During March & April, LACPA SIG, Clubs, & Networking meetings

are open to non members.  

Please join the Los Angeles County Psychological Association (LACPA) Child and Adolescent Special Interest Group (SIG)* Town Hall.

NEW DATE!

Date: Friday, April 16^th, 12:00 – 1:00 pm, Pacific Time

Topic: Town Hall: How Allied Professionals Can Work Together to Address Inequities in Education and Health

Location:  Via Zoom.  To receive the Zoom link, please RSVP to:   Daniel Franklin, PhD, at [email protected] or call (310) 571-1176

SIG Co-facilitators: Daniel Franklin, PhD, and Nicholas Thaler, PhD

Description:

This town hall brings together three experts from the disciplines of health, psychology, and education to discuss the ongoing inequities in these fields. Despite the rhetoric around social justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, marginalized communities continue to battle inequities only exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, many argue that the current pandemic has only further solidified the systemic injustices in these fields. 

This discussion will broach areas related to social justice in the following domains: disability and chronic illness, education and learning differences, and how the educational/mental health arena is impacted by such variables as SES and race. Other topics of discussion include an action-orientation mindset and how to use self-reflection and education as tools for creating lives and practices that center around the belief that all members of society should have equal rights and access to opportunities.

Presenters:

Dr. Stephanie Mihalas is a licensed and board certified Psychologist, and a Nationally Certified School Psychologist. She maintains a position as an Assistant Clinical Faculty member at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Mihalas founded The Center for Well Being in Los Angeles, California, where she provides individual and family therapy to children, adolescents, and adults. Areas of clinical specialty include: chronic and rare diseases, failure to launch, intergenerational trauma as it relates to parenting, anxiety disorders and the subsequent manifestations at school and in the family system, and bullying (school, family, workplace). She works in the advocacy space around disability and disease. Additionally, she provides mentorship and supervision to students and fellows. 

Dr. Bibi Pirayesh is a Learning Specialist and Educational Therapist. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Neuroscience and Education from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master's degree in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University where her work focused primarily on children’s development of mathematical thinking. In her practice of 15 years, Dr. Pirayesh works with children grades 1-12 and covers a wide range of learning difficulties including dyslexia, ADHD, and spectrum disorders. But while the emphasis of her work is on remediating learning disabilities in a one-on-one setting, she is also a sought-after speaker and community advocate for learning rights, specifically the idea of learning disability as a social justice issue. Her doctoral work at Loyola Marymount University centered on interrogating the histories of science, psychology, and education in order to better understand the inequities we have in schools today. She is also adjunct faculty at Pepperdine University where she works to promote practitioner research and is involved in social justice efforts in a number of organizations including The Association of Educational Therapists.

Dr. Karen Wilson is a Clinical Neuropsychologist, Director of West LA Neuropsychology, PC, the founder of ChildNEXUS.com, a digital platform that connects parents whose children struggle with learning or social-emotional issues with professionals who provide psychological and educational support services, and the host of the Diverse Thinking · Different Learning podcast.  Dr. Wilson is also an Assistant Clinical Professor (Voluntary) in the Medical Psychology Assessment Center at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Behavior at UCLA.  She specializes in the assessment of neurodevelopmental disorders in children and adolescents, and she is passionate about the early identification of neurodevelopmental disorders, appropriate intervention, and ensuring that all students have the opportunity to reach their full potential.  

To receive the Zoom link, please RSVP to:   Daniel Franklin, PhD, at [email protected] or call (310) 571-1176.

"The opinions of presenters at informal forums, such as Special Interest Groups (SIGs) or club meetings, and their approach to psychological issues and interventions do not represent a formal endorsement of any position by the Los Angeles County Psychological Association or its members.  The opinions, ideas, and concepts expressed are purely those of the presenter."