REACH (Resilience, Empowerment, Advocacy & Allyship, Cultural Responsiveness, and Healing)

Linsey is a 6th-year Clinical Psychology PhD candidate who is currently on internship at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford, MA, within their Primary Care Behavioral Health track. Originally from Pleasantville, NY, she holds a B.A. in Psychology from the George Washington University. Her broader research interests focus on mental health help-seeking behaviors among racially minoritized populations, including the effects of racism on help seeking. Her ERP examined the effects of cultural orientation and generation status on help seeking in Asian and Asian American college students. Her dissertation is exploring the associations between experiences of racism/discrimination, cultural mistrust, psychological symptoms, and professional mental health help seeking among South Asian Americans. Linsey’s clinical interests include PTSD, racial trauma, and utilizing mindfulness- and acceptance-based interventions to support individuals struggling with identity-related stress. She has previously trained at the New England Center for OCD & Anxiety, Boston Medical Center’s Integrated Behavioral Health clinic, the Brookline Center for Community Mental Health, and MGH Home Base.

Molly (she/hers) is a fifth-year clinical psychology doctoral candidate at Suffolk University. She received her bachelor’s degree from Bates College. Her research focuses on barriers to accessing effective mental healthcare for people and communities of color, including the mental health and wellness experiences of transracial adoptees of color. Her clinical training sites include: McLean Hospital’s Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Institute, the Bedford VA Domiciliary Program, Concord Comprehensive Neuropsychological Center, the Home Base Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, the Dauten Family Center for Bipolar Treatment Innovation (DCBI) at Massachusetts General Hospital, the Center for Returning Veterans at VA Boston Healthcare System, and the National Center for PTSD at VA Boston Healthcare System. She currently serves as a student representative for the Division on Multiracial and Adopted Asian Americans, Asian American Psychological Association.

Gerson is a fourth-year clinical psychology PhD student in the REACH Lab. Prior to joining Suffolk, Gerson graduated from the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College, CUNY with a B.A. in psychology and Sociology. Gerson also received a M.A. in clinical psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. Gerson completed previous clinical practicum placements at the Suffolk University Counseling Health and Wellness Center, as well as the Integrated Behavioral Health Center at Boston Medical Center. Gerson is currently completing an advanced practicum placement at the RESTORE Center at Boston Medical Center, as well as a PSWE position as an assessor at the National Center for PTSD at the Boston VA.

Gerson’s research interests revolve around identifying and examining culturally responsive therapy approaches for people who carry minoritized identities (e.g. racial and ethnic minoritized identities, minoritized gender identities and sexual orientation) and also experience trauma and mood (anxiety and depression) symptoms. Gerson is specifically interested in examining the mechanisms through which factors such as discrimination, acculturation, and acculturative stress may be associated with the development and maintenance of trauma and mood symptoms. Gerson hopes to use the findings of this research to inform culturally responsive approaches to treatment among people carry minoritized identities.

I am a second-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology Program. I graduated from Boston University with a B.A. in Psychology, Cum Laude. During this time, I was a research assistant in Dr. AJ Rosellini's 'Optimizing Prediction of Anxiety & Depression' (OPAD) Lab coding archival chart data in a project to find predictors of treatment effectiveness for outpatient Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). After undergrad, I was accepted into McLean Hospital's Post-Baccalaureate Program. During my 2 years in the Post-Bacc program, I worked as a community residence counselor providing Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) skills coaching and a research assistant in a residential treatment facility for high-acuity adolescents and young adults with a primary diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder or emotional-regulation difficulties. I am currently a practicum student at Suffolk University Counseling, Health, and Wellness (CHW) center practicing individual therapy with undergraduate and graduate student populations.