Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Professor of Psychology at Clark University
About
Amy Heberle is a clinical psychologist and assistant professor of psychology at Clark University in Worcester, MA. Her research examines how economic disadvantage, racism, and other forms of marginalization impact children’s mental health and development, how these impacts lead to disparities in behavioral and academic outcomes, and how interventions can support systems (e.g., early education settings) and individuals (e.g., parents) to promote equity. She is interested in how children thrive despite marginalizing experiences, which has led her to study early education programs, school-based student support programs, and sociopolitical constructs like critical consciousness.
Current Work:
Dr. Heberle's scholarship focuses on how children and their families thrive despite marginalizing systems; how schools, communities, and individuals can support the thriving of marginalized children and families; and how children in positions of privilege learn to be critical agents acting for social justice. Her upcoming projects include studies of parents' and teachers' critical consciousness (i.e., their awareness of unjust social systems, sense of efficacy to change those systems, and engagement in action to make systems more just), White parents' anti-racist allyship, and adolescents' engagement in action to build more just communities.
Research Area Keyword(s):
critical consciousness; social class; racism; mental health; social justice
