Tristen Mosley, a recent graduate of App State, presented a poster at the 2025 Southeastern Psychological Association (SEPA) CEPO Conference. Summarizing his work with App State's Dr. Brian Higley and the University of Florida's Dr. Martin Heesacker on help-seeking behavior, "There is a welter of mental health help-seeking literature with disorderly key findings," Tristen said. "Reconceptualizing mental health help-seeking through a STEAM-based (i.e., social support, time perception, enjoyment, accessibility, and motivation) lens integrates these key findings into a conceptual framework that will render the voluminous research on help-seeking more practical for both future research and effective intervention."
Tristen was excited to present his poster at the 2025 SEPA CEPO Conference because of the framework’s potential to positively impact the clinical field. "The STEAM framework can bridge the gap between theoretical insights and real-world applications, enhancing understanding of help-seeking behaviors,” Tristen said.
Tristen enjoyed the process of working with professors at two different universities. “Working with Dr. Higley and Dr. Heesacker was quite the pleasure. Collaboration with professionals at both App State and the University of Florida allowed us to create a very polished and refined project." During the poster presentation, several professionals in the field were fascinated by the theoretical framework. Some noteworthy statements from interested professors from across the country included the following quotes:
- "It is important to create and understand a theoretical framework before conducting experiments."
- "This is a great example of how to break down complex concepts for a general audience."
"Looking ahead, we plan on designing experimental studies to test the STEAM framework's ability to predict help-seeking behavior and intervention effectiveness, " Tristen said. "Experimental studies will not only test predictive power in the context of mental health help-seeking but will also serve as a step towards integrating theory, empirical research, and practical application. By bridging these domains, we aim to develop evidence-based interventions with real-world relevance."
