Department of Counseling, Clinical & School Psychology

Tania Israel is no stranger to divisive conversations. Back in the 1990s, she started a group to bring together pro-choice and pro-life people through dialogue. And for the past 25 years, as an expert on LGBTQ issues, she’s interacted with plenty of people with whom she does not see eye to eye.  

Leading up to the 2016 presidential election, once-amiable Americans were clearly having trouble connecting across political and cultural divides. When the trend did not slow down after the election, Israel recognized a disintegration of dialogue and sought to address it through her unique lens.

“As a counseling psychologist who does interventions, I am not as much about investigating the problem as I am about investigating solutions,” said Israel, a professor in the Department of Counseling, Clinical & School Psychology at UC Santa Barbara and author of the newly released “Facing the Fracture: How to Navigate the Challenges of Living in a Divided Nation” (Greenleaf Book Group Press, 2024). “I thought, ‘Is there something I can do to help?’”

UC Santa Barbara Gevirtz Graduate School of Education celebrates the start of fall quarter with the debut of “What’s Brewing in Education & Applied Psychology” - an evening in a local brewery to tap into the latest research, presented in 8-minute talks, from Gevirtz School faculty. 

The free event will be held at Night Lizard Brewery Company (601 State St., Santa Barbara) on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, from 6:30-8:30 pm. Presentations will begin at 7 pm, followed by a Q&A discussion.  

“We invite the community to join us for an evening downtown, to meet our faculty, staff and students, and to learn more about how our research is advancing excellence and equity in education,” said Jeffrey Milem, Jules Zimmer Dean’s Chair of the Gevirtz School.

There’s less attention defending those of us who truly are single cat ladies. Nearly 20 years ago, social scientists Bella DePaulo and Wendy Morris aptly described singlism: the prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination toward singles. Since their article, the number of single households has only been growing. Instead of ignoring or making fun of us single people, listen to us.

One year after the end of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in California, adolescents reported an increase in feeling disconnected from their communities and negative thoughts about society in general, according to a UCSB study on adolescent “social well-being.” The research found pervasive decreases in social well-being, and a significant portion of the students surveyed did not recover to their pre-COVID level by 2022.