Departmental Affiliations
Contact Info
Research Interests
"Mental Health", Anxiety disorders, community violence, prevention, child psychopathology, ethnic minorities.
Experiences & Accomplishments
My major research and clinical interests focus on preventing the mental and behavioral effects of youth’s exposure to pervasive community violence, a potential risk factor that has been identified as a significant public health problem of epidemic proportions.
I began studying exposure to community violence during my post-doctoral training as a clinical psychologist because of its suspected relationship to anxiety disorders and other aspects of youth’s emotional, behavioral, and psychophysiological functioning. I wish to continue to develop my expertise in prevention science and mental health preventive interventions, building on my knowledge of clinical, community, and developmental psychopathology. I study the proximal and distal effects of youth’s exposure to pervasive community violence on public mental health and design and implement preventive interventions in community epidemiologically defined populations.
Honors & Awards
Dalmas Taylor Distinguished Contributions Award, Minority Fellowship Program, American Psychological Association, 2011
Women of Color Leadership Award, American Psychological Association, 2001-2002
OBSSR Award for support of participation in NIH Summer Training Institute on the Design and Conduct of Randomized Clinical Trials Involving Behavioral Interventions, Airlie, Virginia, 2001
NIMH Award for support of participation in short course on Mental Health Services Research, African American Mental Health Research Center, University of Michigan, 1992
Commonwealth Graduate Fellowship, State Council for Higher Education in Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, 1991-1992
Commonwealth Graduate Fellowship, State Council for Higher Education in Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, 1990-1991
Commonwealth Graduate Fellowship, State Council for Higher Education in Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, 1989?1990
Commonwealth Graduate Fellowship, State Council for Higher Education in Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, 1988?1989
Commonwealth Graduate Fellowship, State Council for Higher Education in Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, 1987?1988
Presidential Fellowship, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, 1990-1991
Minority Fellowship, American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, 1990?1991
Minority Fellowship, American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, 1989-1990
Michie Award, Curry Programs in Clinical and School Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, June 1989
Michie Award, Curry Programs in Clinical and School Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, March 1989
Graduate Fellowship, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, 1989?1990
Graduate Fellowship, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, 1988?1989
Graduate Fellowship, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, 1987?1988
Select Publications
eCooley-Strickland, M., Griffin, R., Darney, D., Otte, K., & Ko, J. (2011). Urban African American youth exposed to community violence: A school-based anxiety preventive intervention study. Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community, 39(2). nihms-168635.nxml
eCooley-Strickland, M., Quille, T., Griffin, R., Stuart, E., & Furr-Holden, D. (2011). Efectos de la exposición de los adolescentes a la violencia en la comunidad: El Proyecto MORE. Interventión Psicosocial.
eRossen, L., Pollack, K., Curriero, F., Shields, T., Smart, M., Furr-Holden, C.D., & Cooley-Strickland, M. (2011). Neighborhood incivilities, perceived neighborhood safety, and walking behavior among urban-dwelling children. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 8(2), 262-271.
eMilam, A., Furr-Holden, D., Whitaker, D., Smart, M., Leaf, P., & Cooley-Strickland, M. (2011). Neighborhood environment and internalizing problems in African American children. Community Mental Health Journal. DOI 10.1007/s10597-011-9379-8
eCooley-Strickland, M., Bynum, L., Otte, K., Tang, L., Griffin, R., Quille, T., & Furr-Holden, D. (in press). The influence of neighborhood context on exposure to and use of substances among urban African American children. In Y.F. Thomas, L.N. Price, and A.V. Lybrand (Eds.), Drug Use Trajectories among Minority Youth. New York: Springer Publishing Company.