Emilee Busby is a rising senior at Vassar College in New York, pursuing a degree in English alongside a public health curriculum. Growing up in the rural valleys of Tennessee, she developed a deep sense of justice for those with neurological disorders in her community, and recognized how individuals suffering from mental health issues are systemically and intersectionally failed by America’s governmental, medical, and educational infrastructures. Her interests lie in addressing inequities in mental healthcare and expanding our understanding of neurodivergence in the United States and around the world. Emilee’s hope is that, by pursuing a career in health policy, she can help rewrite the narrative surrounding neurodiversity in America.
This summer, she worked under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Mootz to establish the feasibility of reducing mental disorders caused by intimate partner violence in Mozambique—primarily through interpersonal counseling, a culturally adapted psychosocial intervention that brings male partners into the picture of women’s mental health. She primarily worked with Dr. Mootz’ team to write, edit, and revise a protocol paper to advance the study’s qualitative analysis. This required conducting a scoping review of literature, systematic data extraction, and quality assessment of research. Additionally, she completed a literature review for the feasibility of digital applications as treatment interventions for Opium Use Disorder in Mozambique.
Emilee is grateful for the experience and eager to return to Dr. Mootz’ team in August to continue working on the aforementioned project alongside a new application intervention for Opium Use Disorder in New York City.