YCSC Connections
Featuring updates, news you can use, events, and more from the Yale Child Study Center.
Chair's Message
With another new academic year underway, there is, as ever, a great deal of news to share from and about the center, along with many fall semester events in the works. I enjoyed seeing so many from our community both in person and virtually at our opening Grand Rounds last week, when we looked ahead to the new academic year, with a focus on bringing our community together. Indeed, we are doing this in many and varied ways, including by having more in-person meetings and gatherings.
Among these is Thursday morning's open house at our 350 George Street location and our annual meeting of the associates being planned for the afternoon of November 7. Information about both events is available through the website calendar events linked below, and I very much look forward to seeing even more of you—both from within the department and from the broader community—at these and other upcoming events.
I also look forward to potential “jamming” sessions with any interested musicians in our community coming to fruition, along with some of the optional team volunteer possibilities I mentioned at Grand Rounds last week. Look for more on such opportunities to bring people together in a variety of ways soon—and please do reach out if you are interested in leading the charge for a team for Habitat for Humanity, the upcoming ¡ANDA! 5K, or another cause close to your heart.
Thank you, once again and as always, for all you do to support and enhance the mental health and wellbeing of children and families.
Linda Mayes, MD
Arnold Gesell Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Psychology; Chair
Yale Child Study Center
Departmental News & Updates
YCSC Community Spotlight: Jordan Shamas
In an inaugural spotlight as part of new monthly series highlighting Yale Child Study Center community members and their work, meet Jordan Shamas, who serves as the Climate of Healthy Interactions for Learning & Development (CHILD) lab manager.
YCSC Community Spotlight: Amanda Dettmer
In this second spotlight of a new monthly series highlighting Yale Child Study Center community members and their work, meet YCSC Research Scientist Amanda M. Dettmer. She has been at Yale for six years and currently directs the Human and Animal Integrated Research (HAIR) lab.
Building a Culture of Coaching
In the return of the YCSC “On Leadership” blog and newsletter column for the new academic year, Daryn David addresses ways to build a “culture of coaching” and describes some upcoming coaching opportunities for faculty and trainees at the YCSC and Department of Pediatrics.
New Clinical Framework Addresses Racism, Enhances Mental Health Care
An innovative clinical tool been developed and is currently being piloted at the YCSC through training on the use of the Racially Informed Clinical Formulation (RICF) with a cohort of clinical trainees and their supervisors. According to the lead author of the RICF, YCSC Assistant Professor Cecilia Frometa, a goal of the pilot initiative is to bring meaningful change across several disciplines—including social work, psychology, and psychiatry—by fostering a shared language and increasing comfort among clinicians and supervisors when addressing racial issues.
New Viola Bernard social justice & health equity fellows announced at Yale
Yale Child Study Center trainees Laura Gallardo, Isaac Johnson, and Kristina Washington have been selected as recipients of the Viola W. Bernard Social Justice & Health Equity Fellowship for 2024-2025. Learn more about each of these outstanding trainees.
Top-Cited Study: Students’ Attitudes Toward Creativity in School
A paper by Zorana Ivcevic Pringle and Jessica Hoffmann recently recognized as one of the top 10 most-cited in the Journal of Creative Behavior explores how high school students' attitudes toward creativity—valuing creativity, anxious risk aversion, and anticipating negative social consequences—affect their willingness to engage in creative behavior in school.
Advancing Emotion Understanding Ability
James Floman, an associate research scientist at the YCSC, presented new research from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence for the International Society for Research on Emotions in Belfast, Ireland this past July. As part of this presentation, he introduced evidence across five validity studies for three novel tests that advance theoretical and empirical scholarship on emotion understanding and applications to promote mental well-being.
McMahon Named Fellow in APA's Society of Couple and Family Psychology
Thomas McMahon, professor emeritus of psychiatry and in the Child Study Center, has been named a fellow in the American Psychological Association's Society of Couple and Family Psychology (APA Division 43).
Upcoming Special Events
News You Can Use
Everyday Communication - Part 3
In the latest SANA blog post, the third in a four-part series, social worker and speech and language pathologist Megan Lyons offers a multitude of tips for utilizing everyday activities to promote communication at home. In this third part, she discusses tips for helping children understand language. Check out part one for tips for helping children with imitation skills, and part two for helping children with turn-taking skills!
‘Sticky’ Brain Activity is Linked to Stronger Feelings of Craving
Yale researchers find people with stronger cravings for food or substances get “stuck” in a particular pattern of brain activity.
Source: Yale News5 ways to recognize and avoid political gaslighting
How do we know if a politician is gaslighting us? Robin Stern and Marc Brackett give us five things to look out for as we navigate this fall's political landscape.
Source: The Washington PostYouth Suicide Is on the Rise: Yale Aims to Save Lives
As suicide rates among young people continue to rise, the Center for Brain and Mind Health at Yale School of Medicine is focusing on ways to prevent these deaths.
Machine Learning Method Helps Predict Mental Health Symptoms in Adolescents
Yale researchers used machine learning to model how the interplay of neurobiological and environmental factors helps to shape mental health in adolescents.
Source: Yale News
Upcoming Grand Rounds
YCSC Grand Rounds sessions are typically presented in person in the Cohen Auditorium at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, from September through June, with a live stream available via Zoom.
- Sep 202424Tuesday
YCSC Grand Rounds: Black Dads Matter—Engaging Black Fathers in Early Childhood Home Visiting
Yale Child Study Center
Speaker: Paula Powe, MD
- Oct 20241Tuesday
YCSC Grand Rounds: Hispanic Heritage Month Special Session
Yale Child Study Center
Speakers: Tara Sanabria Davila, LCSW, Jennifer Gereda, MSW, LCSW, Cecilia Frometa, PhD, Carolina Rivera Parrott, Anamaria Orozco
- Oct 20248Tuesday
Annual Academic Progression Celebration
Yale Child Study Center Grand Rounds
Speaker: Linda Mayes, MD
- Oct 202422Tuesday
YCSC Grand Rounds: Most Vulnerable to Most Valuable—Early Childhood Policies as a Fundamental Building Block of Resilience, Climate Adaptation and Sustainable Development
Yale Child Study Center
Speaker: Adrian Cerezo, PhD, MESc
In the Media
Suicide Prevention Month: How to get help during a mental health crisis
YCSC Associate Professor Christine Cha, who also serves as the inaugural core faculty member at the Yale Center for Brain and Mind Health, was interviewed by WTNH Channel 8 in recognition of Suicide Prevention Month this September. She addressed some things that can be done to prevent suicide in our society.
Source: WTNH News 816 Sep 2024PRIM&R Releases Podcast to Explore Scientific Research With Public
In the first episode of a new podcast designed to help further the public’s understanding of scientific research and hosted by Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R), YCSC Research Scientist Amanda Dettmer discussed "Making Science More Accessible" with co-guest Robert Nobles of Emory University. View the press release for more information about the podcast and a link to the episode.
Source: Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R)12 Sep 20245 Effective Ways To Handle A 'Gaslit Friendship'-By A Psychologist
Does your friend’s support turn into strain, and loyalty feel like a burden? Here's how to navigate the tricky terrain of a gaslit friendship.
Source: Forbes12 Sep 2024Untangling dyslexia myths and misconceptions
YCSC Associate Professor Kenneth Pugh is quoted in this article published by the American Psychological Association on persistent misunderstandings about reading struggles that have impeded progress in diagnosis and treatment—as well as the promising research showing the differences in dyslexic brains may lead to more objective testing and treatments.
Source: Monitor on Psychology1 Sep 2024Addiction Specialists Alert Psychiatrists to Tianeptine Use, Dependence
YCSC Clinical Fellow Richard Zhang spoke with Psychiatric News about the use of tianeptine, which has grown exponentially in recent years. Nine states have banned or restricted its sale.
Source: Psychiatric News27 Aug 2024You’re Only as Smart as Your Emotions
YCSC Professor and YCEI Director Marc Bracket and his work on emotion management is highlighted in this New York Times Opinion piece by David Brooks.
Source: The New York Times15 Aug 2024