Profile
Biography
Jessie Shepherd is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist from California, USA and a current associate lecturer in the Education Department. Jessie has 12 years of community mental health experience along with six years of experience supporting new therapists’ development through her work as a supervisor and adjunct faculty.
As a researcher, Jessie focuses on issues of equity impacting wellbeing for high-risk groups and emotional resilience in the population. She is currently completing her PhD on pedagogical practices regarding refugee and migrant girls social and emotional learning.
Career
- Associate Lecturer, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, 2022-23
Contract Lecturer
- Ohlone Community College, Fremont, California, 2019-23
- California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, California, 2017-20
- University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, 2019 (one term)
- The Wright Institute, Berkeley, California, 2016-19
Research experience
- Department of Health Science, Research Support Officer, University of York, 2020-22
Research
Overview
Current PhD research
Title: Teachers’ Perceptions and Pedagogical Practices Regarding Social and Emotional Learning for Refugee and Migrant Girls.
My research is to better understand primary school teachers' perspectives, skills, and values related to teaching social and emotional skills (or mental wellbeing curriculum) to female refugee and migrant students.
The hope is to build a case that reinforces the need for more teacher training and support around refugee and migrant social and emotional skills development. I think this research could have an impact in wellbeing support and mental ill-health prevention for refugee and migrant girls.
Ultimately this research is about increasing wellbeing and resilience in high-risk populations, and better understanding how to decrease mental ill-health in school aged children.
Supervisor(s)
Research group(s)
Publications
Selected publications
Olaya B,, Van der Feltz-Cornelis CM., Hakkaart-van Roijen L., Merecz-Kot D, Sinokki M., Naumanen P., Shepherd J., van Krugten F., de Mul M, Staszewska K., Vorstenbosch E. (2022). Study protocol of EMPOWER: A cluster randomized trial of a multimodal eHealth intervention for promoting mental health in the workplace following a stepped wedge trial design. Digital health, 8, 20552076221131145.
Moe-Byrne, T., Shepherd, J., Merecz-Kot, D., Sinokki, M., Naumanen, P., Hakkaart-van Roijen, L., Van Der Feltz-Cornelis, C. (2022). The effectiveness of digital health interventions on employees with work-stress, physical or mental health problems at the workplace: A systematic review. PLOS Digital Health.
Shepherd, J., Olaya, B., Gevaert, J., Van Aerden, K., Vanroelen, C., Borrega Cepa, O., González Recio, L., M. Bernard, R., Vorstenbosch, E., Cristobal Narvaez, P., Felez-Nobrega, M., de Miquel, C., Merecz-Kot, D., Staszewska, K., Sinokki, M., Naumanen, P., Hakkaart-van Roijen, L., van Krugten, F., de Mul, M., Maria Haro, J., van der Feltz-Cornelis, C. (Submitted 2022). Design, development, and usability testing of a digital intervention to improve mental health, wellbeing, and productivity in the workplace (EMPOWER). Design of a digital intervention for workplace stress and mental health. PLOS Digital Health.
Shepherd, J. (2022) Positionality and reflexivity for early career researchers and postgraduate researchers (Blog).
Shepherd, J. (2022) What is Self-care. Voices of Academia (Blog).
Shepherd, J. (2021). Equity of Instruction in the Social and Emotional Learning of Refugee and Migrant Students: A Scoping Review. Protocol Registration. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/RW4B7
