PORTER JENNINGS MCGARITY
Dr. Porter Jennings McGarity
University : Austin Peay State University
Country : USA
Research Interest : Trauma and Latinx Mental Health
Bio :
Dr. Porter Jennings-McGarity is an Assistant Professor of Social Work and Austin Peay State University and is also a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) with a focus on trauma-related scholarship. Jennings-McGarity received a Master of Social Work (MSW) from the University of Georgia (UGA) School of Social Work in 2012, and a Ph.D. in Social Work from The University of Georgia in 2019. Her research centers around addressing complex trauma in vulnerable populations. Jennings-McGarity has a near decade of social work practice experience, with a specialization in providing trauma-informed clinical services for Spanish-speaking children, adolescents, and families impacted by migration. Her work has centered around the use of culturally responsive, evidenced-based trauma-informed interventions, including culturally adapted dialectical behavioral therapy and trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy techniques. She frequently conducts lectures and continuing education trainings in the community on culturally responsive approaches to trauma, ACEs, and trauma in immigrants and refugees to build the bridge between research and practice. Her research interests focus on trauma, including ACEs, trauma-informed research and practice with individuals involved in formal social systems (including the criminal justice system, the immigration system, and child welfare services), as well as utilization of culturally responsive practice with the Latinx population, and implementation of systematic and organizational trauma-informed care among vulnerable populations She is also active in community action efforts in Georgia and Tennessee to promote awareness on ACEs and resiliency, especially within the Latinx community.