Zerden and UNC partners awarded $1.92 million grant
The federal grant will fund the new project, UNC-PrimeCare4Youth, to prepare MSW students and student counselors to address the behavioral health needs of youth.
Associate professor Lisa de Saxe Zerden and Brianna Lombardi, Ph.D. '18, co-authored, "Social Work answers the (video) call: Tele-behavioral health use during Covid-19," for the Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research. Zerden, Lombardi, and Erica Richman, Ph.D. '13, co-authored, "Harnessing the electronic health record to advance integrated care," for the journal Families, Systems & Health. Zerden also delivered the keynote address, "Integrated Behavioral Healthcare: Through the Social Work Lens," to Azusa Pacific University for a Behavioral Healthcare Symposium. Zerden and Ph.D. candidate Ting Guan were also invited to virtually present at a national conference in Beijing China on "Social Work and Oral Health: Integration and the U.S. Context."
Associate professor Betsy Bledsoe and associate professor Kathryn Collins with the University of Maryland Baltimore School of Social Work co-presented inaugural training on "Trauma Adapted Family Connections" for the International Rescue Committee, starting with select offices in the United States. This training focused on the delivery of a trauma-informed prevention intervention to families who have relocated in the United States who are at high risk of having a child placed outside of the home. The training is part of Bledsoe's work in implementation science and evidence-based practice and mental health services and trauma research. Bledsoe also led trainings on "Social Determinants of Health" with a focus on racial equity in health and mental health to clinicians serving the military and military families at the Marine Corp Air Station Cherry Point; and on "Ethics of Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health."
Adjunct faculty member Allison De Marco was invited to serve a two-year appointment as a faculty affiliate with the UNC Program for Public Discourse.
Research project manager Jia (Lisa) Luo is a recent recipient of the UNC-CH Employee Forum’s Professional Development Grant. The grant will help cover the cost of a Photovoice training that will position her to ethically design and implement Photovoice projects.
Ph.D. candidate Brooke Jordan, research associate Todd Jensen, Anna Parisi, Ph.D. '21, Ph.D. student Melissa Jenkins, and associate professor Betsy Bledsoe co-authored "The relationship between a lifetime history of sexual victimization and perinatal depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis," for the journal Trauma, Violence & Abuse.
Why giving matters
A gift to UNC School of Social Work is an investment in the well-being of families and communities in North Carolina and beyond. We need your help as we work to solve problems that threaten our society — substance use disorders, interpersonal violence, racism and social injustice, financial insecurity, and more. In addition, every tax-deductible donation contributes directly toward student scholarships, endowed professorships, and program support at our School.
Aaron M. Thompson, Ph.D. '12, was promoted to professor and director at University of Missouri-Columbia School of Social Work.
Angela Oxendine Kahn, MSW ’03, received the Civilian of the Year Award for 2020 from the Fort Bragg Soldier Recovery Unit at Fort Bragg, N.C. She also recently received a Military Coin for Civilian service from Brigadier General Lodi.
Scott Janssen, MSW ’93, was recently interviewed for the End of Life University podcast about near death experiences and after death communication in hospice work. Janssen has been a hospice clinical worker for almost 30 years.
