Psychology Lecture Series: "Advancing Research and Practice to Address LGBTQ Youth Mental Health during COVID and Beyond"

The Psychology Department welcomes Dr. Jessica Fish as the third speaker in its 2021-2022 virtual lecture series: The Psychology of COVID-19 and Public Health.

Today’s LGBTQ youth come of age at a time of dynamic social and political change concerning LGBTQ rights and visibility yet remain vulnerable to compromised mental health. Despite advances, there remain critical gaps in evidence-based prevention and intervention programs designed to support the positive development and mental health of LGBTQ youth. These gaps in service access and delivery were accentuated during the COVID-19 pandemic and force researchers and practitioners to consider new and innovative models to address LGBTQ youth mental health. To spur advances in research and translation, Dr. Fish will discuss several distinct but interrelated considerations to developing future research and (ultimately) programs to address LGBTQ youth mental health. By addressing these issues, we will ultimately provide new and innovative strategies for supporting the positive development and wellbeing of LGBTQ young people during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Dr. Jessica Fish is assistant professor in the Department of Family Science at the University of Maryland School of Public Health and the Deputy Director for Research and Evaluation of the CDC-funded University of Maryland Prevention Research Center. Her research and scholarship are in services to understanding the well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) youth and their families. Broadly, her research aims to identify mutable factors that contribute to LGBTQ-related health disparities in order to inform developmentally sensitive policies, programs, and prevention strategies that promote the health of LGBTQ people across the life course.

This event may be used to satisfy the Lecture Reflection Requirement in PSYC206 and PSYC493/494. 

Dr. Fish will be available for a 30-minute informal chat with students/faculty/staff after the lecture presentation. Virtual access details are the same as for the lecture presentation.