ACCESS Lab Team
Lab Director
pronouns: she/her
Dr. Sanchez is a Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Professor of Psychology at George Mason University. She earned her PhD in Clinical Science at Florida International University in Miami, Florida and completed a T32 postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Mental Health. Her research focuses on reducing inequities in access to and engagement in quality mental healthcare for youth and families through: 1) Examining culturally responsive practices, 2) Supporting clinicians to provide person-centered culturally responsive care, and 3) Understanding and addressing the structural and systemic barriers most impacting quality care for youth and their families. She is committed to community-engaged research that centers the needs and values of frontline providers, youth, and their families. She has received external funding through NIMH and the international OCD foundation. Outside of work she enjoys being in nature, eating new foods, doing pottery, watching basketball, and spending time with her family.
Graduate Student(s)
pronouns: she/her
Sasha is a fourth-year Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student at George Mason University. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in Psychology. Prior to joining GMU’s Clinical Psychology program, Sasha worked as a Spanish teacher with Teach for America. She then worked as an equine therapist serving children with autism and veterans. She also has prior experience researching mindfulness-based interventions for anxiety.
Currently, Sasha works in GMU's ACCESS lab with Dr. Amanda Sanchez. She researches power imbalances within the therapeutic alliance and facilitators to culturally responsive care. Generally, she is interested in Participatory Action Research and decolonizing research methodologies. More specifically, Sasha is interested in assessing client perceptions of the therapeutic alliance and clinician cultural responsiveness, developing culturally responsive therapeutic alliances, addressing power dynamics in treatment, broaching topics of social identity, and clinician self-disclosure.
pronouns: she/her
Asha Rudrabhatla is a Clinical Psychology PhD student at George Mason University. She graduated from Colorado College (2020) with a BA in Psychology. In the ACCESS Lab at GMU (PI: Dr. Amanda Sanchez), Asha’s research aims to 1) understand the experiences of racial and ethnic minoritized (REM) youth impacted by contextual stressors (e.g., racial discrimination), and 2) develop culturally responsive training programs for community providers and school staff to effectively support REM youth. Building on her experiences in community-partnered and state policy research, Asha is committed to advancing equity in the delivery of community- and school-based mental health services for REM youth through advocacy at the state, community, and individual levels.
pronouns: she/her
Chris is a first-year Clinical Psychology PhD student at George Mason University. She graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University with an MA in Clinical Psychology. After graduating, Chris earned a research fellowship at New York University's School of Global Public Health, where she contributed to multiple global mental health research projects centered on culturally-adapted intervention development and implementation for individuals with serious mental illness. She also served as a Client Advocate and Research Coordinator at the non-profit organization, Believe New York, serving low-income individuals and families throughout NYC to increase access to social and mental health services. Through Dr. Amanda Sanchez's ACCESS lab, Chris is interested in improving the implementation of and access to culturally responsive, evidence-based mental healthcare practices for minoritized and historically marginalized youth populations through research driven by the community.
Research Coordinator
Asiya Siddiqui
Current Research Assistants
Malyha Bashar
Amaan Shaikh
Previous Research Assistants
Aysha Hameed
Michal Weiss
Temma Schaechter