Gabrielle Drake is a rising senior in the honors program at Boston College pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, a concentration in Clinical Psychology, and minors in Human Development and Justice. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology upon her graduation. During her senior year, Gabrielle will complete her honors thesis in developmental psychology and work as a clinical intern at an outpatient facility for underserved children. As a Global Mental Health intern, Gabrielle was able to connect her passion for psychology with her interest in systemic mental health disparities by exploring relevant humanitarian topics while gaining practical skills.
As an intern, Gabrielle worked with Dr. Claire Greene and Dr. Ali Giusto as a student lead in a research project which operationalized levels of Community Engagement in interventions, and evaluated the subsequent effectiveness, for children impacted by depression and anxiety in LMICs. Gabrielle reviewed articles for inclusion, led a group of Ph.D. students in data extraction, and collaborated in adapting a coding scheme. She simultaneously worked on a secondary project, with Dr. Claire Greene and her team, mapping MHPSS integrated with economic/livelihood interventions in populations affected by humanitarian crises. In this project, Gabrielle contributed through literature search and data extraction. Ideally, both systematic reviews will inform future research and intervention implementation. Gabrielle is grateful to have worked with such accomplished professionals and is eager to continue her engagement with the field of global mental health.