About this course

Learning Objectives

• Cite examples of historical discrimination and racism in health care settings and its impact on trust in government agencies, healthcare providers, engagement in care, and vaccine acceptance.
• Discuss influences on vaccine hesitancy to mitigate COVID-19 risks among under-represented populations disproportionately affected by COVID-19 morbidity and mortality.
• Explain the importance of sexual and reproductive health as a component of mental health and basic sexual health assessment in a mental health context.
• Articulate the link between historical collective race-based trauma and its individual and community effects.

Learning Levels

• Beginner
• Intermediate

Course Instructor(s)

• 

  Tamra Loeb, PhD

  Adjunct Associate Professor

  Tamra Burns Loeb, Ph.D., is a Counseling Psychologist, behavioral science researcher, and Adjunct Associate Professor in the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM). She was the recipient of a UCLA DGSOM COVID-19 Research Award and an American Lung Association COIVD-19 and Emerging Viruses Research Award. She conducts qualitative, integrated mixed-methods, and quantitative research to document disparities in the social determinants of health, identify barriers to health care access and utilization, and inform public health messages to achieve health equity. Along with Drs. Wyatt and Chin, she was the recipient of the UCLA Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society (PNIRS) Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion 2021 Manuscript of the Year Award for the manuscript, How Mental Health Professionals Can Address Disparities in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic. She currently teaches a Fiat Lux Undergraduate Seminar on Internet Access as a Human Right: Health, COVID-19, and Internet Inequities.

• 

  Gail E. Wyatt, PhD

  Director, UCLA Sexual Health Program; Director, Center for Culture, Trauma and Mental Health Disparities

  Dr. Wyatt is a clinical psychologist, sex therapist and professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA. She was the first person of color to receive an NIMH Research Scientist Career Development Awardee for 17 years. She has conducted national and international research since 1980, funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health, the National Institute of Drug Abuse, state and private foundations.

  Dr. Wyatt is Director of the UCLA Sexual Health Program, an Associate Director of the UCLA AIDS Institute and coordinates a core of behavioral scientists who consult with other researchers to recruit underserved populations and conduct research that effectively incorporates socio-cultural factors into HIV/AIDS research. The program also provides workshops on mentoring and investigation to conduct research and find success in academic settings. Dr. Wyatt has received numerous awards and honors for her scientific accomplishments, mentoring, and teaching. She has also testified before the United States Congress ten times on issues related to women's health and overall health policy. She was the first African-American woman to be licensed as a psychologist in the state of California.

• 

  Dorothy Chin, PhD

  Associate Research Psychologist

  Dr. Dorothy Chin is Associate Research Psychologist with the UCLA Center for Culture, Trauma, and Mental Health Disparities, whose research examines the effects of community and interpersonal trauma, including race-based trauma and discrimination, on psychological functioning among minoritized populations. Currently she is an investigator on the HBLI-funded grant on enhancing patient and organizational readiness for cardiovascular risk reduction among ethnic minority patients living with HIV. A licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Chin serves as Member-At-Large of APA Div 56 (Trauma Psychology) and writes for Psychology Today about psychological issues from a multicultural, working class, and women-centered perspective.

• 

  Michele Cooley-Strickland, M.Ed., PhD

  Project Scientist, Licensed Psychologist

  Dr. Michele is Michele Cooley-Strickland, M.Ed., Ph.D. She’s an award-winning licensed psychologist, researcher, and podcast co-host. She joined the UCLA faculty in 2009 and is now on staff as a Project Scientist in the David Geffen School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences. She’s also been on faculty at Johns Hopkins University since 1996, first as an Assistant Professor, then Associate Professor, and now Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Mental Health in the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Michele is a therapist in her boutique private practice – Doctor Michele, LLC – specializing in anxiety disorders and helping people build life skills that empower them to become their best selves. Her personalized approach is tailored to help each client achieve emotional and behavioral health and wellness in a way that’s authentic, sustainable, and joyful.

  Dr. Michele earned a Master’s degree of education in clinical and school psychology from the University of Virginia and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Virginia. She was born in France and reared primarily in Virginia.

  Dr. Michele has been a psychologist, professor, and researcher for over two decades, giving over 100 regional, national and international presentations and publishing over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and clinical treatment intervention manuals. She has served the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on advisory committees, extramural review committees, and has been the principal investigator of multiple federal research grants. She is currently the co-PI of a UCLA study entitled, “Sex, Cookies, & COVID.” Dr. Michele has served on many panels and task forces for national professional organizations (e.g., American Psychological Association, Anxiety Disorders Association of America), as well as held elected positions.

  Dr. Michele has appeared as an expert psychologist on the Physical Health episode of the Oprah Winfrey Network’s (OWN) spotlight series, “Speak Sis.” She’s also been an expert on KTLA-5 (Los Angeles) and the nationally syndicated Extra! television show as an Extra! Life Changer. Dr. Michele has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, NBC’s Today Show, CNN, and CBS Early Show to discuss her family’s relation to our third American president, Thomas Jefferson. Dr. Michele is an eighth-generation descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings.

  Dr. Michele is the co-host of “The She Built It Podcast with Melanie & Dr. Michele,” which began in January, 2019 and airs in over 50 countries. The show targets women to help them take leaps in their life, career, and community (link HERE).

  Dr. Michele believes in community service, was a Sunday School teacher for 7 ½ years, and holds an elected office on the Neighborhood Council of Westchester/Playa del Rey/Playa Vista, serving as the board Vice-President. It’s a quasi-governmental agency of the City of Los Angeles representing over 55,000 residents. Dr. Michele is also a member of the Board of Trustees and Chair-Elect at Marymount High School in Los Angeles, which is celebrating its 100th year educating girls. Dr. Michele is also a member of the Advisory Board of Maple Counseling Center in Beverly Hills, which is celebrating it’s 50th year of service. Dr. Michele is a mother of two daughters, has a 2-year-old goldendoodle, practices kickboxing, yoga and weight lifting, loves to cook, bake, and volunteer in her daughters’ schools, and – when there’s time – paint.

Disclosure

References

• Chin, D., Smith-Clapham, A. M., & Wyatt, G. E. (2023). Race-based trauma and post-traumatic growth through identity transformation. Frontiers in Psychology, 14.
• Chin, D., Loeb, T. B., Zhang, M., Liu, H., Cooley-Strickland, M., & Wyatt, G. E. (2020). Racial/ethnic discrimination: Dimensions and relation to mental health symptoms in a marginalized urban American population. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 90(5), 614-622.
• Alarcon, J., Loeb, T. B., Hamilton, A. B., Moss, N. J., Curley, C. M., Zhang, M., ... & Wyatt, G. E. (2020). Barriers to testing for sexually transmitted infections among HIV-serodiscordant couples: the influence of discrimination. Ethnicity & Disease, 30(2), 261-268. https://doi.org/10.18865/ed.30.2.261
• Loeb, T. B., Ebor, M. T., Smith, A. M., Chin, D., Novacek, D. M., Hampton-Anderson, J. N., ... & Wyatt, G. E. (2021). How mental health professionals can address disparities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Traumatology, 27(1), 60-69.
• Legha, R. K., & Miranda, J. (2020). An anti-racist approach to achieving mental health equity in clinical care. Psychiatric Clinics, 43(3), 451-469.