91精品 Faculty and Students Active in APA鈥檚 Minority Fellowship Program
See Professor Thakore-Dunlap's professional biography here.
Ulash Thakore-Dunlap, MFT, Full-time Faculty member in the Counseling Psychology program, has been selected to serve on the Training Advisory Committee for the American Psychological Association (MFP) with a focus on Services for Transition Age Youth.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an honor to be selected to serve on this committee, which is well-established and highly regarded within the APA and counseling psychology community,鈥� Ulash says. The Training Advisory Committee meets twice a year and works with MFP staff to read and evaluate applications of hundreds of candidates from various graduate programs.
Other functions of the committee include tracking the progress of Fellows and shaping the policies of the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (MHSAS) and Services for Transition Age Youth (STAY) Fellowships. These successful and dedicated advisors serve as role models and mentors to MHSAS and STAY Fellows, helping them build a strong network early in their career. The Fellows also have access to trainings and workshops.
In part, Ulash was drawn to the committee as a way to promote diversity within the field of psychology. 鈥淎s a South Asian woman, I feel that it is important to increase visibility of ethnic minorities in the field, specifically at the Master鈥檚 level,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also an excellent opportunity to provide mentorship for future leaders in the field. If you don鈥檛 see someone like you working as a therapist or as a professor, it may not feel like an attainable goal. I want to do my part to change that.鈥�
(APA) hosts the Minority Fellowship Program for those who are early in their psychology careers. Historically, the MFP has only been open to those pursuing doctoral degrees, but the Fellowship is open to students in terminal master鈥檚 programs. The Fellowship assists students whose 鈥渢raining prepares them to provide mental health services to transition age youth (ages 16 through 25) and their families.鈥�
鈥淭ransitional age youth are a population who traditionally haven鈥檛 been effectively served by psychologists and counselors,鈥� Ulash explains. The fact that the prefrontal cortex isn鈥檛 fully developed until age 25 is a relatively recent discovery, and has led to increased attention on developing effective interventions for psychologists and therapists to use with those in this stage of life.
鈥淢y hope for the students who have been accepted into the STAY Fellowship is that they take every opportunity they can to learn about effective ways to work with transitional age youth,鈥� Ulash says. 鈥淚 hope that they tap into this wonderful network, explore alternative career paths, and allow the experience to shape their trajectory in immeasurable ways.鈥�
In addition to Ulash鈥檚 appointment to the Advisory Committee, we are excited to announce that several Counseling Psychology students have been accepted to the STAY Fellowship. Congratulations to all 2018 STAY Fellows, including Marie Romano, Mariyam-Ifteam Rufael, Brittan Chow, Nathan Brooks, Mireya Gonz谩lez, and Sitar Mody. We will share highlights from their experience later this year.
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