Our Team

Jennifer Canico, B.A.

Jennifer (she/her/ella) is a second-year Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student at the University of Oregon. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a B.A. in Psychology and Chicana/o Studies and a minor in Applied Developmental Psychology. Prior to joining the lab, she served as a research assistant in Dr. Anna Lau’s Culture and Race/Ethnicity (CARE) in Youth Mental Health Lab and Dr. Denise Chavira’s Culture and Anxiety Lab for Mental Health Advances (CALMA) at UCLA, working primarily with Spanish-speaking families. She also worked with the Maternal and Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social Stressors (MADRES) Center for Environmental Health Disparities at the USC Keck School of Medicine.

Jennifer is passionate about mental health equity and community implementation of evidence-based engagement practices to improve mental health care engagement among ethnic minority families. Her research interests focus on identifying how current evidence-based treatments can be adapted to maximize engagement and treatment outcomes for ethnic minority youth and families. Jennifer is particularly interested in examining how acculturative and systemic stressors as well as cultural values (e.g., familismo, respeto) impact treatment engagement among Latinx families. In her free time, Jennifer enjoys listening to crime podcasts, discover new foods, indoor cycling, and spending time with her family and adorable dog (Bruno).

Representative Publications and Presentations

  • Mudiam, K. R., Canico, J., Park, A. L., Allen, N. B., Williamson, A. A., Luiggi-Hernandez, J.G., Hamm, M. E., & Davis, M. F. (2024, November). Voices of youth with minoritized identities and caregivers: Leveraging primary care settings to discuss behavioral health concerns to prevent youth suicide risk? Poster presented at the 58th Annual Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) Convention, Philadelphia, PA.

  • Kitagawa, Y., Canico, J., & Park, A.L. (2024). Reflection on Affirmative Care Across Domains: Advancing Mental Health Equity. Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT).

  • Canico, J., Wright, B. M., Cox, J. R., Lau, A. S., & Brookman-Frazee, L. (November 2021). Do racial/ethnic match and therapist acculturation predict client engagement challenges with Latinx families receiving EBPs? Virtual poster presented at the 55th Annual Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) Convention, New Orleans, LA.

Twitter: @jennifercanico