“Promoting Psychological Health and Well-being Among Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder”
Webinar by Somer Bishop, PhD, UCSF
Presented by the Alan Hu Foundation
Pleasanton, Calif., January 14, 2022 — On Tuesday, February 15, 2022, Dr. Somer Bishop will present a webinar for the Alan Hu Foundation Mental Health Lecture Series, “Promoting Psychological Health and Well-being Among Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.”
Dr. Bishop explains, “Depression is an extremely prevalent and serious problem among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, currently available treatments for depression have been found to be largely ineffective for this group. This webinar will discuss recent findings about depression in ASD, as well as potential new avenues for improving psychological health and well-being among adolescents and adults on the autism spectrum.”
A clinical psychologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health and the Weill Institute for Neurosciences at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Bishop is interested in developing tools that can be used in both clinical and research settings to assess profiles of social, communicative, and other behavioral strengths and challenges across development in varied clinical populations (e.g., ASD, intellectual disability, ADHD). Another line of research focuses on promoting psychological health and well-being among adolescents and adults on the autism spectrum, with a particular focus on understanding the impact of positive and negative social experiences on depressive symptoms.
Dr. Bishop’s work has been funded by NIH, HRSA, DoD, the Autism Science Foundation, and the Simons Foundation. She has co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, and she serves on multiple journal editorial boards and grant review panels. At the UCSF Center for ASDs and NDDs, Dr. Bishop participates in comprehensive, multi-disciplinary assessment and treatment of children and adults with neurodevelopmental disorders. She directs the diagnostic training program, conducting multiple-day trainings on widely used autism diagnostic tools and best diagnostic practices for professionals from all over the world.
The free webinar will be held on Tuesday, February 15 from 6:30 – 7:30 pm. Participants may join at 6:15 pm. The webinar will include 15 minutes for questions and answers following Dr. Bishop’s presentation. Please RSVP by Monday, February 14, 2022, at: https://alanhufoundation.org/ to receive the Zoom meeting link.
Mental Health Association for Chinese Communities (MHACC) https://www.mhacc-usa.org will collaborate with Alan Hu Foundation to provide instant Chinese interpretation.
The Pleasanton-based Alan Hu Foundation was created by Xiaofang Chen and Chih-Ching Hu in memory of their son, Alan. He passed away due to mental disorders in 2018 at the age of 15. Their mission is to promote mental health, raise awareness and remove stigma surrounding psychiatric disorders, and to support fundamental research for cures.
For further information and to support the Alan Hu Foundation, please visit the website: https://alanhufoundation.org/helping