Janice Cheng is a rising senior at Boston College pursuing a degree in Applied Psychology and Human Development with a concentration in Special Education and a minor in Chinese. As an Asian American, Janice became passionate about mental health advocacy after recognizing the impact of cultural stigma surrounding mental health and systemic barriers on access to care within her community. She is committed to advancing culturally responsive mental health practices that address the unique needs of underserved populations and promote greater equity in mental health care.
This summer, Janice conducted research under the mentorship of Dr. Bernadine Waller in the DIVAA Lab, contributing to a qualitative study exploring clergy perspectives on the needs of Black intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors throughout their help-seeking process. This work aimed to inform the development of a faith-based depression intervention. Janice’s research responsibilities included coding qualitative interview transcripts, conducting inductive-deductive thematic analysis informed by the Socio-ecological Model, and writing the findings section for the manuscript. Complementing this, she conducted and wrote a literature review for a separate manuscript exploring interactions of Black women and therapists.
Looking forward, Janice will begin her M.A. in Mental Health Counseling this fall, via Boston College’s early admit program, while completing her undergraduate degree. She is deeply grateful to Dr. Waller and CCGMH for their mentorship and support, which have strengthened her commitment to integrating counseling, research, and community engagement to advance equitable access to culturally responsive mental health care.