Megan Lipsett, PhD, MA, NBC-HWC
Dr. Lipsett received her doctorate in Social Psychology at the University of Oregon and completed a predoctoral research fellowship of Clinical and Translational Research at Oregon Health Science University’s School of Medicine. Her research interest is in complimentary and integrative health approaches to prevention of chronic illness and co-morbid psychosocial distress, with a special interest in mindfulness-based interventions for groups that experience higher rates of adversity, stigma, and health inequities. Drawing from health psychology, social psychology, clinical psychology, contemplative science, and health neuroscience, she aims to contribute to translational research that identifies biopsychosocial factors of stress resilience and ultimately impacts policy and social change. She explores how socialized beliefs influence emotion regulation and health-relevant behaviors and is interested in the role of adversity, belonging, and self-concept in health outcomes and goal-attainment. She collects noninvasive biomarkers in order to understand how contextual social and environmental factors influence psychological well-being and health. Additionally, she is interested in social-ecological approaches to community-based health promotion.
As Assistant Professor of Integrative Health at the California Institute of Integral Studies, she teaches courses in Mindfulness and Stress Physiology and Social-Ecological Health. Dr. Lipsett is also a qualified instructor of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).
The Wellness Mindset Study
Dr. Lipsett is currently co-PI for the Wellness Mindset Study at the University of Oregon’s Center for the Science and Practice of Well-being, a controlled trial of a 4-week mindfulness-based wellness mindset training along with a positive psychology and neuroscience course in a population of first-year undergraduate students (compared to an introductory psychology course). The training is designed to increase present-moment awareness and foster psychological distance towards emotionally difficult memories in order to decrease emotional reactivity and increase meaning making and, ultimately, psychological well-being. Changes to linguistic and neural correlates of these constructs are being explored.