Leadership
- Megan Kelly, Ph.D., Principal Investigator
- Akihoko Masuda, Ph.D., Michelle Munson, Ph.D., and Ethan Moitra, Ph.D., Co-Investigators
Background
LGBTQIA+ young adults often struggle to find safe and supportive communities due to societal stigma, discrimination, and harassment. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an evidence-based intervention that helps individuals commit to positive behavior change aligned with their values by accepting challenging thoughts and emotions. ACTsocial, a version of ACT adapted by the PI, Dr. Megan Kelly, helps individuals with serious mental health conditions (SMHC) to increase their social connectedness with family members, partners, friends, peers and increase social integration in the community. Flexible Living and Optimal Wellness (FLOW) is an identity-affirming adaptation of ACTsocial for young adults with SMHC who identify as LGBTQIA+.
Research Questions
- What is the preliminary impact of FLOW on social connectedness and mental health among LGBTQIA+ YOUNG ADULTS with SMHC?
- Is the FLOW approach acceptable to this group?
- Is FLOW feasible to be studied in a larger clinical trial?
Research Activities
- The proposed project will develop and evaluate FLOW to help LGBTQIA+ YOUNG ADULTS with SMHC improve social connectedness (i.e., increase social support and social integration) and enhance mental health by helping LGBTQIA+ YOUNG ADULTS with SMHC to increase their self-acceptance, more adaptively manage mental health symptoms and experiences of stigma and discrimination, and find positive supports in their community.
Now Recruiting for the Study