Samira Amirazizi, Lindita Djokovic, and Emily Edelman of the Department of Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology at the Gevirtz School were given the 2021-2022 Ray E. Hosford Award for Excellence in Clinical Dedication for their service at the Hosford Counseling & Psychological Services Clinic at UC Santa Barbara.
Amirazizi is a doctoral student with an emphasis in School Psychology working with Dr. Erin Dowdy. She received her B.A. in Psychology from Chapman University. Before coming to UCSB, Samira worked for Children's Bureau in their school readiness program conducting positive parenting interventions, developmental screenings, and case management services. Her research interests include the implementation of universal mental-health based screenings in schools for early identification, intervention, and prevention. Samira also has interests in early childhood mental health, culturally informed parent interventions, and trauma-informed school practices.
Djokovic is a doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology emphasis working under the mentorship of Dr. Erika Felix. She received her B.A. in Psychology from University of California, Riverside and completed M.S. coursework in Clinical Psychology at CSU Fullerton. During her undergraduate and graduate studies, Djokovic worked as a research assistant in a variety of labs conducting studies related to longitudinal effects of child adversity, (volitional) personality change among adults, and psychological responses to collective trauma. She has worked in various applied settings striving to reduce mental health disparities among local communities including her hometown’s non-profit trauma intervention program, full-time research associate for a dual-diagnosis treatment center, and a Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) Trainee. Her current research interests include mental disparities among underserved communities (i.e., ethnic minorities), identifying culturally sensitive trauma interventions, and psychosocial responses to collective trauma.
Edelman is a doctoral student is School Psychology working under Dr. Quirk. Edelman received her B.A. in Psychology, with a Health and Development emphasis and an Education minor, from Stanford University in 2017. During college, she led an early math learning intervention with preschool and kindergarten students. After Stanford, Edelman taught at a therapeutic day school to help children with behavioral and emotional regulation difficulties re-engage in learning and develop the positive behaviors necessary to transition back to a more traditional school setting. Edelman’s research interests include evidence-based prevention and early intervention practices that positively impact children’s developmental trajectories. She is especially interested in the ways in which school-based interventions can support students’ academic and social-emotional development as well as parents’ engagement in their children’s learning.
The Hosford Counseling & Psychological Services Clinic is a university-based community clinic that is designed to provide developmentally appropriate and culturally sensitive, low-cost individual, couple, family, and group psychological treatment and testing/assessment services to people living within the central coast community. The Hosford Clinic serves as a training site for students in CCSP and as a clinical-research facility for the faculty and students of the CCSP Department. It also strives to provide educational, consultation, and training services to professional and paraprofessional clinicians and educators in the tri-counties.