The PASS-SIG is excited to announce our new scholarship which is designed to support a student attend the 2023 ABCT conference, scheduled November 16th-19th in Seattle, Washington.
CRITERIA
- Underrepresented scholars who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color (BIPOC) and/or have Lived Experience of psychosis or similar extreme or non-consensus psychological states; and
- Currently involved, pursuing, or very interested in psychosocial clinical research and practice for people with psychosis or serious mental illness (SMI); and
- Would not attend ABCT 2023 without extra financial support.
AWARD
- Recipient of $500 towards ABCT fees and expenditures
- If desired, the PASS SIG will provide direct support, data, or mentorship to assist the awardee in submitting a presentation/poster.
DUE DATE
- May 31st, 2023
APPLY
- Please download application form here and submit to etreichler@health.ucsd.edu.
2022 BIPOC/LE Scholarship Winner
Frescia Velarde, BS
2022 PASS-SIG Scholarship Winner
New York City, NY
Ms. Frescia Velarde, BS, is the winner of the 2022 BIPOC/LE Scholarship. Frescia moved to her current home of East Hartford, CT from Peru when she was 2 years-old. Frecia has a Bachelor’s in Allied Health Science and a psychology minor from the University of Connecticut.Frecia is a Master’s student in Social Work at the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, CT and is also working full-time as a caseworker at the Institute of Living, where she works in a specialized, intensive outpatient track that serves adolescents who are at clinical high risk or experiencing a first episode of psychosis. Her group, the Advanced Services for Adolescents with Psychosis (ASAP), provides group therapy, at-risk psychosis testing, collaboration with schools, medication management, family sessions, psychoeducation, specialized skills, and activity groups such as cognitive remediation using state-of-the-art technology to help improve cognitive outcomes. She is also a research recruiter for ProNET, an international consortium which aims to increase understanding of the development of schizophrenia.
Past Winners
ABCT 2021
Virtual Convention
Ms. Jennifer Randal-Thorpe is our first winner of our BIPOC/LE Scholarship. She is a native of Lafayette, Louisiana, and mother of three girls. Ms. Randal-Thorpe is the President/CEO of a peer-driven agency Meaningful Minds United, Inc. This organization, founded in 2005, aims to offer direct peer services, advocacy, education, and awareness in behavioral health to individuals and their families. She is also a graduate of the University of Louisiana where she earned a Bachelor’s in Applied Sciences, is a Louisiana Peer Support Specialist, and a Counselor in Training certified by the Louisiana Association of Substance Abuse Counselors and Trainers.
She has 28 years of lived experience and has served on the National Suicide Alliance Panel. Ms. Randal-Thorpe is currently a member of LAPaac, LASCT, ABCT, CBHL, NEC, and Ace of Wonders. Her most exciting and rewarding contribution to the behavioral health field is the work she is currently doing internationally in the UK, Germany, Australia, Canada, and Denmark: “People are the same worldwide, they may have different cultures but trauma exists globally.”