Recent studies have shown that pedagogical approaches like hands-on lessons, representative and near-peer mentoring, as well as culturally responsive teaching increase Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) engagement in classrooms, specifically those with underrepresented minority (URM) students. URM students interested in pursuing STEM show increased engagement and confidence from holistic outreach programs, unfortunately, there is a dearth of URM instructors who also have the necessary technical know-how. However, new AI tools based on Large Language Models (LLMs), like ChatGPT-3.5, have been shown to increase the productivity of software developers, with the largest productivity gains being for non-experts. Therefore, we propose a study on the effects and limitations of LLMs as an educational tool for supporting students and instructors of various skill levels in both facilitating programming classes for URM students and bringing embedded systems projects to completion. We will instruct 40 hours of culturally relevant Arduino course content to 25-35 URM students. We will allow ChatGPT-3.5 to be used as an educational tool without explicitly telling students to use it as a means of understanding perceptions and hesitations around the tool from URM communities. As our lab’s previous research has seen a significant increase in productivity and project completion with the use of LLMs with novice programmers, we aim to see students who choose to use ChatGPT-3.5 program and complete their projects faster than those who choose to not, as well as an implicit understanding of prompt engineering over time. We anticipate that exposure to the tool will cultivate an interest in exploring other AI and LLM opportunities. Lastly, we hope that implementing LLMs within the curriculum will increase the number of available near-peer instructors to teach these courses by aiding content-inexperienced instructors, thus aiding in closing the digital divide.

Burnout presents a significant challenge for mental health clinicians, affecting not only their well-being and turnover rate but also the quality of care provided to clients. Moreover, studies have shown that clinicians working in community settings face more burnout compared to those in private practice. Among the factors that have been implicated in clinicians’ burnout are the level of education, limited experience and training opportunities, individual variables, and demographic factors. In this study, I examined how clinicians’ reported competencies in core cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) skills for treating anxiety, depression, trauma, and behavioral concerns are associated with their experiences of burnout. I further evaluated whether the relationship between competencies in core CBT+ skills and experiences of burnout is moderated by CBT+ training. The study draws on a diverse sample of 200+ community mental health clinicians who took part in Washington State’s CBT+ training initiative. I employed t-test and multiple regression models to analyze the data. Based on these analyses, there are anticipated insights of uncovering clinician experiences in how clinicians’ level of CBT skills and professional training experiences intersect with burnout. Findings are expected to inform targeted interventions aimed at reducing burnout and enhancing clinician retention across the workforce.

One of the current challenges with evidence based practices (EBP) is addressing social risk factors (SRF) in conjunction with mental health therapies. SRFs are adverse social conditions which impact the physical and mental health of an individual, group, or community. Addressing SRFs in low-resource settings increases access to and engagement in EBPs by reducing immediate threats presented by SRFs. Training in EBPs does not typically include how to address SRFs. To understand possible ways to address SRFs in EBPs, we examine whether counselors delivering EBPs in a low-to-middle income country are addressing SRFs and how the strategies impact the implementation and delivery of an EBP. This study builds on the parent study, “The Building and Sustaining Interventions for Children (BASIC)”, which examines the implementation and sustainment of an adapted version of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, called Pamoja Tunaweza (PT) implemented by lay counselors in Kenya.To examine strategies used to address SRFs in PT, twelve PT counselors from the BASIC study participated in semi-structured interviews with trained interviewers. We conducted an inductive thematic analysis to identify codes and themes derived directly from the interview data. We identified and organized segments of the interviews into codes which were further categorized into themes. Themes include types of strategies counselors used to address SRFs as well as their impact within the context of PT. We report the frequencies of the codes and themes as they relate to their impact. Preliminary results indicate that when counselors reported using strategies to address SRFs, such as referring guardians to resources and collaborating with school administration, counselors saw increases in child self-esteem and PT attendance. Understanding how addressing SRFs impact mental health and implementation outcomes can help inform training of counselors to effectively improve use and engagement of PT and other EBPs.

People are more likely to stigmatise the mental health of an out-group compared to an in-group member. People are also more likely to distribute resources toward in-group than out-group members. The present study applies these findings to understand how likely a person is to appraise another’s mental health experiences as legitimate and share mental health resources with them based on identified social groups. Participants recruited from the University of Washington Psychology Department subject pool were randomly assigned to one of four different conditions. They read a vignette about a hypothetical individual with or without a specified diagnosis of OCD who attends the University of Washington or Washington State University. The participants reported their legitimacy appraisal of the outlined mental health challenges and their willingness to share mental health resources with the target. I hypothesise that participants who read a description of an individual from Washington State University without a specified diagnosis will rate the individual’s mental health condition as less legitimate. I also hypothesise participants who read about an individual from Washington State University without a specified diagnosis will be less likely to share mental health resources with them. The findings of this study will help shed light on the type of stigma surrounding mental health and resource sharing from the perspective of social groups. In turn, the findings can help the public recognise more acute mental health biases they may hold and thus work towards dismantling them. This can foster the growth of a more empathetic and united community.