Biography
Dr. Lynda Gibson is a Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of the Psychological Services Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Northeastern Illinois University, and she received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Clinical Child Psychology from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Dr. Gibson completed her doctoral internship with the Dallas Independent School District's Department of Psychological and Social Services, and her postdoctoral residency was completed at the University of Chicago Medicine and Comer Children's Hospital—with a specialization in child trauma.
Dr. Gibson is the principal investigator for the Safe First Steps Training and Consultation Program, which is an early intervention research program designed to support providers in addressing the wide-ranging impact of childhood exposure to trauma and community violence. Dr. Gibson is also the program director for the Safe First Steps School, Parent, and Community Engagement (SPACE) Program, which is a mental health initiative that was developed to support families who are experiencing intergenerational trauma.
Dr. Gibson continues her partnership with the University of Illinois Chicago's Urban Youth Trauma Center as a research collaborator on their state and federal grants that are designed to increase awareness about the needs of children and families and disseminate trauma-informed intervention models for schools and community-based organizations.
Education
Pediatric Trauma Postdoctoral Residency, University of Chicago Medicine
Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, Illinois Institute of Technology
M.S., Clinical Psychology, Illinois Institute of Technology
B.A., Psychology, Northeastern Illinois University
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academic interests
Risk and resiliency factors in African American and Latinx communities, barriers to treatment for underserved families, early exposure to trauma and community violence, intergenerational trauma and positive parenting, social determinants of health and behavioral health disparities, strategies for building trauma-informed schools, use of restorative practices within school-based settings.