Jalana Harris

Dr. Harris is a Licensed Psychotherapist, Certified Hypnotherapist, Certified Life Coach and Consultant based in NYC. She is a contributing faculty member at Walden School of Social Work and operates a private practice in NYC, providing therapy and coaching to individuals, couples and families.
Jalana completed her Doctor of Philosophy in Social Welfare at Stony Brook University, where she also received her MSW and was a distinguished Turner Fellow. She has an extensive history in social development and community organizing, having worked as Director of Youth and Family programs for the NYC Parks Department overseeing the training and program development for 35 youth programs in the five boroughs. She also worked as a trainer/facilitator for Planned Parenthood of Nassau County developing and implementing trainings and workshops on sexuality education and overseeing their Teen Advocate Program. Additionally, she has worked as a trainer/facilitator for the Research Foundation at Hunter College in NYC where she developed and implemented trainings on Safety and Risk Assessments for Child Welfare, Foster Care and Preventive agencies throughout the five boroughs of NYC. Her teaching experience includes several years teaching both locally and online in courses on Human Behavior, Research, Practice and Policy.
Jalana is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer having served in the Dominican Republic where she worked with small business owners, government and local non-governmental organizations providing training and facilitation (in English and Spanish) on strategic planning, leadership and program development. She received her BA from Emory University in Atlanta, GA with majors in both Business Economics and Dance; she also received certificates in Dance and Music from both the Edna Manley School of the Performing Arts in Kingston Jamaica and the University of Havana in Havana Cuba.

Courses Taught

SOCW 6002 - Changing Lives, Changing Society: Introduction to Social Work

SOCW 6101 - Essential Skills for Social Work Practice

Education

BA, Emory University

MSW, Stony Brook University

PhD, Stony Brook University

Public Service

I am My Sister, Board Member - Queens

Sure Foundation Child Care Center Inc., Other - Uniondale

Awards / Honors

Omicron Delta Epsilon Honor Society, Emory University, 2000

Certificate of Service, United States Peace Corps/Presidential Award, United States , 2003

W. Burghardt Turner Fellowship, Stony Brook University, 2007

Phi Alpha Honor Society – Phi Theta Chapter, Stony Brook University, 2016

Publications

Gonzalez, A., Locicero, B., Mahaffey, B., Fleming, C., Harris, J. S., Vujanovic, A. A. (2015). Internalized HIV Stigma and Mindfulness Associations with PTSD Symptom Severity in Trauma-Exposed Adults With HIV/AIDS. Behavior Modification

Harris, J. S. (2018). Adherence to the Strong Black Woman Archetype and Sexual Agency: An Intersectional Exploration of Sexual Assertiveness, towards Deconstructing Black Women's Sexual Health.

Presentations

Gonzalez, A., Locicero, B., Mahaffey, B., Fleming, C., Harris, J. S., Vujanovic, A. A. (2016). Internalized HIV Stigma and Mindfulness: Associations with PTSD Symptom Severity in Trauma-Exposed Adults With HIV/AIDS.. Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine

Graham, W., Kennedy, S. A., Otuyelu, F., Harris, J. S. (2018). Differential Police Response to Protesting: When Color Matters. National Organization of Forensic Social Work