Time with the Prechter Program
Bethany joined the Prechter team in August 2017 as a Research Technician Intermediate. During her time with the Prechter Program, she ensured the research tech lab ran efficiently for scheduling and completing follow-up appointments for our over 1,300 research participants, completing follow-up appointments and research interviews, processing blood/hair/saliva samples, answering the phones, and splitting up other organizational tasks between the research techs.
In addition to her research tech lab duties, she worked on the PRIORI and Integrated Apps studies with recruiting and enrolling new participants, as well as completing weekly mood assessments. She assisted the research team with literature reviews, creating research posters for conference presentations, and writing and editing papers. She also presented at the Albert J. Silverman Research Conference (2019) and the National Network of Depression Centers Annual Conference (2019).
Bethany shared her thoughts about working with the Prechter Program: Outside of her work within the Prechter Program, Bethany served as the Education Subcommittee Leader for the Department of Psychiatry's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. In this role, she organized educational opportunities for staff and faculty so the department can continue to conduct inclusive and diverse research, as well as provide high-quality care to all members of the community.
“During my time at Prechter, I was able to talk with many different people who were diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Through these conversations, I learned how differently each person experiences mental illness. Although two people may have the same diagnosis, and even the same symptoms, the impact of that diagnosis can be very different for each person. This also showed me treatment needs to be individualized and tailored to each person’s experiences.
“I remember fondly our morning café hour! Many of us would gather to chat in the beginning of the day as we drank coffee or tea. The laughs shared during that time made for a good start to the day and made me feel more connected to my coworkers."
Moving forward to Michigan Medicine Child & Adolescent Outpatient Psychiatry
This month, Bethany accepted a position within Child & Adolescent Outpatient Psychiatry as a social work postdoctoral fellow, after completing her Masters of Social Work (M.S.W.) at the University of Michigan. In this new role within the Department of Psychiatry, Bethany will be:
- Using evidence-based therapy with children and adolescents who struggle with mental illness. She will work primarily with the anxiety team, but will see child and adolescent patients with a variety of diagnoses.
- Learning about and practicing evidence-based therapy. To start, she will participate in the Interpersonal Therapy/Family-Focused Therapy Clinic and the Dialectical Behavior Therapy mentorship.
- Helping to facilitate the free support groups for patients experiencing depression and bipolar disorder and their families, as well as helping facilitate the patient psychotherapy groups including the Advanced Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) Skills for Adults with Depression Group (Tenth group in the drop down list).
- Continuing her work on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee as the Education Subcommittee Lead. She will organize monthly Lunch and Learns, help with the annual department DEI Grand Rounds, and coordinate any additional training on DEI.
Bethany shared her reasons for choosing social work as her career and how the Prechter Program supported her goals:
“I went into social work with a deeper understanding of the impact mental illness can have on someone’s life. I believe this perspective allows me to be more empathetic and work better with individuals who are affected by mental illness.
Repeatedly, I saw how resilient people with mental illness are. Many participants in the studies created meaningful lives through their career, family, and community even through their struggles with mental illness. Their resiliency gave me hope to work with other people who struggle with mental illness.”
The Prechter Program wishes Bethany all the best in her continuing career journey!