Research

As a professor, my research explores how mindfulness, trauma, and systems of oppression shape individual and collective wellbeing—especially among youth and frontline practitioners. I use participatory methods to examine how people build resilience, make meaning, and foster healing in community. A central thread in my work is supporting collaborative decision-making that attends to power, identity, and belonging—skills I bring into my coaching and therapy practice to help individuals deepen presence, clarify values, and navigate their lives with greater integrity and care.

Recent Publications

“Being Someone Who Can Buffer the Pains of Life”: Street Outreach Worker Perspectives on Supporting Youths’ Healing from Community Violence

Elsaesser, C., Vasquez Reyes, M., Fairchild, E. et al. “Being Someone Who Can Buffer the Pains of Life”: Street Outreach Worker Perspectives on Supporting Youths’ Healing from Community Violence. Clin Soc Work J (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-024-00958-7

“We can honor more authentic expression in ourselves and others”: A collaborative autoethnography exploring vulnerability in youth participatory action research

Elsaesser, C., Kennedy, H., Chávez, N. R., & Courts, C. L. D. (2025). “We can honor more authentic expression in ourselves and others”: A collaborative autoethnography exploring vulnerability in youth participatory action research. Action Research, 0(0). https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.uconn.edu/10.1177/14767503251338039

“My resistance melts away”: The role of mindfulness in supporting participatory researchers' efforts to share power with youth co-researchers

Iacono, G., Elsaesser, C., & Dominique Courts, C. L. (2024). “My resistance melts away”: The role of mindfulness in supporting participatory researchers’ efforts to share power with youth co-researchers. American Journal of Community Psychology, 74(3–4), 236–248. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12760