Yakisha Scott, MA
Yakeisha is a second-year MA in Psychology student completing the concentration in Substance Use and Mental Health Counseling. Her research focuses on trauma in developmental contexts, family systems, and institutionalized care. She is interested in understanding the ways in which psychobiological expressions of trauma are manifested and how this understanding can inform interventions for supporting trauma-exposed individuals. Yakeisha’s experience before coming to the New School included work in LMIC to reduce violence against children in early childhood contexts by supporting educators in creating emotionally and developmentally supportive learning environments.
Outside the Lab:
Outside of the lab, she finds restoration in photography, jigsaw puzzles, and music.
Current Projects
Yakeisha is involved in the RISE Project in Kenya, where she supports research examining biology-centered psychoeducation within refugee communities. Her work includes training in psychophysiological data collection and contributing to the conceptualization of study measurements and research design. She is also a co-author on the manuscript, The Field Guide for Barefoot Psychology: Impact of a Biology-centered Psychoeducation Curriculum on Refugee Mental Health and Stigma, which has been submitted for peer review.
Publications & Presentations
Baker-Henningham, H., Scott, Y., Bowers, M., & Francis, T. (2019). Evaluation of a violence-prevention programme with Jamaican primary school teachers: A cluster randomised trial. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(15), 2797. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16152797
Baker-Henningham, H., Scott, Y., Francis, T., & Walker, S. P. (2021). Effects of a teacher-training violence prevention program in Jamaican preschools on child behavior, academic achievement, and school attendance in Grade One of primary school: Follow-up of a cluster randomized trial. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 652050. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.652050