Speaker: Betty Lai, Ph.D.- Associate Professor in Counseling Psychology at Boston College

About the talk: Disasters are large-scale, potentially traumatic events that affect communities. Recent examples include the Kentucky floods, the Rum Creek Fire, and the Indonesian earthquakes. Approximately 100 million children are exposed to disasters each year. Children are vulnerable to developing significant distress after disasters. In this talk, I will discuss the connection between disaster exposure and the development of mental and physical health symptoms in children. In addition, I will discuss approaches to identifying how and why children differ in their responses to disasters. This information is directly applicable to creating trauma informed systems of care for children. Finally, I will discuss how strengthening the science pipeline is critical for supporting children in the face of climate change.

Learning Objective 1: Participants will be able to list potential outcomes for youth following disaster exposure.

Learning Objective 2: Participants will be able to discuss research challenges in assessing disaster risks and impacts.

Learning Objective 3:  Participants will be able to describe applications of findings to clinical practice, screening, and policies for resource allocation post-disaster.

About the Speaker: Betty Lai is an Associate Professor in Counseling Psychology at Boston College. Dr. Lai’s research focuses on the impacts of the climate crisis and disasters (e.g., hurricanes, floods, wildfires) on children. Dr. Lai is the author of The Grant Writing Guide (Princeton University Press), a book designed to increase access to grant writing training for all scholars. Dr. Lai’s work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Dr. Lai’s work has been recognized with numerous awards. In 2022, she received the Distinguished Research Award in Counseling from Division E of the American Educational Research Association and the Dorothy Booz Black Award for Outstanding Contributions in Health Psychology from Division 17 of the American Psychological Association.

Continuing Education: One continuing education credit will be provided.

The Center for Children and Families (CCF) has been approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The CCF maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) accepts CE credit provided by APA providers towards ANCC re-certification.

This talk has also been approved for up to 1 CEU credit by Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling; Florida Board of Psychology and Florida Office of School Psychology.  

Provider # BAP 50-12872.