Alma

Topic:

What if every mom could have access to the mental health support she needs during pregnancy, after childbirth, and through her early parenting years?

Overview

Alma is a peer-delivered program that expands access to culturally responsive, community-based mental health support, especially for individuals who might otherwise go without care.

Underlying Alma is a hub of research studies that investigates how this approach can serve as a sustainable, effective solution to maternal mental health disparities. This research responds to the prevalence of depression and anxiety among mothers, and the inaccessibility of traditional forms of treatment, like antidepressants and psychotherapy. It’s grounded in the principle that depression must be understood with its social and structural contexts, and uses a support model based on behavioral activation — the idea that changing what you do can change how you feel.

‍

Research

Since 2017, Alma has been developed through the Crown Institute’s participatory design model to understand the problems faced by moms, co-design research and programs, then implement, evaluate and iterate upon findings.

Alma studies include:

Alma
Alma New Jersey
Expanding Alma: Train the Trainer
National Survey of Mental Health Care and Support Preferences Among New and Expectant Latina Mothers
Expanding the Alma Program: A Peer Mentoring Program for Parents with Depression During the Perinatal Period
Developing and Evaluating the Alma Program: Structured Peer Mentoring for Depressed Perinatal Spanish-Speaking Women
Moms for Moms: The Effectiveness of Disseminating Behavioral Activation using Peer Delivery for Pregnant Women with Depression
Expanding the Alma Program with Substance Use Goals Around Recovery (SUGAR)- A Peer Mentoring Program for Mothers Who Have Experience with Problematic Substance Use

‍

The Team

Principal Investigators (PI)

Anahi Collado, PhD, Assistant Research Professor
Sona Dimidjian, PhD, Institute Director and Founding Faculty Fellow, Renée Crown Wellness Institute; Sapp Family Endowed Chancellor’s Chair for Research Excellence; Professor, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience
Laurel Hicks, PhD, Research Associate
Sam Hubley, PhD, Assistant Research Professor

‍Our Team

Isabel Almeida, Spanish-speaking Peer Mentor and Trainer
Adelina Aponte-Figueroa, Undergraduate Student Assistant
Desiree Bauer, MPH, Senior Project Manager
Shannon Beckner, BA, Peer Mentor and Trainer
Lizbeth Clemente, Spanish-speaking Peer Mentor and Community Outreach Liaison
Gracia Dera, Spanish-speaking Peer Mentor and Trainer, Professional Research Assistant
Beatriz Ferrufino, Spanish-speaking Peer Mentor and Trainer
Brenda Gutierrez, Spanish-speaking Peer Mentor
Lorena Ibarra, Spanish-speaking Community Outreach Liaison
Joey Levy, MA, Graduate Research Assistant
Antonella Onofrietti Magrassi, PhD, Research Associate
Kylie Sambirsky, Professional Research Assistant
Susannah Welch, MA, Peer Mentor and Trainer, Professional Research Assistant