Briana Spivey, MS

Undergraduate School
Spelman College

Graduate School
University of Georgia - Athens

Interests & Career Goals

As an emerging health inequities researcher and psychologist, my work focuses on the role of multi-level systems on the engagement in mental health services and treatment of mental health disorders among minority populations. My work centers intersectionality to combat the racial and ethnic disparities present in mental health. My long-term career goal is to establish a career at the intersections of teaching, research, and clinical work. I hope to train the next generation of clinical psychologists while contributing to the adaptation of existing treatments to meet the needs of ethnically and racially diverse populations through my research and clinical practice.

Favorite Pastimes

I enjoy hot yoga, cooking, and more recently Crossfit. When I’m not working out, I enjoy reading thrillers, spending time with my friends and family, and trying out new restaurants with my partner.

Why I Chose Duke

Although I’m Georgia born and Georgia bred, it was time for me to take the leap and matching Duke was everything I knew I wanted in an internship site! I chose Duke because of the phenomenal training opportunities and trailblazers that make up the staff, faculty, and supervisors. Duke offers an internship program that affords me the opportunity to expand my focus on women’s health through the perinatal and fertility rotations, which is a unique and unparalleled experience. Also, Duke’s focus on health equity and culturally responsive care in a medical setting align with my values, which made it an absolute no-brainer that I wanted to be here to strengthen my clinical skills and acquire new ones along the way.

Research Interests

The four core areas of my research interests include: 1) examining the implications of cultural constructs (e.g., the Strong Black Woman (SBW) Schema) on mental health outcomes among African American women across the lifespan, 2) investigating the impact of trauma on the health and well-being of African Americans, 3) identifying barriers and facilitators to mental health service utilization among African Americans, and 4) designing, evaluating, and implementing culturally-relevant interventions to reduce mental health disparities among African Americans.

Publications

Spivey, B. N., Abrams, J.A., Watson-Singleton, N. N., & Metzger, I. W. (in press, 2024). “I Can Do Bad All By Myself”: Social support beliefs mediate the link between Strong Black Woman schema and depressive symptoms. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology.
Lathan, E.C., McAfee, E., Spivey, B., Garcia, V., Kaslow, N.J., & Powers, A. (in press, 2024). Risk for posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms by trauma type: The role of self-compassion. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.
Elbasheir, A., Fulton, T. M., Choucair, K. C., Lathan, E. C., Spivey, B. N., Guelfo, A.,Carter, S. E., Powers, A.,& Fani, N. (2024). Relationships between moral injury and race-related stress in an ethnoracially minoritized sample. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 173, 326-332.
Volpe, V. V., Ross, J., Collins, A., Spivey, B. N., Watson-Singleton, N. N., Goode, R. W., Hoggard, L. S., & Woods Giscombe, C. L. (2024). Gendered racial microaggressions and emotional eating for Black young adult women: The mediating roles of Superwoman schema and self-compassion. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 48(1), 93-107.
Melson-Sillimon, A., Spivey, B. N., & Skinner-Dorkenoo, A. L. (2023).The construction of racial stereotypes and how they serve as racial propaganda. Social and Personality Psychology Compass.
Metzger, I., Moreland, A., Garrett, R., Quinones, K., Spivey, B., Hamilton, J., & Lopez, C. M. (2023). Black moms matter: A qualitative approach to understanding barriers to service utilization at a children’s advocacy center following childhood abuse. Child Maltreatment.
Sharifian, N., Spivey, B. N., Zaheed, A. B., & Zahodne, L. B. (2020). Psychological distress links perceived neighborhood characteristics to longitudinal declines in late-life cognitive health. Social Science and Medicine, 258, 113-125.
Watson-Singleton, N. N., Black, A. R., & Spivey, B. N. (2019). Recommendations for a culturally-responsive mindfulness and compassion-based intervention for African Americans. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 34,132-138.

Poster Presentations

McAfee, E.E., Lathan, E.C., Spivey, B.N., Garcia, V., Kaslow, N., Powers, A. (2023, November). The role of mindfulness and self compassion in mitigating Posttraumatic Stress Symptom severity following physical violence exposure among Black Americans. Poster accepted for presentation at the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies 2023 Conference, Los Angeles, CA. 
Nguyen, J.K., Hart, A., Swygert, L., Spivey, B.N., Metzger, I.W., & Beach, S. (2022, November). Racial discrimination, racial identity, racial socialization, and depressive symptoms among Black youth: A moderated-meditation model. Virtual poster presented at International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) 37^th Annual Meeting.
Spivey, B. N., Swygert, L., & Metzger, I. (2020, June 1- September 1). An examination of the impact of maladaptive coping on the association between stressor type and alcohol use in college. Virtual poster presentation at Association of Psychological Science Annual Conference, Chicago, IL.
Metzger, I., Spivey, B., & Swygert, L. (November, 2019). The Moderating Roles of Perceived Stress on African American Emerging Adults’ Experiences with Racial Discrimination and Drinking Habits. Poster Presentation at the Black American Research & Behavioral Therapy Special Interest Group Expo at Association for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Ga.