent mental illness. Anne is a passionate advocate for social justice, serving as Advocacy Liaison for the Georgia State University Clinic Diversity Committee, working to carry out two CEMRRAT training grants focused on providing paid research and mentorship opportunities for BIPOC undergraduate psychology students, and engaging outside of graduate school in abolitionist community organizing with racial justice organizations in Baltimore and Atlanta

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. At the end of this workshop, the participant will be able to describe at least two strategies for using reflective practice to advance social justice in supervision, training and service delivery
2. At the end of this workshop, the participant will be able to list specific barriers and facilitative practices for using Reflective Practice toward Social Justice.  
3. At the end of this workshop, the participant will have outlined social justice-oriented goals for their own training, supervision, and/or practice and how reflective practice strategies can support them in reaching those goals

Presenter: Vonetta Dotson, PhD

CE Details: 3CE, Intermediate

Older adults from underrepresented and marginalized groups face disproportionate risks to brain health. For example, chronic stress leads to behavioral and physiological responses that have detrimental effects on physical, mental, and brain health. Underrepresented groups are also more likely to face barriers to lifestyle behaviors that research has shown to benefit brain health, such as exercise, good nutrition, and good sleep. This presentation will describe social and environmental determinants of brain health in older adults from underrepresented communities, summarize lifestyle interventions that benefit brain health in older adults, and recommend strategies to promote brain health in vulnerable groups.

PRESENTER QUALIFICATIONS

Dr. Voneta Dotson is a clinical neuropsychologist with a specialization in positive and negative modifiers of brain health, including health disparities in late-life cognitive and mood disorders. Dr. Dotson has given numerous CE workshops, including three CE workshops related to brain aging and brain for GPA, a Clinician's Corner CE workshop on brain aging at APA headquarters, and a CE workshop on ethical decision-making in working with older adults at GSU. Dr. Dotson regularly gives webinars and workshop (10-12/year) for groups including the National Institutes of Health, American Psychological Association, and National Coalition on Mental Health and Aging on topics related to the proposed workshop, such as brain health in older adults, race-related stressors and mental health, and the neurobiology of depression. Dr. Dotson also recently published a book, “Keep Your Wits about You: The Science of Brain Maintenance as You Age” (APA Books) that offers science-based facts and practical tools to help readers develop healthy lifestyles to optimize their brain health.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Explain how social and environmental determinants of brain health disproportionately impact Black older adults and other underrepresented populations.
2. List at least three lifestyle behaviors that promote brain health, according to the research literature.
3. Identify strategies for promoting brain health in vulnerable groups.

Presenter: Telsie A. Davis, PhD

CE Details: 3CE, Intermediate

This workshop is a call to action for psychologists committed to acting in accordance with psychology’s mission to improve the human condition. Clients with cultural identities marginalized by society experience a poorer quality of mental health care in comparison to their more privileged counterparts; and chief multicultural training goals of cultural competence and cultural humility have not reduced treatment disparities for these clients. Dr. Davis will introduce cultural equity as a more actionable training goal and illustrate use of The Model of Cultural Equity to provide all clients what they need to benefit from treatment at their fullest potential.

PRESENTER QUALIFICATIONS

Dr. Telsie Davis is the Founder and Director of the Cultural Equity Institute, an organization whose mission is to eradicate cultural inequities in mental health care through education, human connection, and advocacy so our mental health care system can help every client thrive at their fullest potential. Dr. Davis is a licensed psychologist with 11 peer-reviewed publications; four book chapters; and hundreds of hours of training in the areas of evidence-based DEI strategies and empirically supported treatments for PTSD and substance use. Dr. Davis earned a B.S. in Applied Psychology from Georgia Tech, a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Georgia State, and completed pre- and postdoctoral training at Emory University School of Medicine (ESOM).  She also serves as a Psychologist, Co-Chair of the APA-Accredited Psychology Training Program’s Diversity Rotation and Mental Health Service Line DEI Committee at the Atlanta VA; and an Assistant Professor at ESOM in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Define cultural equity and its relationship to cultural competence and cultural humility

2. Identify mental health treatment disparities related to marginalized cultural identities

3. Describe the Model of Cultural Equity

4. Apply strategies to demonstrate cultural competence, cultural humility, and cultural equity when working with clients

Presenter: Jeremy G. Gay, Psy.D.

CE Details:  3CE, Intermediate

Licensed Psychologists are becoming increasingly involved in working within the legal system in various contexts, particularly in rural/underserved areas. Many of these clinicians have not received specialty training in forensic mental health assessment/courtroom testimony. The differences between clinical and forensic psychology are significant and without a working knowledge of these differences, many clinicians inadvertently set themselves up for failure when asked to testify or provide psychological assessment in a psycholegal context. The purpose of this workshop will be to provide training on these key differences and give psychologists a roadmap for being successful in forensic report writing and testimony.

PRESENTER QUALIFICATIONS

Dr. Jeremy Gay is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Augusta University. He received a BA degree in Psychology and a MS Degree in Clinical Psychology from Augusta University and a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology (with an emphasis in Rural Psychology and Serving Underserved Populations) from Georgia Southern University. Dr. Gay completed a predoctoral internship (Forensic Emphasis Track) and a postdoctoral forensic psychology fellowship at the Medical College of Georgia. Dr. Gay has published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at several professional conferences on a variety of topics including psychopathy and competency to stand trial/competency restoration. 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Explain key differences between clinical and forensic psychology
2. Identify common pitfalls clinicians make in forensic report writing
3. Describe strategies that can be incorporated to strengthen courtroom testimony and report writing success.