Psychology and Child Development

College of Liberal Arts

Jay Bettergarcia

Associate Professor

Pronouns: he/him, they/them

Contact Information

Education

  • Ph.D., Counseling, Clinical, & School Psychology, University of California at Santa Barbara
  • Pre-Doctoral Psychology Internship, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), University of Michigan
  • M.A., Social Psychology, San Francisco State University
  • B.S., Psychology, minor in Women’s & Gender Studies, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Courses Taught

  • PSY 102 Orientation to Psychology & Child Development
  • PSY 304 Intergroup Dialogues
  • PSY 324 Psychology of Gender
  • PSY 372 Multicultural Psychology
  • PSY 461 Senior Project Seminar
  • PSY 575 Gender & Couples Therapy

Research Interests

I am a licensed counseling psychologist, researcher, and educator whose work focuses on LGBTQ+ mental health, transgender and nonbinary affirming care, and creating more equitable systems in healthcare and higher education. My scholarship examines how individuals and communities navigate minority stress while cultivating resilience, resistance, radical healing, joy, and collective wellbeing, particularly among queer and trans communities. My research has explored transgender and nonbinary experiences in psychotherapy, best practices for training providers in affirming care, and how healthcare and university systems can better serve marginalized communities. More recently, I have been studying queer and trans Latinx joy as resistance and exploring how institutions can foster belonging, healing, and flourishing rather than focusing solely on disparities and harm. I am especially interested in translating research into practice through community-engaged research, provider training, and institutional change. I direct QCARES (Queer Community Action, Research, Education, and Support), where I enjoy mentoring students and collaborating with community partners to conduct research and interventions to create positive change. Across my work, I ask how psychological research can help us understand and create the interpersonal, community, and institutional conditions in which people can thrive.
 
 

Selected Publications

  • Matsuno E., Gilbert, B., Bettergarcia, J.N., Budge S. (2026). Transgender and Gender Expansive Individuals: Theories, Research, and Advocacy in Counseling Psychology. In APA Handbook of Counseling Psychology.
  • Matsuno, E., Bettergarcia, J. N., Bricker, N. L. (2026). Working with nonbinary communities. In A. A. Singh & R. McCullough (Eds.), Affirmative Counseling and Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Clients. American Psychological Association
  • Bettergarcia, J. N., Matsuno, E., Wang, Y., Pehl, E. P., & Galupo, P. (2025). Interrupting Cissexism and Binary Conceptualizations of Gender/Sex in Therapy. In N. A. Livingston, B. A. Feinstein, & M. P. Galupo (Eds.). Addressing Minority Stress and Enhancing Resilience in Therapy with Diverse LGBTQ+ Clients. Springer Nature. 
  • Schmidt, C. K., Bettergarcia, J. N., Matsuno, E., & Galupo, M. P. (2024). Cultural humility with transgender and gender diverse clients. Practice Innovations. 10(3), 203- 220.  https://doi.org/10.1037/pri0000263
  • Bettergarcia, J., Crone, C., Herry, E., & Ali, B. (2024). Centering the margins: Reimagining resilience and resistance for transgender and nonbinary people of color. Journal of Social Issues, 80, 896–919. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12639
  • Cipollina, R., Ruben, M. A., Maroney, M. R., Fu, C., Gonzalez, A., Fogwell, N. T., Bettergarcia, J.,
  • & Levitt, H. M. (2024). The damaging legacy of damage-centered LGBTIQ+ research: Implications for healthcare and LGBTIQ+ health. Journal of Social Issues, 80, 973–999. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12641
  • Hunsicker, M. J., Stuart-Maver, S. L., Anders, C., Kivlighan, D. M. III, Mahatmya, D., Bettergarcia, J., & Owen, J. (2024). Microaggression detection in psychotherapy: Expanding affirming care for transgender and nonbinary clients. The Counseling Psychologist, 52(6), 933–959. https://doi.org/10.1177/00110000241255137
  • Bettergarcia, J. N., Matsuno, E., Conner, K. J., Geilhufe, B., Burnes, T. R. (2023). Effectiveness of a nine-month queer- and trans-affirming training for mental health providers: A waitlist control group design. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 55(1), 18-27.  https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000526
  • *Wedell, E., Bettergarcia, J. N., *Thomson, B. R., & *Shrewsbury, A. M. (2022). Age moderates the association of community connectedness and psychological distress among LGBTQ+ youth and adults. Journal of Homosexuality, 71(3), 722-740. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2022.2132573
  • Goodman, J. A., Israel, T., Avellar, T. R., Delucio, K., Harkness, A., & Bettergarcia, J. N. (2022) Sexual and gender minorities’ positive and negative experiences with law enforcement. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-022-09496-9
  • Bettergarcia, J. N., Matsuno, E., Conover, K. (2021). Training mental health providers in queer-affirming care: A systematic review. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity.  8(3), 365–377. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000514
  • Bettergarcia, J. N., *Wedell, E., *Shrewsbury, A. M., *Thomson, B. R. (2021) “There’s a stopgap in the conversation”: LGBTQ+ mental health care and community connection in a semi-rural county. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 26(1), 48–75. https://doi.org/10.1080/19359705.2021.1900973

  •  Hackman, C. L., Bettergarcia, J. N., *Wedell, E., *Simmons, A. (2020). Qualitative exploration of social norm perceptions of sexual assault and associated consequences among LGBTQ+ College Students.Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 9(1), 81–91. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000457

  • Bettergarcia, J. N., & Israel, T. (2018). Therapist reactions to transgender identity exploration: Effects on the therapeutic relationship in an analogue study. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 5, 423–431. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000288
  • *denotes student co-authors

 

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