Anna recently graduated from Belmont University with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Studio Art. She began working in the McKernan Lab in the summer of 2018. Anna pursued her interests in art, mindfulness, hypnosis, self-compassion, and clinical psychology by seeking out ways to build as much knowledge and experience in these areas as possible; volunteering at Nashville’s Park Center; working on studies at Vanderbilt involving patient interaction and a breadth of research skills; and building her practice as an artist have led to even greater passion and drive to learn more. As her role in the McKernan Lab evolves, Anna’s areas of interest have begun to overlap–she has started to work on graphic design of patient materials for several Vanderbilt clinics. Anna plans to attend graduate school with hopes of becoming a licensed therapist. 

Find Anna’s artwork here on her personal website: https://annaryden.squarespace.com/