Occupational therapists have a rich history of promoting mental health in all practical settings through the use of meaningful occupations. In this week’s Ignite Speaker Series Dr. Ashleigh Graveline will explore the stigmatization of mental illness and how this impacts our ability to promote preventative mental health services for those in need. She will examine how the current changes and restrictions in this ongoing pandemic are influencing society, including college life, how we should address such changes, and what resources we can utilize to ensure that the pandemic is not having a negative impact on our mental well-beings. 

Dr. Graveline is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy at Clarkson University. As an occupational therapist, she has over 14 years of experience treating patients in multiple clinical settings, and 10 years of experience concentrated in inpatient mental health settings. Her research has focused on the use of experiential learning in mental health settings to improve student confidence and clinical reasoning skills, the efficacy of comfort rooms to reduce restraint and seclusion on patients, and the impact of weighted modalities to improve comfort measures with adolescent patients. She remains a passionate advocate for promoting preventative mental services within the community setting.  

If you have any questions, please reach out to Clarkson Ignite at ignite@clarkson.edu.