My work aims to promote well-being in people, especially adolescents and young adults. This work is at the intersection of clinical psychology, positive psychology, education, and public health. It aims to understand the personal, interpersonal, and contextual factors that affect well-being and risk for common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. Much of my research and applied work focuses on the development, implementation, and evaluation of school- and community-based intervention programs designed to promote psychological resilience and well-being, and prevent common mental health problems in young people. 

I collaborate with educators, counselors, and clinicians at schools and other organizations that serve youth and with researchers at many other academic institutions. Together, we have developed several well-being programs and curricula, including the Penn Resiliency Program and Strengths-Based Resilience. We have conducted large-scale evaluations of these and other school and community well-being programs. Much of this work has been funded by the Institute of Education Sciences and the National Institute of Mental Health, and many of our research papers are available for free online through PubMed.gov.  

I also serve as a scientific advisor for WorldBeing, a nonprofit organization that collaborates with community partners to develop, implement, and evaluate well-being programs for youth in under-resourced communities in low and middle income countries.  Over the years, I have served on the editorial boards of several academic journals, including as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Positive Psychology from 2010-2020 and a member of the editorial board for Psychological Bulletin.

At Swarthmore, I teach courses on clinical psychology and well-being, including Psyc 018 Well-Being (which is open to all students and has no prerequisites). I developed PSYC 018 with the goal of increasing students' knowledge of the personal, interpersonal, and contextual factors that contribute to well-being and of the interventions, practices, policies, and everyday behaviors that can improve well-being. I hope that students who take this course will also leave it with increased knowledge and skills that facilitate their own well-being and their contributions to the well-being of others. I am a member of the Swarthmore Coalition on Well-being, a group of staff, students, and faculty who work together to promote well-being on campus.

I also mentor students who are interested in research and applied work in psychology and related fields. I frequently teach the clinical field placement course (Psyc 90), one of the longest running community-based learning courses at the College. I direct the Resilience and Well-Being Lab (aka Well-Being Lab) and supervise students who are conducting empirical research in the lab. Many of the students who work with me pursue graduate school and careers as researchers and practitioners in psychology and related fields.

Recent publications:

• Gillham, J.E., & Brunwasser, S.M. (2024). Psychological interventions to prevent depression: A cause for hope. Lancet Psychiatry, 11 (12), 947-948. DOI: 10.1016/S2215-0366(24)00364-X
• Young, J.F., Jones, J.D., Schwartz, K.T.G., So, A., Dysart, G.C., Kanine, R.M., Gillham, J.E., Gallop, R., & Davis, M. (in press, 2024). Telehealth-delivered depression prevention: Short-term outcomes from a school-based randomized controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. DOI: 10.1037/ccp0000913  

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• Rashid, T, Gillham, J., & Anjum, A. (2024). Strengths-Based Resilience: A Practitioner's Manual for the SBR Program. Hogrefe publishing.
• Rashid, T., Gillham, J., Louden, R., & Anjum, A. (2024). Strengths-Based Resilience Workbook. Hogrefe publishing.
• Vélez, C.E., Hoang, K.N., Krause, E., & Gillham, J.E. (2024). The Rumination on Problems Questionnaire: Broadening our understanding of rumination and its links to depression, anxiety, and stress in young adults.  Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 46, 191–204. DOI: 10.1007/s10862-023-10103-2
• Métais, C, Burel, N, Gillham, JE, Tarquinio, C, & Martin-Krumm, C. (2022). Integrative review of the recent literature on human resilience: From concepts, theories, and discussions towards a complex understanding. European Journal of Psychology, 18, 98-119. DOI: 10.5964/ejop.2251. PMID: 35330859; PMCID: PMC8895705.
• Publications available through PubMed

Recent Presentations:

• Gillham, J., Murphy, C., Hackler, S., Eby, M., & Erley, A. (November 6, 2024). Course practices and policies that support student well-being: Preliminary findings from the SCW survey. Faculty lunch presentation, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA.
• Gillham, J.E. (November 1, 2024). School-based depression prevention and well-being promotion. Psychology Department Seminar Series. Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ.
• Gillham, J.E. (May 29, 2024). Discussant for Young, J.F. et al. symposium: Insights from two adolescent depression prevention trials: Moderators, caregiver-youth symptom coupling, and telehealth implementation. Society for Prevention Research, Washington DC. 
• Gillham, J.E. (March 12, 2024). Strengths-Based Resilience. Depression on College Campuses Conference, University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, MI. 
• Gillham, J.E. (March 1, 2024). Promoting students' resilience and strengths. Master of Applied Positive Psychology Program, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.