About the Relational Resilience R² Initiative

No one should be completely isolated in times of distress.

The Relational Resilience (R² ) Research Initiative is grounded in the belief that resilience and recovery in mental health are fundamentally relational. Across development, relationships with peers, caregivers, educators, and communities shape how young people experience adversity, navigate crises, and regain stability and meaning.

Guided by this premise, the R² Research Initiative conducts evidence-based research examining how relational contexts operate as measurable mechanisms influencing youth and school mental health. My work centers on identifying relational risk and protective processes associated with trauma, resilience, and mental health outcomes, with particular attention to school and community settings where youth spend much of their daily lives.

In addition to advancing theory and empirical knowledge, my work is committed to research that informs practice, training, and systems-level change. I aim to generate findings that support schools, counselors, and mental health professionals in responding to both ongoing mental health needs and acute crises, while remaining attentive to issues of equity, context, and feasibility.

Program of Research

Kim's research focuses on four interconnected areas:

Trauma, Adversity, and Recovery

Research examining how adverse and positive experiences (e.g., ACEs, PCEs), trauma exposure, and relational contexts are associated with mental and behavioral health outcomes and heterogeneous recovery trajectories across developmental and cultural contexts.

Relational Ecological Systems, Crisis, and Prevention

Studies focused on peer, family, school, and community relationships, including belonging, connectedness, fairness, trust, and relational & social regulation processes, with attention to how these relational systems shape youth mental health, help-seeking, crisis vulnerability, and prevention.

AI, Digital Mental Health, and Relational Innovation

Research examining how artificial intelligence, digital environments, simulation-based learning, and technology-assisted relational support systems shape mental health, workforce preparedness, and access to scalable prevention and intervention resources for youth, schools, and helping professionals.

Counselor Education and Mental Health Workforce Development

Research focused on training and supporting the mental health workforce, including counselors, school mental health professionals, and peer-based providers, with emphasis on trauma-informed care, caregiver wellness, and implementation processes that strengthen service capacity and long-term workforce resilience.

Page updated

Google Sites