psychology series
Orphaned and at-risk: responding globally to the needs of children
Wed. Feb. 25, 2015 7–8:30 p.m.
Kane Hall, room 130, UW Seattle campus
Watch videos of these lectures.
Watch part one now.
Watch part two now.
Children in low and middle-income countries have high rates of mental health needs that go untreated. Task-sharing approaches, in which lay counselors deliver mental health interventions, and recognition of the important contextual role of caregivers are both critical for improving outcomes for children and their families.
Mind the Gap: Addressing Inequality in Global Mental Health Treatment examines the mental health needs of children and adolescents in low and middle income countries. Due to shortages of mental health professionals in these settings, intervention often falls on lay counselors. University of Washington professor Shannon Dorsey presents findings from studies examining outcomes for orphaned and disadvantaged children who received evidence-based mental health therapies from lay counselors. She also discusses directions for training and scaling these interventions.
Frequently, efforts to address the mental health needs of children overlook the care environment of the child—be it their family, community or culture. In Child Well-Being in Low-Resource Countries: Families, Communities and Opportunities Matter, Duke University professor Kathryn Whetten will present evidence from the largest longitudinal multi-country study of orphaned and separated children, which supports the need for focusing intervention on the context in which the child lives, as much as on the individual needs of the child.
The 10th Annual Allen L. Edwards Psychology Lectures presents The Psychological Science of Inequity and Inequality. These free lectures discuss the latest research on factors affecting quality of life for underrepresented and non-majority individuals. As part of this popular series, notable experts from across the nation come to the University of Washington to co-present with faculty from the UW Department of Psychology.
Watch part one now.
Watch part two now.
