Grand Rounds: Self-Compassion to Reduce Intersecting Stigmas in HIV & Substance Use Disorder

Event Date: September 4th, 2018

Abigail Batchelder, PhD, MPH

Grand Rounds: Self-Compassion to Reduce Intersecting Stigmas in HIV & Substance Use Disorder

Description: In this presentation, Dr. Batchelder described her research trajectory, which aims to better understand and address internalized stigma and shame as barriers to HIV-related self-care among people living with interrelated stigmatized identities, including people who use substances and who identify as sexual and gender minorities. She presented completed and active clinical research projects and explain how she is utilizing mindful self-compassion and affective science in her current work, including her current K23 Early Career Development Award (NIDA/NIH, K23DA043418). This included a description of how she developed and iteratively refined a text-enhanced emotion regulation intervention to address stigma and shame among people living with HIV and active substance use disorder.  The presentation also included a brief description of an active mixed-methods study aiming to assess the extent that intersecting stigmatized identities contribute to engagement in HIV self-care (Harvard University Center for AIDS Research Development Award, PI Batchelder).

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Presenter: Abigail Batchelder, PhD, MPH 

Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
Psychologist, Behavioral Medicine Service, Massachusetts General Hospital
Affiliated Investigator, The Fenway Institute, Fenway Health

Dr. Abigail Batchelder holds a doctorate in clinical health psychology and a master’s in public health. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard School of Medicine (HMS), psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and an Affiliated Investigator at the Fenway Institute. Prior to transitioning to HMS/MGH, she completed one year of a T32 fellowship at UCSF’s Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. Her research is supported by NIDA and focuses on understanding and addressing psychological barriers to self-care, such as stigma and shame, among people living with HIV/AIDS, substance use disorder, and other stigmatized identities.

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Event Details

Date: Tuesday, September 4th, 2018
Time: 8:00 am – 9:00 am (followed by Coffee Hour)
Venue: Bornstein Family Amphitheater, BWH
Address: 45 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115

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