ISPS-US Annual Conference 2026

Name: Transforming Clinical Education: Lived Experience and Meaning-Centered Care (In-Person Only)
Start: 2026-11-06T15:30:00-0500
End: 2026-11-06T17:00:00-0500

Transforming Clinical Education: Lived Experience and Meaning-Centered Care (In-Person Only)

Friday November 6, 2026 3:30pm - 5:00pm EST

Breakout Room #1

Transforming Clinical Education: Lived Experience and Meaning-Centered Care

3:30-4:15pm Out of the Shadows and Into the Classroom: Integrating Lived Experience into Education and Training About Psychosis - Philip T. Yanos, PhD, Evan Auguste, PhD, Emese Ilyés, PhD, Ethel Kirabo Nalule, MSc, Madi Barber BS
4:15pm-5pm Opening the Door: Resident and Patient Perspectives on Meaning-Focused Care in Psychosis - Punita Peketi, MD, Rachel Waford, PhD, ABPP, Saritha Venkataram, Camila Camacho

Out of the Shadows and Into the Classroom: Integrating Lived Experience into Education and Training About Psychosis - Philip T. Yanos, PhD, Evan Auguste, PhD, Emese Ilyés, PhD, Ethel Kirabo Nalule, MSc, Madi Barber BS
Most undergraduates are between the ages of 18 and 25, a period when the onset of psychosis and other mental health conditions often first begins- which means these experiences are not hypothetical, they are already in the room, carried by students and faculty alike, often unnamed. Further, since many are experiencing mental health conditions for the first time, this age range is when the potential impact of stigma toward others (in the form of expressed microaggressions and social rejection toward peers) and oneself (in the form of internalized stigma and a decreased willingness to seek help) increase considerably. College and graduate coursework that concerns psychopathology and “abnormal” psychology typically focus on imparting information drawing heavily on DSM frameworks that can reduce dynamic, complex, and context dependent experiences into checklist and labels. This approach poses particular risks for students from racialized and classed communities, whose encounters with distress are not only more likely to be misread, over-pathologized, or under-supported by clinical systems, but whose experiences are often fluid, multiply-shaped, and resistant to categorical capture. When diagnostic categories become identities rather than provisional descriptions, stigma is not just possible - it is structurally produced. A key strategy for potentially decreasing stigma includes incorporating lived experience (through personal disclosures, sharing videos, podcasts, songs, in-class visits, and other approaches) into one’s teaching approach. This strategy often leads students to disclose their lived experience which also has the potential to impact stigma, which can meaningfully shift the affective and epistemological climate of the classroom. At the same time, this kind of teaching requires holding space in ways the academy was not designed for: institutions of higher education were built around hierarchy and gatekeeping, not around feeling, connection, or the relational conditions that make honest disclosure possible. Faculty and students who bring their full selves into these encounters do so at real cost, and that cost is not evenly distributed. Disclosure from faculty and students poses risks, especially in the current political climate. In the current panel, 3 John Jay Psychology faculty and 2 students will discuss the impact of the incorporation of lived experience into the classroom.

Opening the Door: Resident and Patient Perspectives on Meaning-Focused Care in Psychosis - Punita Peketi, MD, Rachel Waford, PhD, ABPP, Saritha Venkataram
For individuals who are experiencing symptoms of psychosis, psychiatrists are often their first line of treatment. The medical model often attributes psychotic experiences with a biological focus rather than with psychological and social perspectives. This may stem from residency training, as residents focus heavily on symptom reduction rather than understanding how trauma, culture, and social aspects may contribute to patients’ experiences. Residency training is a pivotal point in a psychiatrist’s career as training shapes the attitudes and perceptions for different patient populations. We spoke to 5+ psychiatry residents at Emory, some of whom have experience of learning psychotherapy for individuals with psychosis during their training. We aimed to understand how this experience may influence how psychiatry residents conceptualize, approach, and connect with this patient population. This is a pilot study to provide a basis for further research. This is a pilot study to provide a basis for further research.Teaching residents how to “hold” and explore meaning behind symptoms versus solely focusing on symptom reduction may allow residents to be more curious and exploratory in their own approach to psychosis. This may help psychiatrists “open the door” from the biological view towards the multifaceted standpoints (social, cultural, trauma) that contribute to our patient presentations. Additionally, we spoke to patients who are enrolled in additional psychotherapy treatment regarding their experience. We aimed to understand patients’ experience of this space to explore themselves outside of the context of symptom reduction, and how this also may have influenced their connection and alliance to their provider. By understanding how trainees and patients experience meaning-focused care, we hope to shape educational foundations that holistically respect patients’ lived experiences.

Speakers

Camila Camacho

Camila is a graduate student in public health and a qualitative research coder and analyst with interests in health communication and human rights advocacy. She has contributed to qualitative research examining therapeutic relationships and to research focused on hearing healthcare... Read More →

Philip Yanos, PhD

Professor, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Philip Yanos, PhD is a professor in the psychology department at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He is the author of the books Written Off: Mental Health Stigma and the Loss of Human Potential (2018) and Exiles in New York City: Warehousing the Marginalized on Ward's ... Read More →

Rachel Waford, PhD, ABPP

Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Professor, Consulting Psychologist, Early Psychosis Clinic Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Grady Health System Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Rachel Waford, PhD, ABPP is a licensed and board-certified clinical psychologist in Atlanta, GA. She is an Assistant Professor at the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Hubert Department of Global Health and Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry... Read More →

Punita Peketi, MD

Psychiatry Resident, Emory University

Punita Peketi will complete her psychiatry residency at Emory University in July 2026. She earned her MD at Northeast Ohio Medical University and her bachelor's degree in Natural Sciences, with a minor in psychology, from the University of Akron. Her interest in psychiatry grew... Read More →

Saritha Venkataram

Masters Student in Clinical Psychology, American University

Saritha Venkataram is an MA in clinical psychology student at American University where her research interests center on the patient and therapist process, including training. She served as a research coordinator exploring the impact of long-term psychotherapy on patient experience... Read More →

Ethel Kirabo Nalule, MSc

Doctoral Student, John Jay College/CUNY Graduate Center

Ethel Kirabo Nalule is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology Program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice / CUNY Graduate Center. Inspired by bell hooks and Paulo Freire, she views education as a practice of freedom, recognizing that when a student walks into and out of... Read More →

Madi Barber, BS

Doctoral Student, John Jay College/CUNY Graduate Center

Madi Barber is a second year PhD student in Clinical Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She graduated from Metropolitan State University of Denver where she earned a BS in psychology. In her undergraduate work, Madi engaged in a variety of research projects including... Read More →

Evan Auguste, PhD

Assistant Professor, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Evan Auguste, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He completed his PhD in clinical psychology with a major area of focus in forensic psychology at Fordham University in 2022. Auguste is a 2014 graduate of Middlebury College. He identities... Read More →

Emese Ilyés, PhD

Doctoral Lecturer, John Jay College

Emese Ilyés, PhD, is a Doctoral Lecturer in Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, where she teaches liberation psychology, research methods, and participatory action research. Her scholarship centers on decolonial methodologies, community... Read More →

Friday November 6, 2026 3:30pm - 5:00pm EST
Breakout Room #1

Breakout Session, In-Person Only

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