Dr. Isha Metzger

The best thing about being Black is our ability to adapt, overcome, and thrive! On the Black & EMPOWERED Podcast, we highlight Black excellence, talk about the science of physical, mental, and behavioral health, and interview experts in the field.

Every two weeks, join The EMPOWER Lab Director, Dr. Isha Metzger, and her Graduate Students Briana Spivey and Latisha Swygert as we continue to focus on Engaging Minorities in Prevention, Outreach, Wellness, Education, and Research. If you are a student, organizational leader, thinker, healer, creator, or anyone who would like to explore how to best utilize your personal strengths, resources, and talents, then this is the podcast for you!

*We are a part of the University System of Georgia, but these are our personal views and are not reflective of any institution. *The content of this podcast does not constitute therapy, if you are interested in services, please contact a local professional.*

Episode 10: The State of Black Mental Health

Listen in on this special panel discussion on the state of Black mental health, featuring Dr. Earl Turner, Dr. Donell Barnett, Dr. Maryam Jernigan-Noesi, and our very own Dr. Isha Metzger. Join the panelists as they discuss coping and healing, increased stress in our communities of color, the need for culturally responsive clinicians, explicit conversations about racism between parents and children, and coping and healing strategies.

Trigger warning there will be discussion on police brutality and racial injustice as part of the episode.

Follow the panelists and us on social media: The Empower Lab, Therapy for Black Kids, Dr. Maryam Jernigan-Noesi

Episode 9: How to Set Up a Research Team

Join us on this special episode in collaboration with Yale University's Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Aids, CIRA, panel discussion on how to set up a research team. Learn how the panel members discuss creating the culture they want within their teams, managing, mentoring, and developing your research staff. To learn more about Yale University's CIRA program click here.

Episode 8: Corona Kiki

In today's episode, we are gonna be real with our audience about our experiences with COVID-19, while being in grad school and still trying to maintain a sense of normalcy the best that we can during these hectic times. Join us as we discuss what it's been like for us and also cover some coping tips that we have found useful in our personal lives.

Episode 7: MedPage Interview on Cultural Humility

This week join us for a special interview with Kara Grant, Enterprise and Investigative Writer for MedPage, and our very own Dr. Isha Metzger as they discuss how to treat Ethno-Racial trauma with cultural humility. You can learn more about MedPage and Kara Grant on the MedPage website. The original episode aired on April 26, 2021, through MedPage and be sure to check out our social media accounts @bbkars and @TheEMPOWERLab

Episode 6: Psychoeducation on Racial Stress & Trauma

In this month's episode, we interview our very own, Dr. Isha Metzger, and discuss racial stress and trauma in the context of psychoeducation. What is psychoeducation? How can it benefit you? And we'll also discuss coping strategies that can help in your healing.

Episode 5: How to Be a Better Ally

Join the Black & EMPOWERed team as we discuss allyship and how to be a better ally without falling into the stereotypical 'white savior' trope. Our special guests this week are Ian Raugh and Miriam Zegarac from the University of Georgia's Clinical Psychology program.

Episode 4: Racial Trauma is Real: Coping & Healing

What is racial trauma? Media this past year has been especially flooded with images exhibiting the negative experiences that many Black people face in their daily lives. In today's episode we are going to breakdown what racial trauma is, and more importantly how to heal and cope with these experiences with our expert guest Dr. Maryam M. Jernigan-Noesi.

To learn more about Dr. Jernigan-Noesi and her work check out www.mmjerniganassociates.com

Episode 3: Breaching the Tower: Applying to Grad School

Want to get into graduate school in psychology? Well, in this episode we talk about how you can do that! We are joined by two special guests, Violeta Rodriguez and Dominique La Barrie, from our Clinical and BBS psychology programs to talk about how they got into grad school and what you can do based on where you are.

Special Episode 2: ABCT’s Interpersonal Podcast

Join us this week for a very special episode of the Black & EMPOWERED Podcast! Every year the Child Maltreatment and Interpersonal Violence Special Interest Group (CMIV SIG) of The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies sponsors a keynote address at their annual meeting. This year, Dr. Isha Metzger spoke about her research on racial socialization and addressing interpersonal and racial trauma in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), emphasizing her work with youth of color. She highlighted connections to interpersonal violence and child maltreatment work and provided tangible examples of how clinicians can take up findings from her research in their clinical work. Her call to all of us? To be advocates and allies. Listen to highlights from Dr. Metzger's talk in the second episode of Interpersonal and the Black & EMPOWERED Podcast. Interpersonal, like Black and EMPOWERED is a new podcast that features brief conversations with researchers, practitioners, and students. Learn more about the SIG at their website: sites.google.com/view/abct-cmiv-sig and follow them on Twitter, @CMIV_SIG co-hosted by student representatives Hannah Coffey and Aggie Rieger under the supervision of Dr. Michelle Haikalis. Original podcast music by Corey Richier. And of course, check out the Black and EMPOWERed Podcast co-hosted by @drishametzger @__therealbriana @haytisha by clicking the link in our bio on www.instagram.com/theempowerlab or visiting https://blackandempowered.podbean.com/.

Episode 1: Meet the Family

Welcome to the first episode of the Black & EMPOWERED podcast! In this episode we introduce ourselves and tell you a bit about what this podcast will look like in the future. Press play to meet the family!