PAU @ WPA Convention 2025: Advancing Mental Health Research
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time when conversations about wellbeing take center stage nationwide. Each spring, our faculty and students travel to the Western Psychological Association(WPA) Convention to share their research, devoted exclusively to mental and behavioral health. Among them is doctoral candidate Noa Dunevich, who just received the WPA Travel Scholarship Award.
Throughout the four‑day conference, our Faculty and students present their findings on topics ranging from grief recovery, trauma disclosure, and artificial‑intelligence tools. They will trade ideas with colleagues from across the west coast, forge new collaborations, and return with feedback that will sharpen both their teaching and clinical practice. This work embodies PAU’s mission and translates rigorous inquiry into practical solutions that serve all communities.
The list below highlights the outstanding students and faculty representing Palo Alto University at WPA:
- Assessing the Impact of Combat Trauma on the Severity, Expression, and Course of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Justice‑Involved Veterans
Mariana Ward, Nicole Baldwin, Daniel Blonigen - Authenticity and Online Social Preferences: Insights from Online Gamers
Alec Sefian, Jonathan Kogan, Charlotte Beard - Depression Subtypes Predicting rTMS Outcomes for Treatment Resistant Depression in Veterans
Kayla Huynh, Michelle Madore - Distress Disclosure and Prolonged Grief in Treatment‑Seeking Recently Bereaved Trauma Survivors
Mythili Ananthasayan, Noa Dunevich, Anya Knoth, Chancy Montgomery, Elisha Johnson - Exploring Risk: Bisexuality, Childhood Sexual Abuse, and College Sexual Assault
Rose Spinna - Gender Differences in Depression and Isolation Among Religious/Spiritual First Responders in a Residential Treatment Program: A Follow‑Up Study
Carolina Rader, Holly McGrath, Colin Simsarian, Mark Kamena, Bruce Bongar - Gender Differences in the Perception of Physical Bravery in Military and Civilian Populations
Sana Usmani, Julianna Christofi, Colin Simsarian, Bruce Bongar - God Bless You TALKO Chatbot: User Engagement with a Chatbot for Adolescents with Autism
Shirin Aghakhani, Emily Vi, Tara Hedayati, Lulu Maxcy, Eduardo Bunge - Naturalistic Talking Behavior and Prolonged Grief in Treatment‑Seeking Recently Bereaved Individuals **AWARD WINNER**
Noa Dunevich, Anya Knoth, Kinsey Glanz, Jelena Crone, Mythili Ananthasayan, Matthew Cordova - Social Constraints and Social Support as Predictors of Depression and PTSD in Treatment‑Seeking Recent Trauma Survivors
Chancy Montgomery, Elisha Johnson, Michelle Magana, Teresa Kim, Matthew Cordova - Suicide Beyond the Individual: Sociocultural and Socioeconomic Inequities as Precipitants of Suicide Among Hispanic Decedents in California
Elida Vargas De León, Chi Cheng Lao, Mona Midani, Joyce Chu - Suicidality, Dissociation, and Posttraumatic Injury Among Firefighters and Law Enforcement in a Residential Treatment Program
Alex McDonough, Colin Simsarian, Bruce Bongar - TALKO: A Chatbot to Teach Social Skills to Teens with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Shirin Aghakhani, Tara Hedayati, Emily Vi, Lulu Maxcy, Eduardo Bunge - The Effects of Different Types of Childhood Trauma on Executive Functioning
Tala Khatcherian, Daya Grewal, Jennifer Keller, Tara Hedayati - The Impact of Religiosity and Spirituality on Acts of Bravery
Julianna Christofi, Sana Usmani, Colin Simsarian, Bruce Bongar
From award‑winning research to technology‑driven interventions, PAU’s presence at WPA 2025 demonstrates our commitment to advancing mental and behavioral health science and practice. As the month of May shines a light on mental health nationwide, the work shared in Las Vegas exemplifies how PAU prepares confident and compassionate professionals who make a difference in their communities.