Projects & Programs

Initiatives designed to make mental health support accessible, sustainable, and grounded in evidence.

School Partnership • 2021-Present

DBT Skills Curriculum for High Schools

Overview

Working with school counselors and health educators, I co-developed an adapted Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) curriculum that fits into existing health education classes. The program introduces core skills in mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.

Partners

Eight school districts across the NYC metro area, ranging from urban public schools to suburban districts. Collaboration included counseling departments, health teachers, and district mental health coordinators.

Impact to Date:
  • 12,000+ students received foundational DBT skills training
  • 78% of participating teachers reported improved classroom emotional climate
  • 450+ educators trained in program delivery
  • 65% reduction in disciplinary incidents in pilot cohorts (compared to previous year)
  • Curriculum now part of standard health education in five districts

What Made It Work

The key was adapting clinical tools for a classroom setting without losing fidelity. We focused on practical skills students could use immediately, built in teacher training and ongoing support, and designed lesson plans that required no clinical background to deliver effectively.

Learnings

Teacher feedback revealed that the most effective sessions were those with immediate application opportunities. Students responded especially well to distress tolerance skills and interpersonal effectiveness modules. The program works best when integrated into existing structures rather than added as a standalone initiative.

Public Education • 2024

The Ethics of AI in Mental Health: A Webinar Series

Overview

A six-part webinar series examining the intersection of artificial intelligence and mental health practice. Topics included chatbot therapy apps, AI in diagnostic processes, data privacy concerns, algorithmic bias in treatment recommendations, and maintaining therapeutic boundaries in digital spaces.

Audience

Designed for mental health clinicians, graduate students, and administrators considering technology adoption in their practices or organizations.

Impact:
  • 1,200+ mental health professionals attended live sessions
  • Series materials now used in curriculum at three graduate programs
  • Recordings accessed 3,400+ times in six months
  • 95% of attendees reported increased awareness of privacy considerations

Key Themes

The series emphasized a balanced view of technology adoption, neither dismissing AI tools nor uncritically embracing them. We explored questions like: What safeguards protect client data? Where does clinical judgment remain essential? How do we ensure equity when algorithms are trained on non-representative datasets?

Resources Available

All six sessions are available as recordings, with accompanying discussion guides and resource lists. Graduate programs and training organizations are welcome to use these materials with attribution.

Community Access • 2023-Present

Open Mental Health Webinar Library

Overview

A monthly series of free, public webinars covering topics relevant to families and individuals seeking mental health support. Sessions are designed to be accessible without clinical background, focusing on practical strategies and clear explanations.

Topics Covered

Parent-teen communication skills, recognizing anxiety vs. everyday stress, supporting a loved one in crisis, navigating the therapy search process, understanding different therapeutic approaches, building emotional resilience in children, and managing screen time conflicts.

Reach:
  • 450+ families participated in live sessions during 2024
  • Average session rating: 4.8/5 for practical applicability
  • 85% of attendees reported feeling more confident in supporting family mental health
  • Sessions translated into Spanish and Mandarin by community partners

Access

All webinars are free and open to the public. Recordings are available indefinitely. No registration required for recorded content; live sessions require sign-up for capacity planning only.

Community Partnership

Local organizations have translated several high-demand sessions and hosted follow-up discussion groups. These partnerships extend the reach beyond English-speaking audiences and create ongoing support structures.

Training Program • 2022-2023

Trauma-Informed Practices for School Staff

Overview

A professional development program designed for school staff (teachers, administrators, support staff) to recognize trauma responses in students and implement supportive classroom practices. The training emphasized practical strategies over clinical diagnosis.

Impact:
  • 280 staff members trained across four school districts
  • 92% reported increased confidence in responding to student distress
  • Follow-up surveys showed sustained implementation of de-escalation techniques six months post-training

Approach

Rather than teaching staff to identify trauma, the program focused on universal supports that benefit all students while being essential for those with trauma histories. This reframed trauma-informed practice as good teaching rather than specialized intervention.

Research Collaboration • 2023

Evaluating Group DBT for Adolescents: Outcomes Study

Overview

Partnered with a university research team to evaluate outcomes for adolescents participating in a 12-week group DBT skills program. I served as clinical consultant and co-author on the resulting paper.

Findings:
  • Participants showed significant improvement in emotion regulation (measured by DERS)
  • Self-reported distress decreased by an average of 34%
  • Skills acquisition remained stable at three-month follow-up

Publication

Results published in the Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, February 2024. The study contributes to the evidence base for DBT adaptations in non-clinical settings.

Interested in Similar Work?

I'm open to partnerships with schools, organizations, and fellow clinicians on accessible mental health initiatives.

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