2021 Emergency Services
Behavioral Health Summit
Proudly Welcomes Dr. Yulia Gavrilova
“The Social Buffer”
Social Support as a Shield Against Stress
Dr. Yulia Gavrilova is a clinical psychologist and researcher, with 8 years of clinical expertise working with individuals representing unique cultural groups that are frequently exposed to high occupational demands and stress, such as first responders, veterans, collegiate athletes, and extreme performance artists. She graduated with a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, completed her predoctoral residency at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and her postdoctoral fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) where she is currently a faculty member.
Dr. Gavrilova’s work began with providing mental and behavioral health services to Division I athletes and teams, followed by 3 years in a VA Medical Center where she provided a variety of services in individual and group formats to veterans and their loved ones. During her Ph.D. studies, Dr. Gavrilova was invited to work with elite performers at Cirque du Soleil to help performers, coaches, and staff overcome difficulties associated with a work-related traumatic event exposure. Over the past 2 years, Dr. Gavrilova has been working with the Trauma Resilience and Recovery Program at MUSC, helping survivors of traumatic injury recover emotionally from the trauma. Dr. Gavrilova serves as a Co-Investigator on a FEMA and DHS-funded grant that supports the Center for Firefighter Behavioral Health in providing best-practice, technology-supported behavioral health resources to firefighters and in training mental health providers to deliver effective treatments to first responders. She is currently leading development of a stepped-care program aimed at supporting burn survivors on their journey to psychosocial rehabilitation.
Throughout her career as a scientist and practitioner, Dr. Gavrilova has firsthand witnessed the immense value of social support in preventing and recovering from work-related stress, traumatic events, anxiety, depression, and substance abuse, as well as in optimizing well-being, occupational performance, and quality of life.
Dr. Gavrilova has published 15 articles in peer-reviewed journals, 2 book chapters in international books on optimal performance, and conducted 38 presentations at regional and national conferences on topics that aim to enhance social, emotional, and physical well-being of individuals and groups.