Disciplines Connect for Mental Health Advocacy
Graduate student team in psychology creates connections through interdisciplinary conference.
The mental health crisis across the state and the nation will not be solved by a single approach. This guiding principle brought together a multidisciplinary group of faculty, students, and mental health advocates for a groundbreaking conference at UT in the spring 2025 semester.
The Connecting Across Disciplines (CAD) student organization hosted its namesake Connecting Across Disciplines Conference in April 2025 to increase awareness and collaboration across disciplines with interests in mental health advocacy. Organizers seek to stimulate multidisciplinary efforts toward increased access to mental health services across East Tennessee and the greater Appalachian region.
Many people in the region face challenges in accessing mental health services. Rural Appalachian communities face geographical and financial barriers, and marginalized populations encounter additional obstacles from prejudice and historical disparities in how their healthcare is provided.
CAD is composed of a group of counseling psychology doctoral students, plus students from disciplines like social work and counseling education, who care deeply about these issues and are studying to become license-eligible psychologists in the nation’s first program accredited by the American Psychological Association with a “scientist-practitioner-advocate” training model. These graduate students developed the conference, with support from the College of Arts and Sciences Division of Social Sciences, a Haines-Morris Grant from the college, and funding from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, to foster a deeper collective understanding of these issues for undergraduate and graduate students, community partners, and faculty.
“Faculty and students who are trained in specific mental health fields often don’t talk to each other. This is the nature of our distinct disciplines,” said Patrick Grzanka, Divisional Dean for Social Sciences and Professor of Psychology. “But the communities we seek to serve—to actually help—need more from us than what any single field can provide.”
Grzanka presented at the conference, speaking on ways that social workers, psychologists, counselors, and other members of the “helping professions” offer unique insights on the causes of and solutions to mental health inequalities facing our region.
Shared Insight Across Disciplines
“I think one of the most amazing things about this conference is that it was truly interdisciplinary,” said Hannah Shinew, fourth-year counseling psychology PhD student and lead for CAD’s planning and budget committee. “Not only did we have support and attendance from people across the university, but we also had a mix of students, faculty, staff, and community organizations participating. This was a big goal of ours: to make sure this conference was open to anyone who is interested in advocating for mental health needs in our communities. I think we achieved that.”
The conference keynote panel illustrated the interdisciplinary nature of the conference, bringing together Associate Professor Leticia Flores, clinical psychology; Professor Michelle Brown, sociology/criminology; and Professor Casey Barrio Minton, counselor education. They discussed areas where social justice and mental health concerns intersect, highlighting the need for collaborations and conversations across disciplines to address a wide array of issues.
“The way their distinct disciplinary lenses converged to shed light on mental health advocacy in East Tennessee was incredibly insightful,” said Kriti Jain, second-year counseling psychology PhD student and CAD presentation committee lead. “Seeing them connect and plan to continue the conversation afterward made the event feel like a real personal success.”
Other speakers at the conference included:
- Rachel Ross, assistant professor of practice in the UT College of Social Work
- Stacey Williams, professor of psychology at East Tennessee State University
- Christina Perkins, assistant director of the UT Psychological Clinic
- Michelle Clayton, executive director of the Knoxville Family Justice Center
- Natalie Shilling, policy and advocacy associate at AWAKE TN
- Joe Miles, professor of psychology and director of the UT counseling psychology PhD program
- Co-presenters Emily Giacini, junior in social work and child and family studies, and Tristan Griffin, master’s degree student in social work
Student Organizers Gain Connections and Perspective
In addition to Shinew and Jain, the CAD executive board the board includes Caterina Obenauf, fourth-year counseling psychology PhD student, as outreach and budget committee lead, and Grace Haring, third-year counseling psychology PhD student, as communication committee lead.
The team found that coordinating and hosting the conference offered a unique opportunity to grow professionally in ways that mirrored the goals of the event. They joined conference attendees in making new connections and learning from the different perspectives presented.
“By reaching out to departments across the university, including social work and law, as well as connecting with a range of community organizations, including healthcare organizations and grassroots advocacy groups, we were able to significantly expand our own professional networks,” said Obenauf. “This was a powerful parallel process. Every conversation and planning meeting introduced us to new ideas that deepened our understanding of mental health issues in East Tennessee.”
By Randall Brown