BIRCH Lab Group Members
From 2014-2023, the UMaine Peer Lab at the University of Maine at Orono worked with the community and researchers to improve mental health in teens, college students, nurses, and members of the community.
In August 2023, the BIRCH Lab Group relocated to the State University of New York at Buffalo. We now have members working at both institutions and beyond, all working to improve interpersonal and community health through clinical science.
Rebecca (Becca) Schwartz-Mette, Ph.D. | she/her | Lab Director | Associate Professor of Psychology, SUNY at Buffalo
My primary line of research applies a developmental psychopathology lens to understanding the social context of adolescent internalizing distress and self-destructive behaviors. This work takes a multimethod approach, incorporating observational, physiological, ecological momentary assessment (EMA), and self- and friend-report measures. I am particularly interested in understanding the interpersonal and behavioral mechanisms that help to explain why: (a) some distressed adolescents experience an erosion of social support over time (e.g., reduced friendship quality, rejection) and (b) some friends of distressed adolescents become increasingly distressed themselves (e.g., peer influence, socialization / contagion effects). This work largely focuses on adolescents’ maladaptive interpersonal behaviors and emotion regulation strategies as exhibited during interactions with friends.
A second line of research focuses on ethics and professional issues in training the next generation of psychologists. This work is grounded in a communitarian, multicultural, and social justice framework and emphasizes psychologists’ ethical responsibilities regarding self- and colleague-care. I am especially interested in understanding how trainees acquire ethical knowledge, awareness, and skills, and how training programs can best support trainees who are struggling with competence problems.
An emerging area of work brings what we are learning in the lab into our community as we implement and evaluate: (a) evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) curricula in schools, and (b) mindfulness-based prevention programming to reduce burnout and increase resilience and competence in health care trainees and professionals.
Meet the Team: Current Ph.D. Students
Devan Walter | they/he
Ph.D. Student | Year 2 | UB
Devan is a second-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program at the University at Buffalo. Their research interests lie in understanding how adolescents’ peers and friends influence mental health, including self-injurious thoughts and behaviors. Particularly, they are interested in the role of identity and belongingness in these processes, as well as issues of measurement. During their free time, they enjoy musical theatre, video games, reading (fantasy and classic literature), and spending time with their cats!
You can reach Devan at devanwal@buffalo.edu!
Maile Sapp, Ed.M., CMPC | she/her
Ph.D. Student | Year 3 | UMaine
Maile is a current third-year in the doctoral program in clinical psychology at the University of Maine. She is part of the WellNurse team in collaboration with the UMaine School of Nursing, Clinical Psychology, and School of Nutrition that is seeking to address burnout, stress, and resilience in nursing students. Her research interests center around performance optimization and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) interventions in nursing and athlete populations. Clinically, she is interested in increasing accessibility to mental health services in athlete populations and rural areas. She is an avid Nordic skier and loves spending time with her active black lab, Spruce, exploring the trails and waterways by ski, foot, and paddle.
Lily Brown, M.A. | she/her
Ph.D. Student | Year 4 | UMaine
Lily is a fourth-year student in the doctoral program in clinical psychology at the University of Maine. Lily’s research interests lie at the intersection of self-disclosure processes, emotional adjustment, and peer relationships in adolescence. In particular, she is interested in the causes and consequences of a specific maladaptive interpersonal behavior known as conversational self-focus. Outside of being a grad student, Lily can be found playing violin, baking, and hanging out with her cat, Kimchi!
Cassandra Rowan, M.A. | she/her
Ph.D. Student | Year 5 | UMaine
Cassandra is a fifth-year student in the doctoral program in clinical psychology at the University of Maine in the child clinical track. Her research interests focus on ethical questions in the delivery of clinical care, particularly on complex questions of informed consent and confidentiality with adolescent clients. She is additionally involved in research on care provision to LGBTQIA+ youth, especially for gender diverse and gender non-conforming adolescents. Previously, Cassandra has worked in research focusing on harm reduction-based approaches to substance use. She attempts to deliver clinical care through an integrative, skills-based approach that uses a client-centered, Motivational Interviewing-based framework while drawing from evidence-based treatments including CBT, DBT, ACT, and trauma-informed approaches such as cognitive processing therapy (CPT). She particularly values opportunities to work with gender- and sexuality-diverse adolescents and young adults. Her personal interests include discovering new restaurants and bars, learning new recipes, traveling when time permits, hiking and skiing, live music, and soccer. She has no pets, but she insists that everyone she knows make their pets available to her at all times.
Trevor Long, M.A. | he/him
Ph.D. Student | Year 5 | UMaine
Trevor is a fifth-year student in the doctoral program in clinical psychology at the University of Maine. His research interests include examining adolescent peer relationships to understand how socialization effects that may suicidal and self-harming thoughts and behaviors using multimethod approaches (e.g., self-report, observational, and psychophysiology). His clinical interests include using both cognitive-behavior and dialectical-behavior techniques to address symptoms of depression, anxiety, trauma, and life-threatening behaviors (e.g., suicide and NSSI) in adolescent and intercollegiate student-athlete populations. His personal interests include playing with his puppies, creating new food recipes, and spending time outdoors.
Raegan Harrington, M.A. | she/her
Ph.D. Student | Year 5 | UMaine
Raegan is a fifth-year student in the clinical psychology doctorate program at the University of Maine. Her primary research interests include examining how both adaptive and maladaptive forms of empathy may relate to an array of adolescent outcomes such as psychopathology, friendship quality, and spontaneous emotional mimicry. Clinically, she is interested in working with adolescents and young adults with various clinical presentations. During Raegan’s personal time, she enjoys reading, being by the lake, and spending time with friends and family.
Meet the Team: Current Undergraduate Research Assistants
Mirelis Silva | Isabela Vargas | Ember Dengler | Eric Bavlnka | Anna Lin | Fiona O’Neill | Paige Donhauser
Meet the Team: Alums
Jessica Shankman, Ph.D. | she/her
Faculty | Children's Hospital Colorado
Jessica graduated from the University of Maine Clinical Psychology program (child-track) in 2022. She completed her predoctoral internship at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University/ Children’s Health Council. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical School/ Children’s Hospital Colorado, where she worked in a gender clinic and pediatric primary care clinics. In January of 2024, she transitioned into a faculty position in the Young Mothers and Families Clinic and Obstetric/Gynecology clinics working with pregnant and postpartum patients this January. Research interests include adolescent romantic relationships and friendships, gender/sexuality, and depressive symptom development. More recent research extends this work into integrated primary care and obstetric care settings. Clinical interests include working with adolescent and young adult populations to address a range of (and often overlapping) concerns including relationship stressors, disordered eating, mood disorders, and pregnancy/postpartum experiences. Jessica enjoys reading, exploring coffee and book shops, watching the full range of TV shows and romantic comedies, and hiking with her partner near any body of water we can find in Colorado (a challenge!).
Eliot Fearey, Ph.D. | she/her
Group Psychotherapy Coordinator | MIT Medical
Eliot is the Group Psychotherapy Coordinator at MIT Medical – Student Mental Health and Counseling, where she also completed her postdoctoral fellowship. She completed her PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Maine (child-track) in 2022 and her predoctoral internship at the University of Missouri Counseling Center. Eliot specializes in the treatment of older adolescent and emerging adult populations, with a particular interest in working with those navigating mood disorders, social difficulties ranging from friendship formation to complex family dynamics, suicide and self-injury, eating and body image concerns, and identity development. Eliot’s research interests center around mood disorders, interpersonal emotion regulation, integrating mental health treatment into educational settings, and finding ways to scale services to meet the increasing demand for treatment. Outside of work, Eliot enjoys skiing and open-water swimming, reading, and taking studio art classes.
Hannah Lawrence, Ph.D. | she/her
Assistant Professor | Oregon State University
Dr. Lawrence graduated with a PhD in Clinical Psychology in 2020. She completed her internship training at Alpert Medical School of Brown University and postdoctoral training at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Oregon State University where she directs the Translational Imagery, DEpression, and Suicide (TIDES) Lab. Her research focuses on understanding the role of mental imagery in the etiology and treatment of youth depression and suicide. Clinically, she enjoys working with adolescents with mood disorders and is interested in developing scalable interventions for youth that are informed by the perspectives of youth with lived experience. Outside of psychology, she spends her time woodworking, hiking to waterfalls, and searching for the best latte in Oregon.
Visit her lab website.