yota.gikas@suffolk.edu

Yota Gikas is a sixth year graduate student and a Boston native. She is a 2nd generation Greek-American. Yota originally became interested in diversity issues, in particular immigration and acculturation because of her family’s background. Yota was one of the first females in her family to attend college. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology, summa cum laude, in 2002 from Northeastern University. She then went on to receive her Masters of Arts degree in mental health counseling from Boston College in 2004. Some of her research interests include: cultural differences, adolescent mental health (in particular trauma and depression), and prevention work in underprivileged communities. Yota is currently working with Dr. Yvonne Wells on her dissertation research. Her dissertation is tentatively titled “Exploring the World of Urban High School Boys: Hypermasculinity and Perceptions of Community Violence as Predictors of Academic Achievement and School Engagement.” Over the years she has had several clinical training experiences including: McLean Hospital, Tufts Medical Center- Floating Hospital for Children, The May Institute, and Lemuel Shattuck Hospital. Yota recently completed her APA clinical internship at Community Healthlink Youth and Family Services in Worcester, MA where she was a member of the Massachusetts Office of Victim Assistance (MOVA) clinical team. In the future Yota would like to continue working with adolescents and their families, doing both clinical and prevention work. She wants her clinical experiences to color both her future research endeavors and teaching style.