Alberto Cabrera, LCSW-S

Alberto Cabrera, LCSW-S, is a PhD Candidate at the University of Houston, Graduate College of Social Work, where he also works as a research affiliate with the MH-RITES Research Center. Cabrera is experienced as a therapist, board approved supervisor, field instructor, and director in mental health settings and has taught graduate students in clinical practice and practicum courses as an adjunct professor. His research within the Latinx community focuses on advocacy, improving access to mental health services, and empirically supported treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Drawing from his professional and clinical experiences, Cabrera’s program of research aims to assist people living with OCD and related mental health conditions. He received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Houston and master’s degree in social work from Baylor University. He can be contacted at acabrer3@central.uh.edu.

Holly Davies, LMSW

Holly Davies, LMSW (she/her/hers) is a doctoral candidate in the Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston. She received an MSW from the University of Houston, with a specialization in clinical social work; an MBA from Rice University in finance and specialized in actuarial and risk models. She received a BA in German from Austin College and studied in Freiburg, Germany, where she concentrated on aphasias and psycholinguistics. Holly is a licensed Master of Social Work in the state of Texas, and a certified Texas Teacher. She also holds multiple FEMA certifications.

Holly founded Willow Meadows Community Emergency Response Team, which has been recognized at the city, county, and nationally recognized for work in flood recovery since 2015.  Her boots on the ground experience has directed her advocacy efforts for flood recovery victims and informed her research policy on natural hazards and their mental and financial implications.  Holly was the inaugural president of the NSF funded National Hazard Engineering Research Infrastructure Graduate Student Council (NHERI GSC), to help ensure that the next generation of academicians, researchers, and policy makers understand the social science aspects of disasters.  She has also taught PhD level statistics labs and Master level research classes at the University of Houston.  Holly is passionate about quantitative work to evaluate risk factors in disasters, as well as the depth of information provided by qualitative research in exploring flood recovery phenomena.

Throughout the severe floods in the Houston area, as well as Hurricane Harvey, her experience and research has evaluated the severe disparities that vulnerable populations experience in disaster recovery. As a MH RITES fellow, Holly has been involved in indigenous nation research and COVID, mental health research and suicidality at a university.  She has also evaluated early earthquake warning systems with the Natural Hazards Center in Boulder, Co. Her dissertation investigates the relationship between flooding disasters and EMS services in the state of Texas, to explore the relationship between EMS utilization during disasters on an already stressed emergency response system.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Identity of young adults with SMI
• Resilience despite self-stigma
• Stigma reduction interventions with recently diagnosed young adults with SMI
• Community engagement and goal pursuit among young adults with SMI

Limor Smith, MS, MSW

Limor Smith, MS, MSW is a PhD Candidate at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work (UH GCSW). Limor received her B.A. with high honors at the University of Texas at Austin, her MS degree in clinical psychology at the University of Miami, and received her MSW degree from the University of Houston (2020) with a clinical specialization. Limor is the recipient of a research grant for Mental Health Advancement from the Mental Health Research Innovation Treatment Engagement Service Center (MH-RITES) at the University of Houston. Limor has presented her work at multiple national and international research conferences, served as Co-Investigator on a funded grant study on stigma, written several research grants regarding self-stigma in young adults with serious mental illness (SMI), and has helped author six peer-reviewed publications.

Limor’s research focuses on how to reduce self-stigma among young adults with SMI to help improve their quality of life and mental health. Her dissertation examines whether self-stigma negatively impacts the development of young adults which then leads to worse quality of life and mental health outcomes. Limor’s research will contribute to a conceptual model of self-stigma in young adults with SMI and help inform future self-stigma reduction interventions. Research objectives include: (1) contributing to the state of knowledge in this field to address how self-stigma impacts young adult development and mental health, and (2) bridging the gap between self-stigma and resilience research to facilitate increased competence, social support, and positive self-identity among young adults with SMI.

Ms. Smith plans to develop interventions using quantitative and community-based participatory research to help reduce self-stigma for young adults recently diagnosed with serious mental health conditions. Ms. Smith is seeking employment as a tenure track assistant professor in person in Houston, Texas or remotely and is considering select post-doc opportunities.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Natural Hazards, Mental Health, and Economic Vulnerability
• Risk Management in Disasters and Vulnerable Populations
• Statistical Modelling and SEM in Disasters
• Community Participatory Research on Disaster Risk Reduction