Lillian Alexander

Lillian Alexander is a fifth-year PhD candidate whose research and clinical practice focuses on mental health, particularly the role of empathy in therapeutic relationships. Her research in this area began during her undergraduate studies, where she first explored the phenomenon of empathic distress and its influence on emotional functioning. This research sparked a longstanding interest in the complexities of empathy in helping professions, which continued to grow throughout her years of practice in community mental health settings. In these roles, she came to recognize the real and persistent challenges practitioners face in maintaining empathy amid high caseloads, limited resources, and organizational demands.