Heidi M. Levitt News; News; Website; Google Scholar

Sharon G. Horne News; Wikipedia;

Meredith R. Money Website; Google Scholar

UMB Team Members Bios

Research Collaborators Bios

We are LGBTQ+ and affirmative researchers at the University of Massachusetts Boston and their collaborators. We care about the impact of heterosexism and transphobia and the ways they intersect with other types of stigma like race, ethnicity, class, disability, and age in diverse communities. To increase the supports freely available to our community, we develop exercises (see the “Grow” webpage) tailored to supporting LGBTQ+ people to process these troubling experiences. Also, we conduct research broadly to study sexual and gender minority identity experiences within the discipline of psychology, both nationally and transnationally, including issues tied to LGBTQ+ self-expression, identity, joy, and connection.

Dr. Heidi Levitt is the foundational researcher in developing expressive writing exercises for healing from heterosexist and transphobic experiences. Dr. Sharon Horne oversees projects tied to transnational LGBTQ+ psychology, global activism, and legislation. Dr. Meredith Maroney oversees research on the intersection of LGBTQ+ and autistic identities and experiences of heterosexism, transphobia, and ability. We are members of LGBTQuarc (UMass Boston Advocacy and Research Collaborative) - a group of psychological researchers at UMass Boston. We collaborate with local researchers at UMB as well as collaborators in other universities and research contexts. You can learn more about us and our work at our UMB webpages, on Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr, and through the links to our bios, listed to the left.

Below is a Bibliography of research we have conducted supporting our exercises for resolving heterosexist, transphobic, biphobic, and autistic+heterosexist experiences (see our Grow page for more on these exercises). Research on the many other topics we research can be found on the websites found on the links above.

• Maroney, M. R., Levitt, H. M., & Horne, S. G. (2023). Exploring the efficacy of an online therapy intervention in processing experiences of heterosexism among autistic-LGBQ adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-023-06027-1

• White, L. (2022). Evaluating the efficacy of an expressive writing intervention in reducing distress following an experience of transphobia. Dissertation at the University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston Massachusetts.

• Levitt, H. M., Collins, K. M., Maroney, M. R. & Roberts, T. S. (2022). Healing from heterosexist experiences:  A mixed methods intervention study using expressive writing.  Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 9(2),152-164.  https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000478 

• Chickerella, R. (2021). Emotion Focused Writing and Psychoeducation: Interventions to Reduce Stigma for Bisexual Men. Dissertation at the University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston Massachusetts.

• Collins, K. M., Maroney, M. R. Roberts, T. S., Wadler, B. M. & Levitt, H. M. (2021). Healing from heterosexism: An empirically-based exercise for processing heterosexist experiences (pp. 150-157).  In Joy S. Whitman & Cyndy J. Boyd (Eds.), Homework assignments and handouts for LGBTQ+ clients: A mental health and counseling handbook.  Harrington Park Press.  http://cup.columbia.edu/book/homework-assignments-and-handouts-for-lgbtq-clients/9781939594389

• Collins, K. M., Levitt, H. M. & Maroney, M. (2020).  Peeling back the layers: How expressive writing about heterosexist events benefits LGBQ adults. Journal of Homosexuality. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2020.1826834

• Collins, K. M., & Levitt, H. M. (2020).  Healing from heterosexism: A discovery-oriented task analysis of emotion-focused writing. Journal of Gay and Lesbian Mental Health. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/19359705.2021.1876805

• Maroney, M. R. (2020). Exploring the Efficacy of an Online Intervention in Processing Experiences of Heterosexism Among Autistic-LGBTQ Individuals. Dissertation at the University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA. https://scholarworks.umb.edu/doctoral_dissertations/584/

• Collins, K. M. (2018). Healing from heterosexism through expressive writing. Masters thesis at the University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston Massachusetts. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/270219343.pdf

Here are some outcomes from a recent project:

Horne SG, McGinley M, Yel N, Maroney MR. (2022) The stench of bathroom bills and anti-transgender legislation: Anxiety and depression among transgender, nonbinary, and cisgender LGBQ people during a state referendum. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 69(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000558

Research on the MA Question 3 to Remove LGBTQ Protections:

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Here is a video and a description of a past community-based project to develop a research-based public service announcement focused on HIV risk in the house/ballroom/pageant community:

Horne, S. G., Levitt, H. M., Sweeney, K. K., Puckett, J. C., & Hampton, M. (2014). African American gay families: An entry point for HIV prevention.  Journal of Sex Research, 3, 1-14.  doi: 10.1080/00224499.2014.901285

In a participatory action research project with the OutMemphis! Synapse Project, we co-developed culturally congruent public service announcements to mitigate HIV-risk, featured on social media and men/GNC people of color GBTQ social networking sites. You can learn more about the project, about OutMemphis, and check out the videos using the links below:

About OutMemphis: https://www.outmemphis.org