Webinar: Staying Emotionally Balanced During the Time of COVID-19

Presenters: Qiana Cryer-Coupet ’06, Megan Henry ’12, Dr. Patrick McGrath ’93, Barb Nathan ’80, Dr. Erin Zerth ’03
Moderator: Professor Linda Kunce

COVID-19 has caused an emotional upheaval for many. This uncertain time can bring about heightened anxiety, loneliness caused by isolation and fear of the unknown. Join our alumni panel of experts who will discuss these challenges and offer solutions to help manage feelings of mental imbalance.


Qiana Cryer-Coupet, a 2006 graduate from IWU is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at NC State University. She received her Ph.D. from the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois-Chicago and her MSW from the University of Maryland School of Social Work. Dr. Cryer-Coupet’s program of research focuses on parenting practices and their impacts on family health and wellbeing across the lifespan. Her current research explores the roles of fathers in families, particularly among those engaged in kinship care or who have been impacted by family-traumas such as paternal incarceration, experiences of homelessness, and paternal substance use disorders. This line of research was inspired by her social work practice experience with relative caregivers and their families. Dr. Cryer-Coupet is also the Co-PI of the Black Families Project (BFP), a national dyadic survey of 600 Black adolescents and their primary caregivers. The BFP was designed with the goal of understanding the psychological and physical health of Black caregivers and their adolescent children with a focus on family socialization and communication within our current sociopolitical climate. Dr. Cryer-Coupet teaches research methods, program evaluation, and human behavior courses in the MSW program.

Megan Henry, LCSW, ICDVP, is the Child and Family Counseling Program Supervisor at Sarah’s Inn, a community-based domestic violence agency in Forest Park, IL, that serves primarily the west side of Chicago and surrounding western suburbs. Ms. Henry provides trauma-focused individual, family, and group counseling for children and families exposed to domestic violence, supervises the agency’s child/family counselors, and oversees the functioning of the children’s program according to best practice in the field of trauma, mental health and domestic violence. She received her BA in International Studies from Illinois Wesleyan University in 2012 and her MA in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago in 2016. She was awarded the John and Erma Stutzman Peace Fellowship at Illinois Wesleyan University and the Beatrice Cummings Mayer Violence Prevention Fellowship at the University of Chicago. Ms. Henry plans to dedicate her career to trauma-informed service provision and policy change for survivors of violence and for people impacted by the criminal justice system, particularly focusing on the needs of children and families. She is a nationally rostered clinician in Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP), and is also trained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and the Collaborative Change Model (CCM) for Family Violence and Trauma. Ms. Henry’s previous experience includes work with the Center for Law and Social Work, UCAN Chicago, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago, Heartland Alliance, and The Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing.

Patrick B. McGrath, Ph.D., is a licensed Clinical Psychologist in the states of Illinois, Michigan, and Missouri. Dr. McGrath specializes in the treatment for Anxiety, OCD, and PTSD. To treat these disorders, he utilizes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Exposure and Response Prevention. Dr. McGrath has given over 800 presentations on the treatment of Anxiety Disorders, OCD, and PTSD at schools, hospitals, private practices and universities, as well as local, national, and international conferences. He has trained therapists national and internationally for PESI and the TATRA training corporations. Dr. McGrath has supervised over 50 students in his career through practicum, internship, and postdoctoral fellowships. He is the author or co-author of numerous peer reviewed journal articles, and has also authored a book on OCD (The OCD Answer Book) and a stress management manual (Don’t Try Harder, Try Different). Dr. McGrath currently serves as the Head of Clinical Services for NOCD, leading their teletherapy services across the United States to help people with OCD. He is also a Lead Psychologist at AMITA Health, where he opened Intensive Outpatient, Partial Hospital, and Residential Treatment Programs for Anxiety Disorders, OCD, and PTSD. He is also the President of Anxiety Centers of Illinois, a private practice group, and a member of the Scientific and Clinical Advisory Boards of the International OCD Foundation. He is a Fellow of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, and the President of OCD Midwest. 


Barbara Nathan ’80, graduated from the Illinois Wesleyan School of Nursing in 1980. Since 2012, Barb has been the Executive Director of Westminster Village, a continuing care retirement community. Prior to her time at Westminster, she was the director of the Community Cancer Center and its Foundation (1996- 2012).   Barb also  served as Vice President of Patient Services and Chief Nursing Officer of BroMenn Healthcare from 1988 to 1996.  Barb is active in the Bloomington-Normal community and has served on over twenty committees and boards, including most recently the McLean County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. She has also been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Illinois Wesleyan University Distinguished Alumni Award for Nursing and the American Academy of Medical Administrators Outstanding Achievement Award.

Dr. Erin (O’Neill) Zerth ’03 graduated from Illinois Wesleyan in 2003 with a degree in Psychology. Dr. Zerth attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Counseling Psychology Program as a recipient of the Morris Fellowship where she achieved her Doctorate in Counseling Psychology with emphasis on Health, Neuropsychology and Medical Rehabilitation in 2008. She completed her internship at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital and was hired onto their Medical Staff upon completion of her training. This is Dr. Zerth’s fourteenth year of service to the Veteran’s Health Administration where she specializes in Integrated Care, the co-location and full integration of behavioral health providers, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Social Workers, Mental Health RNs and Peer Support Specialists, into medical teams such as Primary Care, Women’s Health, Infectious Disease, Oncology and Geriatrics. Integrated care teams provide same day access to Veterans with mental health, substance abuse and behavioral medicine related difficulties and are a front line support for Veterans experiencing minority based stress, racism, and discrimination. Dr. Zerth is a Supervisory Psychologist and the Program Manager of the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital’s Primary Care Mental Health Integration Team which has been recognized by the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality as an exemplary program and by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs as a strong practice program. Dr. Zerth is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine. In response to COVID-19 Dr. Zerth’s teams provide emotional, bereavement and stress management support to COVID positive Veterans and family members, PPE desensitization to staff and Veterans, mental health support to Veterans struggling with isolation and exacerbation of mental health difficulties during social distancing, and race based stress assessment and intervention.