Fellow Spotlight: Andrew Case

My doctoral training was in clinical and community psychology. Additionally, I am interested in examining settings that promote the wellbeing of marginalized populations. While at The Consultation Center at Yale I was involved in two projects. The first, supervised by Dr. Joy Kaufman, consisted of me working with a group of consumers at a local community mental health center to evaluate and improve the services offered through this center. For my second project, supervised by Dr. Derrick Gordon, I worked with a community action agency to articulate and disseminate their strengths-based, grassroots, empowerment approach to poverty reduction.

The placement at The Center offered an unparalleled opportunity to build and refine my consultation skills. I was especially interested in developing my skillsets related to community-based participatory research and program evaluation.

My schedule was somewhat variable from week to week. 1 ½ days (about 15 hours) per week were spent at the site of my secondary placement, West Haven Mental Health Clinic, doing clinical work. The other days were spent at The Center or in the field. Typically, my day began at 9am and ended between 5pm and 7pm.

I lived in East Shore, which is near Morris Cove. This area borders East Haven and is near the beach and Lighthouse Park.

I did not eat out a lot while in New Haven. Being from the Caribbean, however, I sought out the Jamaican restaurants in the area. There is one near West Haven Mental Health Clinic named, Tropical Breeze, which has great patties and coco bread. There is a Jamaican restaurant in New Haven named Caribbean Connection that has its own Jerk grill. If driving down Whalley Avenue one sees a half barrel emitting smoke, you know you’re in the right place. The closest Trinidadian restaurant is Gloria’s in Brooklyn New York. It is well worth the trip.

Currently, I am a postdoctoral associate in the Duke Global Health Institute at Duke University. In addition to pursuing my own research interests, I am managing a qualitative study examining factors related to the physical and psychological health of clergy.