Dr. Kelsey Sala-Hamrick, PhD LP serves as Director of the STAR Research Collaborative. She is a tenure-track Assistant Professor at Eastern Michigan University’s Department of Psychology and a training faculty member in the department’s PhD in Clinical Psychology and Master’s in General Clinical Psychology programs. She serves as an Advisory Council member of the Michigan ACE Initiative (Adverse Childhood Experiences), an Advisory Committee Member of the Michigan Supreme Court Administration’s SAVES Workgroup (Safe Access for Victims Economic Opportunity) and is also affiliated with the Michigan Public Health Institute’s Center for Precision Public Health. Dr. Sala-Hamrick provides clinical supervision to doctoral students at the Community Behavioral Health Clinic at Eastern Michigan University and teaches classes in graduate-level courses in evidence-based therapies.
Kelsey received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Wayne State University and has completed advanced postdoctoral training in community behavioral health, health services research and clinical service provision. Dr. Sala-Hamrick’s research, clinical and advocacy work focuses on promoting resilience in youth, families and communities exposed to trauma, adversity and other stressors. She also is an expert in developing, implementing, and evaluating evidenced-based behavioral health programs and services. She is particularly interested in integrating evidence-based practices into health systems and community settings, as well as other child-serving systems (public health, justice, child welfare, and schools) in order to support the mental health of historically marginalized patients and communities. The goal of all of Kelsey’s work is to promote health equity and increase access to care by strengthening ties between community members, researchers, providers, and policy makers as she believes effective collaborations are essential in making meaningful changes. Before joining the faculty at Eastern Michigan University, Kelsey was a Senior Research Scientist at MPHI’s Center for Strategic Health Partnerships and the Director of the Michigan ACE Initiative.
Dr. Sala-Hamrick provides trainings and consultations to community, healthcare and other interested organizations and programs. Areas where she is actively providing training and consultation include:
- Trauma-Informed Care
- Supporting provider and staff secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue and burnout
- Integrating behavioral health programs and approaches into healthcare settings
- Evidence-based approaches preventing adverse childhood experiences
- Trauma and ACEs 101: Definition, impact and basic trauma-informed practices
- Integration of trauma and other behavioral health screening, brief intervention and referral protocols
- Fostering Resilience and Strengths Based Approaches
- Culturally responsive, trauma-informed approaches
- Data-driven making decision making
- Program development, evaluation and implementation (both consultations and training)
When not working Kelsey enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She is an avid backwoods hiker, canoer, audio book lover and devoted cat Mom. A native Michigander, Kelsey never tires of exploring all the mitten has to offer!
STAR Research Collaborative 