Associate Professor, Clinical Mental Health Counseling
As both a researcher and practicing clinician, my research interests are inspired by my desire to identify empirically-based solutions to better serve my clients. My primary research areas have focused on four intersecting domains that are salient to college students: the developmental period of emerging adulthood, bereavement among college students, resilience, and post traumatic growth. I am interested in examining how current operationalized definitions of resilience, post traumatic growth, and available grief discourse impact the bereavement process. In a second line of my research, I am examining the impact of chemotherapy-induced alopecia and hair retention on the well-being of women with breast cancer. The common themes in my research are a commitment to adopting a critical and multicultural lens, a strengths-oriented perspective of the individuals and groups I study, and genuine curiosity about the human experience.
Plocha, A., Modrak, S., Hoopes, M., Priest, A., & Donahoe, A. (2022). Developmental
reengagement without depression: A grounded theory of resilience among bereaved college students. OMEGA – Journal of Death and Dying. https://doi.org/10.1177/0030222822113358
Oh, S., Shillingford, J., & Plocha, A. (2022). Challenges for parents of color in children’s
STEM career aspiration. The Career Development Quarterly, 70(2), 110-124. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12290
Plocha, A., Modrak, S., Hoopes, M., Priest, A., & Donahoe, A. (2022). Resilience among bereaved college students: Indicators, facilitators, and barriers. Death Studies, 47(2), 121-129. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2022.2032483
Plocha, A., & Bacigalupe, G. (2020). How do parentally bereaved emerging adults define resilience? It’s a process. Journal of College Counseling, 23(3), 247-261. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/jocc.12169
Licensed Psychologist, Massachusetts (License #: 10911)
The Student Government Association’s Academic Affairs Committee (SGA) worked with faculty and the Office of the Provost to include American Sign Language (ASL) as part of the College’s foreign language requirement starting in spring 2024.
