Introduction to The Hope Lab

September 18, 2020

The HOPE Lab

People with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD) do not have the access they need to mental health care. Mental health professionals rarely get training in helping people with IDD and there is not enough research on the causes and treatments of mental health for people with IDD.

We want to change that.

Our mission is to conduct high quality research to improve the mental health of people with IDD. To do that, we need better ways of measuring mental health symptoms in people with IDD, we need to raise awareness of the need for mental health professionals to treat people with IDD who have mental health needs, and we need to make research more accessible for people with IDD so that treatments for mental health met their needs.

Want to get involved?

Virginia Commonwealth University encourages undergraduates to participate in paid  and volunteer research both inside and outside of the classroom. Check out Our Team page for more about opportunities.

If you, or someone you care for, has an intellectual and/or developmental disability, check out our Resources or Active Research pages for ways to get involved.