FOCUS
At the core of her work, Kaela hopes to interrupt intergenerational cycles of familial violence and trauma. Within her current focus on domestic violence (DV) and racial trauma, two issues inform her research agenda: 1) People of color and people who have lower incomes are less likely to receive the mental health services they need, and 2) experiencing DV as a child increases risk in adulthood for DV involvement as well as a number of mental and physical health challenges. In her research, Kaela uses implementation and dissemination science and community-based participatory research frameworks to find effective strategies to get psychological interventions into hard-to-reach, high-need community settings like DV or homeless shelters soon after a traumatic event. Additionally, her research explores adapting interventions to make them more effective for people of color with the overall goal of preventing long-term symptom development, relationship strain, and other repercussions.
MORE ABOUT KAELA
As a licensed marriage and family therapist, consumer of mental health services, and researcher, Kaela is familiar with many facets of mental healthcare across settings. She plans to use her range of experiences as a bridge to move toward quality healthcare for all via policy and systems change.
