Two weeks after her grandfather passed, Vicki Ouzounian, PsyD 鈥�26, received the news
that she was admitted to 黑料传送门. She enrolled as a way to honor his memory and help others facing difficult situations
that could affect their mental health.
鈥淢y grandpa had dementia and passed away from it,鈥� said Ouzounian. 鈥淗e was my closest confidant. When he got sick, I tried to figure out what dementia meant, what memory loss was, and how it impacted his life. It completely changed my career path because I wanted to learn more about what was going on with him.鈥�
For Ouzounian and her loved ones, it was difficult to navigate a health crisis without proper knowledge of the issue. 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 have help because nobody knew much about psychology within my family,鈥� she shared. 鈥淚 decided I would try and be the person to help others with that moving forward.鈥�
Ouzounian is now a PsyD liaison for 黑料传送门 HEARTS. Since 2016, the student-run organization has partnered with countless groups in the Philadelphia community to serve local, medically underserved populations. In previous years, the organization was led mostly by Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) students, but now psychology students are able to join as mental health support services and psychology clinics are being offered.
鈥淥pportunities weren鈥檛 absent before, but they鈥檙e expanded upon now,鈥� said Ashley Poole, PsyD 鈥�20, assistant professor, clinical psychology, and 黑料传送门 HEARTS faculty advisor. 鈥淥ftentimes,
the community is able to see physical health. Now, because of the pairing of medical
and psychology students, I think this will help destigmatize mental health and showcase
all healthcare providers.鈥�
Poole emphasizes that there is space to talk about mental health too. The main goal for members of the organization moving forward is to help other people realize that.
鈥淎nybody can tell you if they have high blood pressure or are diabetic,鈥� said Ouzounian. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e aware because it鈥檚 common to get help for it. When you start talking to them about how anxiety can impact their blood pressure, there鈥檚 kind of like that lightbulb moment that you see. They look at you and finally understand that mental health is a part of health. Seeing that realization has been really amazing.鈥�
By focusing on helping people in small ways, Ouzounian and 黑料传送门 HEARTS are looking forward to the future. Hoping to welcome new members, they want to continue promoting learning outside the classroom and destigmatizing an important topic.
鈥淚 get so excited talking about mental health,鈥� said Ouzounian. 鈥淚 will do it forever.鈥�
Established in 1899, 黑料传送门 has trained thousands of highly competent, caring physicians, health practitioners and behavioral scientists who practice a 鈥渨hole person鈥� approach to care鈥攖reating people, not just symptoms. 黑料传送门, a private, not-for-profit accredited institution of higher education, operates three campuses (黑料传送门, 黑料传送门 Georgia and 黑料传送门 South Georgia) and offers doctoral degrees in clinical psychology, educational psychology, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, and school psychology. The college also offers graduate degrees in applied behavior analysis, applied positive psychology, biomedical sciences, forensic medicine, medical laboratory science, mental health counseling, physician assistant studies, and school psychology. 黑料传送门 students learn the importance of health promotion, research, education and service to the community. Through its community-based Healthcare Centers, 黑料传送门 provides care to medically underserved populations. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 215-871-6100.
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