A National Study

Nadire Gülçin Ayd¿n has a solid background and understanding about K-12 students¿ social, personal and mental health experiences in school setting. She is interested in examining factors that hinder K-12 students¿ overall wellbeing, educational experiences in school, and their future career paths after high school. It is her view that positively-reinforcing school, family and community partnerships help improve both students¿ mental health and school success. Theoretically, Dr. Aydin operates from a collectivist, plural, and empowering perspective. She believes that alternative approaches to psychology offer original and innovative conceptual explanations about therapeutic change. Such approaches offer encouraging and promising discussions about culturally sensitive definitions of what constitutes mental health. A plethora of untouched social and cultural capital responds to the needs of students from diverse backgrounds. The author is interested in comparative studies that examine differences between various cultural approaches to mental health and education.