Directed by Dr. Karen Milligan, full professor and registered clinical psychologist, our research focuses on youth, and caregivers and the social, health, and educational systems designed to support them. We strongly believe that integration of traditionally separate disciplines, fields, and services improves understanding of mental health and the design and implementation of interventions.
Our research is broadly focused on children (0-17), young adults, and their caregivers, particularly those who experience biopsychosocial stressors associated with barriers to care, including social (e.g., poverty, social support) and structural (e.g., discrimination, abelism) barriers to services and health and well-being.
We take a trauma-informed, developmental psychopathology and systems approach to understanding the varied strengths and needs that individuals and families present with and how this supports or hinders mental health and well-being at the individual and family level. We also consider the impact of systems, including the design of policies, systems, and services and what facilitates or hinders access to needed supports.
Our Lab
Research Focus
Our research focuses include:
1. Mothers who experience problematic substance use who are parenting young children and the integrated substance use treatment programs that support them.
2. Integrated health teams to support children with neurodevelopmental disorders, as well as youth transitioning to adult systems of care.
3. Increasing access to and tailoring of mental health intervention for youth who are neurodiverse (e.g., present with ADHD, LD and mental health challenge).
4. Using generative AI to enhance skill development and confidence in youth crisis responders (Partnership with Kids Help Phone and TMU engineering, computer science, and psychology).
Across all of our studies, we strive to integrate principles of social justice and community participatory research into our work so that we can support wellness and health and social system advancement for the populations we focus on.