Katherine Tyson McCrea, PhD

Professor

PI, Empowering Counseling Program

As Principal Investigator of the Empowering Counseling Program Participatory Science Initiative (ECP-PSI), Dr. Tyson McCrea’s overall goal has been to make use of client perspectives to improve social interventions, policies, and theoretical understanding that addresses developing resilience and serving persons marginalized by race, income, and/or disability. For 19 years the ECP-PSI with graduate students has provided free mental health and out of school group programming for youth, while studying how to maximize youths’ engagement, optimize intervention impact for youths’ resilience, and build theory based on youths’ cultural wealth and perceptions about their social conditions and psychosocial interventions. Youth have been engaged as citizen scientists who have, for instance, carried out research about their neighbors’ poverty (lack of food, water, and medical care) during the pandemic. The ECP-PSI has served over 1000 youth, educated 67 graduate students, and administered $2.4M in grant funds to carry out its activities. In tune with its participatory action commitment, the ECP-PSI has developed multimedia modes of data collection including photovoice, youths’ peer-to-peer interviews, participatory observation, field notes with built-in fidelity, and staff and youth co-designed surveys. Multiple research designs have been used, ranging from quasi-experimental to case studies, always with a participatory focus and often with participant co-authors of presentations and scholarly papers. The ECP-PSI is deeply appreciative of our community partners, who include community agencies, churches, and schools. The ECP-PSI contributions have been recognized with honors including most recently in international keynote addresses and the Best Conceptual Paper Award of 2024 from Families in Society.

Research Interests

While developing and evaluating participatory action methodologies, the ECP-PSI and its student leaders currently focus on:

• Offering and optimizing youth programming,
• Evaluating the impact of a fatherhood empowerment support group for incarcerated African American fathers,
• Developing an Advisory Board of persons with intellectual disabilities to contribute to planning processes and implementing supported decision-making with an international organization providing small-group home residential care for persons with intellectual disabilities,
• Developing and evaluating a curriculum that can be implemented by schools, community agencies, and caregivers that develops youths’ resilience and dignity against racial discriminations.

Courses Taught

• Global Social Work: Practice to Advance Peace and Social Justice
• Participatory Action and Qualitative Research to Advance Social Justice
• Clinical Social Work Practice with Children
• Social Work Practice with Individuals and Families
• The Nature of Clinical Knowledge (Doctoral Program)