On April 23, Dr. Holly Morrell attended the virtual 2021 Diversifying Clinical Psychology (DCP) Conference, which is held annually by the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology. One of the goals of this event is to highlight the research of undergraduates from underrepresented minority (URM) backgrounds who wish to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology. Students present posters on a number of topics, often related to issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Based on a preliminary evaluation, the top eight students each give a three-minute oral presentation of their project, and then Program Directors vote on the top three presenters, who receive a certificate and a monetary award. Projects included topics such as conducting a comprehensive review of factors that influence mental health among people of Southeast Asian descent, developing a coding system to evaluate how DEI is addressed on program websites, and exploring the relationship between stress due to COVID-19 and social support among college students.
The second goal of the DCP program is to serve as a networking event for URM students, where they have the opportunity to meet with Program Directors of their choice to ask questions about specific graduate programs and get more general advice about applying to graduate school. This also gives Program Directors the opportunity to recruit promising young scholars from URM backgrounds. Dr. Morrell was excited to meet with a number of students who are interested in the possibility of applying to Loma Linda University, and provided them with information about our Clinical Psychology PhD program, as well as about the School of Behavioral Health and the University more broadly. Dr. Morrell very much enjoys attending this event every year and views it as valuable way to support DEI in our School.