McNair Scholar 2020 Breanna D. Rivera-Kloeppel
Breanna D. Rivera-Kloeppel is a senior at the University of Minnesota, majoring in Family Social Science and minoring in Spanish. Her research interests center on understanding how historical trauma affects mental health outcomes specifically in Latinx populations. Ms. Rivera-Kloeppel plans on earning a Master of Science, and then a doctorate (Ph.D.), in Marriage and Family Therapy.
My dream is to earn my Ph.D. and have the opportunity to teach in higher education while practicing therapy. I want to use my qualifications to aid disaster/trauma teams across the world.
Research project
Relationship Between Self-Care and Compassion Fatigue in Mental Health Professionals: A Critical Review
Abstract: There are a multitude of research articles addressing interventions for self-care against compassion fatigue in mental health professionals. However, the direct relationship between self-care and compassion fatigue has received little attention. This critical review summarizes nine articles that were identified as “at the edge of knowledge” by nature of their scholarly rigor and focus. Their respective integration of theory, methodology (quantitative, qualitative, mix-methods, sampling methods) sample demographics, and findings were considered and critiqued. Implications for future research, clinical practice, and policy are suggested based on what this current literature did or did not account for.
Faculty mentor
Dr. Tai Mendenhall is an associate professor in the Family Social Science Department in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota in Marriage and Family Therapy. His research specializes in Medical Family Therapy, Families and Chronic Illness, Trauma and Fieldwork, Citizen Health Care, and Community-based Participatory Research. Dr. Mendenhall has published multiple research journal articles, and has presented his work across both national and international conferences. He has been a McNair faculty mentor for two students.