ACCESS Lab

Welcome to the Access to Community-driven, Culturally-responsive, and Equitable Supports and Services Lab

The ACCESS Lab is accepting a new student for Fall 2026.

In the ACCESS Lab, our work focuses on reducing inequities in access to and engagement in quality mental healthcare for minoritized youth and families (i.e., individuals holding social identities subjected to systemic oppression and marginalization). These are individuals who have historically been left out of psychological research. This work centers youth and family voice, and clinician perspectives to guide the development of person-centered culturally responsive evidence-based practices and to better understand structures impacting mental healthcare for youth.

Main Lines of Inquiry

(1) Examine the effects of person-centered culturally responsive practices on youth mental health. We define person-centered culturally responsive strategies as those that intentionally assess and incorporate clients’ culture (e.g., salient social identities, beliefs about mental health and treatment, values) and context (e.g., stressors and strengths related to social identities and lived environment) into therapy.

(2) Identify barriers and facilitators to implementation of person-centered culturally responsive care and collaborate in developing strategies to address them.

(3) Understand and explore strategies for addressing underlying structural and systemic barriers to quality care for youth and their families.

Our Approach

We developed a partnership with Fairfax County Youth MOVE (Motivating Others through Voices of Experience!) to center youth lived experience in the research conducted in our lab, and in the work conducted within the Center for Evidence-based Behavioral Health. Fairfax County Youth MOVE is a youth-led group committed to advocating for a future where youth voice is included in decision-making processes throughout the design, development, and delivery of youth mental health services.

In addition, we use equity-centered implementation science methods and frameworks to examine the complex multilevel determinants (e.g., sociopolitical context, organizational context, intervention characteristics, interaction between client and clinician) of inequities in mental health care, and identify strategies to promote the equitable delivery evidence-based practices. Within this work we most commonly use qualitative and mixed methods approaches.

Lab Values

Community Engagement. Community-engagement is a collaborative approach to research that centers community members’ knowledge, experiences, and ability to identify their own needs and solutions. We aim to collaborate with community partners to increase the relevance, and sustainability of mental health supports. This requires an intentional focus on co-creation and power sharing throughout the research development and implementation process. For example, this may include working with our youth advisory board to shape research goals and study methods.

Cultural Humility. Cultural humility means approaching our colleagues and community partners with openness, curiosity, and respect for the diverse experiences, identities, and worldviews we each carry. It calls us to continually reflect on our own identities, biases, and places of privilege, and to take meaningful action to challenge inequities and dismantle systems of oppression. We see cultural humility as a lifelong commitment to learning, unlearning, and standing together to create more just and inclusive communities.

Being a Graduate Student in the ACCESS Lab

The ACCESS Lab is accepting a new student for Fall 2026.

We are interested in welcoming students whose research and career goals are aligned with our lab and values. The ACCESS lab is especially enthusiastic about students with prior experience in: advocacy, community engagement, or qualitative research methods. Students will be mentored through involvement in our current projects as well as through their own independent research. Students will be most successful if they have had mentored independent research experience (e.g., by conducting a thesis, leading an independent project, developing a first-authored conference presentation), as our program is research focused. Students will be mentored to engage in scholarly activities including conference presentations, writing manuscripts, and submitting grant applications. In addition, all students will be expected to develop a community partnership based on their research or clinical interests.

Interested in joining the ACCESS Lab?

You’re welcome to email me to let me know you’re applying—I enjoy hearing from applicants! However, due to time constraints and to ensure a fair process for everyone, I do not hold individual meetings with candidates before our interview weekend.

If you decide to apply to work with me, please be sure to list me as your first or second potential advisor in your cover letter or personal statement when you submit your application to our program. If you don’t include my name in your materials, your application will not be routed to me for review.

Thank you, and I look forward to learning more about you through your application!