Jenna Sung
Assistant Professor
Dr. Jenna Sung is an assistant professor in the Counseling Psychology & Applied Human Development Department at Boston University’s Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, where she directs the Lab for Expanding Access for Families (LEAF). Dr. Sung’s program of research focuses on transforming mental health care systems to make evidence-based support more accessible for youth and their caregivers—especially those facing socioeconomic barriers.
More specifically, her research centers the development, evaluation, and implementation of brief, scalable digital mental health interventions—single-session interventions (SSIs). Designed to reach individuals who might not otherwise access traditional psychotherapy, these low-burden programs leverage emerging technologies to deliver responsive, accessible solutions that address systemic barriers to care. These programs serve youth, caregivers, and the broader family context, recognizing that caregivers are central to youth well-being, yet frequently face high levels of stress and limited support.
Committed to translating innovation into real-world impact, Dr. Sung designs digital interventions with deployment and user-centered design at the forefront. She has partnered with hospital systems, primary care clinics, and acute-care settings to broadly disseminate these programs and investigates the facilitators and barriers to implementation to maximize their reach and sustainability. Her work has been supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as a Health Policy Research Scholar, and by the International OCD Foundation, which supports her efforts to scale caregiver-focused SSIs.
pronouns: she/her
Recent News
Education
PhD, Clinical Psychology, Stony Brook University
MA, Clinical Psychology, Stony Brook University
BA, Psychology, Emory University
Courses
CE 746 Clinical Practice
Research
Jenike Young Investigator Award, International OCD Foundation (Role: PI) 2025-2026: "A Web-Based Single Session Intervention to Reduce Caregiver Distress and Accommodation in Socioeconomically Diverse Caregivers of OCD Patients: Project EMPOWER-OCD"
Selected Publications
Sung, J. Y., Sotomayor, I., Szkody, E., Schleider, J. L. (2025). Provider Hesitancy Toward Single-Session Interventions for Mental Health Problems: Malleability and Implications for Adoption in Routine Care Settings, Clinical Psychology: Science & Practice Pre-Registration Pre-Print
Sung, J. Y. & Schleider, J. L., (2023). Open pilot trial of a telehealth single-session consultation service for clients on psychotherapy waitlists. Practice Innovations. doi: 10.1037/pri0000207
Ringle, V. M., Sung, J. Y., Roulston, C., & Schleider, J. L. (2023). Mixed-methods examination of youth-reported barriers to accessing mental health services, Journal of Adolescent Health. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.08.034
Sung, J. Y.*, Mumper, E.*, & Schleider, J. L. (2021). Empowering Anxious Parents to Manage Child Avoidance Behaviors: Randomized Trial of a Single-Session Intervention for Parent Accommodation. Journal of Medical Internet Research: Mental Health. doi: 10.2196/29538
Sung, J., Kacmarek, C., & Schleider, J. L. (2020). Economic Evaluations of Mental Health Programs for Children and Adolescents in the United States. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. doi: 10.1007/s10567-020-00333-1