Jay Bettergarcia

Assistant Professor | Psychology and Child Development Department

Areas of Expertise

Diversity Teaching and Training

LGBTQ Mental Health and Wellness

Multicultural Psychology

Transgender and Non-binary AffirmingCare

Contact Information

Pronouns: they/them/theirs

805.756.6178

Email

Website

Biography

Jay Bettergarcia is an assistant professor in the Psychology and Child Development Department. Bettergarcia, who joined Cal Poly in 2016, leads the Queer Community Action, Research, Education, and Support (QCARES) team. With the team, Bettergarcia uses community-based action research and mixed-method designs to study LGBTQ mental health and wellness, including affirming approaches to mental health care for transgender and non-binary people. They also investigate evidence-based approaches to teaching and training about diversity, including the reactions (resistance and receptiveness) often encountered in diversity trainings and how to “roll with resistance.” Bettergarcia aims to better understand the experiences of LGBTQ community members, especially those who are underserved, and to utilize data to create evidence-based strategies for teaching and training about sexual orientation and gender diversity.

Education

• Ph.D., University of California Santa Barbara, Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology
• M.A., San Francisco State University, Social Psychology 
• B.S., Cal Poly, Psychology