Congratulations to James Fowler on being selected as the Student Spotlight Award winner for January 2023!
The purpose of this award is to highlight students who are doing important work in the CBS community whether for research, clinical, and/or volunteer-humanitarian efforts.
This is a way to highlight their achievements, let the ACBS community know important work students are doing, and possibly provide a platform for mentoring, collaboration, professional development, and conversations around highlighted areas.
Learn more about James Fowler:
Background of CBS Research/Clinical/Volunteering efforts/achievements:
As a researcher, I have been involved in the evaluation of YOLO, a web-based, ACT program for university students, outcomes of which are published in the Journal of Contextual Behavioural Science (JCBS) (See Viskovish et al below). My PhD builds on this work implementing and evaluating the use of YOLO with LGBTQIA+ community members. This will be the first randomised control trial and use of a web-based ACT program with this community. As part of this work, I have published a systematic review evaluating how ACT has been used with LGBTQIA+ clients in JCBS and presented as a poster on this paper at the ACBS world-conference in 2022. I will also be leading two LGBTQIA+ focused workshops at the ANZ ACBS chapter conference this November.
I previously volunteered with the ANZ ACBS as the Communications Officer. This role had me coordinate social media calendars and partway address the gap between research and clinical practice by sharing research and facilitate initiatives such as the ANZ ACBS Book Club. My proudest achievement was the creation of the Author Spotlight Series, which provided a platform for members of ANZ ACBS to share their work throughout the ANZ ACBS network.
As a Lead Tutor within the School of Psychology at The University of Queensland I have been responsible for the teaching of ACT theory and application to students for three years. This involves facilitating lectures on ACT principles, and teaching hundreds of undergraduate students about the impact of ‘dropping the struggle’.
Autobiography:
I am a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Candidate within The University of Queensland (UQ) School of Public Health (SPH). My work involves the use of mixed-methodologies and community-based participatory research to address the needs of vulnerable communities – with a specialist focus on LGBTQI+ issues. My PhD focuses on the co-design and implementation considerations of a web-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy program for the LGBTQI+ community. I also project manage two Australian government funded, multi-site projects exploring gender-affirming hormone therapy and syphilis in pregnancy. I am also co-investigator on projects exploring the needs of the aromantic community, gratitude in university students, and the continual evaluation of a web-based ACT program for university students. I am committed to teaching and mentorship, and currently supervise medical students and psychology masters students completing research placements at UQ. I also hold positions of Lead Academic Tutor and Sessional Lecturer within UQ School of Psychology. In these roles, I have been responsible for integration of LGBTQI+ specific curricula into the teaching programs in two undergraduate courses within UQ School of Psychology (Positive Psychology and Psychotherapies & Counselling). In 2021 I launched the UQ Positive Psychology Lab Group to continue education and research into positive psychology at UQ. I also currently serve on the advisory board for Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation. I have 6 peer-reviewed publications (3 as first author; h index 2, 23 citations, Google Scholar 2022), and 18 national and international conference presentations and invited talks.
Future goals:
To create a world where access to healthcare is equitable and everyone has a chance to heal, grow, and thrive.
Relevant publications:
Fowler, J.A., Viskovich, S., Buckley, L., & Dean, J.A. (2022). A call for ACTion: A systematic review of empirical evidence for the use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with LGBTQI+ individuals. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221214472200059X?via%3Dihub
Viskovich, Shelley, Pakenham, Kenneth and Fowler, James A. (2021). A mixed-methods evaluation of experiential intervention exercises for values and committed action from an Acceptance and Commitment (ACT) Therapy mental health promotion program for university students. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 22, 108-118. doi: 10.1016/j.jcbs.2021.10.001 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212144721000983