Gillian Bryant

Gillian Bryant, MSW, is a second-year PhD student in the School of Social Work.

Gillian earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from ASU in 2019 and was the Dean’s Medalist for the Department of Psychology. She was awarded this honor for her high academic achievement and research endeavors, including a three-day experiment investigating the effects of therapy dogs on students' self-reported and physiological stress. This project was under the supervision of Dr. Clive Wynne with the Canine Science Collaboratory. She was also a research assistant for the Learning and Development Lab under the supervision of Dr. Viridiana Benitez. 

After graduating with her bachelor's degree, Gillian worked in mental healthcare with children and adolescents. In this work experience, Gillian saw firsthand the prejudice and discrimination that came along with mental health diagnoses, particularly borderline personality disorder. 

These experiences in the mental healthcare system led Gillian to pursue her Master of Social Work at ASU, which she earned in 2024. During her program, she gained experience in school social work and interned with the ASU Community Collaborative at the Westward Ho. At the Collaborative, she worked with older adults and individuals with disabilities. Gillian specialized in policy, administration, and community practice. For her culminating experience, she completed a thesis, a scoping review investigating the oppression of individuals with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder.

As a doctoral student in the School of Social Work, Gillian is interested in studying and upending the oppression of individuals with mental health diagnoses. Her research interests include Mad Studies, art-based research, and community-based participatory research. She aims to collaborate with individuals who identify as Mad to dismantle sanism and work towards liberation.