#37 Mental Health Conversation: Julie Ancis + Amy Hoch - A Few Things - 50 Min

We discussed:1. Loneliness and related health issues2. How much has it increased during pandemic? What demographics have been affected?3. What the effect is on our economy and society4. Programs and resources available5. Answers to your questionsDr. Julie Ancis is Professor and Director of Cyberpsychology at NJIT. Prior to this position, she served as the AVP for Institute Diversity at the Georgia Tech and faculty member at the School of Psychology. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Divisions 17 and 35). Her extensive scholarly publications include four books, over 100 journal articles, book chapters, and technical reports, and hundreds of professional presentations focused on issues of diversity, psychology and technology, multicultural competence, and the legal system. In addition, she has received 6 million dollars in grant funding.Dr. Julie Ancis is an internationally known expert in the area of diversity. She has developed and conducts workshops on implicit bias, intercultural and multicultural competence and women’s leadership programs. Dr. Ancis has presented at conferences and forums around the world._____Amy Hoch, Psy.D. is a licensed psychologist in New Jersey and New York. She is the Associate Director of the Wellness Center at Rowan University where she oversees clinical services; facilitates staff development and training and continues to provide individual and group therapy to students and supervision to staff. She is co-chair of the Sexual Violence Prevention Committee on campus and an advocate for violence awareness and prevention in the community.Dr. Hoch is a past Chairperson of the American College Health Association’s (ACHA) Safety and Violence Coalition and sat on their Sexual Violence Prevention Task Force. In addition, she is a certified Trauma Focused CBT trainer and provides training, consultation and supervision on trauma-related issues both nationally and internationally. * WSJ - Pandemic Loneliness Is Hitting Young Adults Especially HardNew research shows rampant loneliness among Americans, with young adults and mothers among the most vulnerable. Here are ways to help.The coronavirus pandemic has caused another kind of pervasive affliction, Harvard researchers say: loneliness.More than one-third of 950 Americans reported feeling lonely at least “frequently” in the previous four weeks, according to a newly released survey by researchers at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, conducted in October. That’s higher than the quarter of respondents who recalled feeling serious loneliness in the two months before the pandemic, and 28% of respondents said they had experienced increases in the frequency of their loneliness. Young adults and mothers felt especially isolated, the survey reported.Social disruption has hit people in myriad ways: A college student living back at home may feel disconnected from their normal social life, while an overworked parent may feel detached from their usual support system. And even people managing to cultivate an active Zoom-led social life may still feel disconnected.https://www.wsj.com/articles/pandemic-loneliness-is-hitting-young-adults-especially-hard-11614104792