Henderson was new to traveling abroad; for Dr. Novella, it was a return to an organization she has been involved with for years.
Henderson presented her project, “Psychological Reactions to Climate Change: A Qualitative Study with Implications for Counseling,” which examines how people emotionally respond to climate change, how they cope with these feelings, and how mental health providers can best support them. Working with faculty advisor Dilani Perera, PhD, and recent graduate Rishi Black ’25, Henderson conducted semi-structured interviews to identify themes around climate-related anxiety, grief, and the availability of mental health resources.
Dr. Novella’s poster, “Navigating Silos in Behavioral Health: Creating an Interprofessional Eating Disorders Training Program in the U.S.,” explored the challenges of developing an interdisciplinary eating disorder concentration/certificate. Co-authored with assistant professor of social work Julie Berrett-Abebe, PhD, and clinical mental health counseling alumna Michelle Pagnotta, MA’19, LPC, the project builds on work from the “Fairfield Collaborates for a Healthy Connecticut” HRSA grant.
Using best practices from the Interprofessional Education Collaborative, the program aims to prepare graduate students across multiple disciplines such as counseling, psychology, marriage and family therapy, social work, clinical nutrition, and psychiatric nursing, to collaborate effectively in treating eating disorders.
Both presenters found the conference’s international scope to be eye-opening. “This was my first time ever traveling out of the country,” said Henderson, “so I was really excited to be able to have meaningful conversations with different people who are all connected by the same passion.”
Henderson noted how different cultural and governmental contexts shape responses to climate change. She recalled the excitement of meeting a University of Malta student who was also researching climate grief and anxiety: “We had a great discussion about our findings and exchanged contact information to stay in touch.”
For Dr. Novella, one standout aspect was that U.S. attendees were in the minority. “It gave me a clear sense of how our mental health system creates barriers for those in need, especially compared to countries with single-payer healthcare systems,” she said. Dr. Novella was particularly inspired by a World Health Organization presentation outlining a plan to train non-professionals to conduct basic mental health assessments in areas with few counselors, an approach aimed at prevention and early intervention.
