Jalisa Jackson

I am a senior studying psychology and African and African American studies. I aspire to be a Clinical Psychologist and one day hope to open my own center for services including but beyond mental health. I want to educate and uplift underserved, and often marginalized, communities by providing mental health services. I have strong interests in child, adolescent and young adult populations. This fall, I plan to work on my senior thesis examining students’ coping preferences, strategies and self-efficacy at historically white colleges and universities (HWCUs). I have gained research experience by participating on the Bass Connections team, Peer Coaches: Improving Mental Health Treatment for College Students, and completing Duke’s Vertical Integration Program (VIP) during the summer of 2020. After graduation, I plan to take a few gap years to further develop research and clinical skills before applying to a doctoral program. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about Duke’s psychology department and getting involved in research! Additional research interests of mine that I hope to explore throughout my work include the mental health and resiliency of those who have experienced or otherwise been impacted by domestic violence and/or sexual assault, role of state-sanctioned violence on mental health of Black youth and reducing stigma surrounding mental health service seeking. Outside of my academic interests, I'm a member of Cru Campus Ministry and the Women's Leadership intern at the Duke Women's Center. Other interests include education and public health policy, listening to music, writing and binge watching on Netflix and Hulu.