Depression affects about 20% of adolescents and affects girls at higher rates than boys after age 15. Teen suicide is the second leading cause of death among people age 10-24 in the United States. Among college students who have been exposed to potentially traumatic events, the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is estimated to be 9%.

Much of the current research about these topics focuses on treatment, but our team is looking at both prevention and treatment—promoting the mental health and wellbeing of women and girls, families and communities.

Katherine Buchholz, Ph.D., is an Associate Research Scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women. Her research focuses on college student mental health, implementation of evidence-based interventions, trauma/PTSD, and adolescent depression prevention.

Buchholz and her colleague, Associate Professor of Psychology at Pacific Lutheran University, Tiffany Artime, Ph.D., were approved for a $2.5 million funding award by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to implement an evidence-based treatment for PTSD in university counseling centers (UCCs). The project will help to bridge the gap between research and practice in UCCs, bringing a treatment with years of clinical research behind it to those who can benefit from it.

When it comes to mental health, action based on high-quality research is urgently needed. Buchholz’s work will increase access to evidence-based trauma treatments for students.

These are some of the projects that advance our mental health research initiative:

• Mood Check: School-Based Mental Health Screening Program
• Ministering to the Blue: Depression prevention for college students
• Primary Care and Community-Based Prevention of Mental Disorders in Adolescents
• Promoting Health and Wellbeing in Adolescents and Families through a Web-based Resource
• BEhavioral Health Stratified Treatment (BEST) to Optimize Transition to Adulthood for Youth with IDD