Hi!
My name is Anja Burcak. In May 2024, I graduated from East Carolina University’s School Psychology Master’s of Arts plus Specialist in School Psychology (MA/SSP) dual-degree program. My internship was the 2023-2024 academic year (K-8). I am officially a nationally certified school psychologist (NCSP) in North Carolina now!
I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in December 2017 (BS in Psychology, BA in Biology). I have been involved in suicide prevention research, victim advocacy, and mental health writing/blogging.
I am a writer with a focus on mental health topics such as lived experience, mood disorders (e.g., bipolar disorder), and student mental health.
My pieces have been featured on BP Magazine’s site (bpHope vlog and blog), Yahoo!, The Mighty, Consumer Health Digest, Odyssey, MSN, and more. I have also done social media content creation for a student-centered nonprofit (The Support Network) and university (newsletter; social media).
If you are interested in collaborating, let me know!
Featured on:
RESEARCH INVOLVEMENT
PUBLICATIONS
Schuler, K.R., Basu, N., Burcak, A. and Smith, P.N. (2021), “Black Americans report greater resilience to suicide unless its interpersonally motivated and are more accepting of others right to die”, Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JACPR-03-2021-0592
CONFERENCES
WRITING
Burcak, A. 2023. “A Call to Destigmatize the LIVed Experiences of Prosumers: A Graduate Student’s Perspective on Self-disclosures within the Mental Health Field.” http://critpsych.com/blogposts/anja-burcak/ (Accepted by 2023 Conference on Critical Psychiatry)
POSTERS
Burcak, A. 2023. “Mental Health Literacy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy School-Based Programming.” East Carolina University. (Accepted by North Carolina School Psychology Association Fall Conference)
Burcak, A., Schuler, K.R.., and Smith, P.N.. 2020. “Racial/Ethnic Group Membership is Associated with Right to Die and Interpersonal Attitudes Toward Suicide.” (Abstract accepted to The American Association of Suicidology 2021 Conference)
ONLINE PUBLISHED ARTICLES
Burcak, A. (2022, November 7). Selena Gomez Tackles Mental Illness in ‘My Mind and Me’ Documentary. The Mighty. https://bit.ly/3zVReuM
Burcak, A. (2022, July 2). 7 Tips for Managing Your Mental Health in Grad School. The Mighty. https://bit.ly/3SbInML
Burcak, A. (2021, April 30). Busting 5 Mental Health Myths. The Mighty. https://bit.ly/3ff1aEl
Burcak, A. (2020, December 8). Protecting Yourself from Negativity & “Doom Scrolling.” bpHope blog. https://bit.ly/3gpBKUZ
Burcak, A. (2020, October 22). 6 Creative Ways to Combat Seasonal Triggers in 2020. bpHope blog. https://bit.ly/2KQ4ri3
Burcak, A. (2020, August 24). I Have Bipolar Disorder. What Do I Do Now? The Mighty. https://bit.ly/36ilKAB
Burcak, A. (2020, June 29). How Bipolar Disorder Affected My College Experience. bpHope blog. https://bit.ly/2YTOkVr
Burcak, A. (2019, December 19). Clearing Up Some Misconceptions about Bipolar Disorder and Mania. Yahoo! The Mighty. https://yhoo.it/36ilWzP. https://bit.ly/3liUUg3.
Burcak, A. (2019, October 28). “Modern Love” Shows What It’s Like When Mood Changes Control Your Life. Yahoo! News. The Mighty. https://yhoo.it/36eWkUk. https://bit.ly/37h7OpN.
Burcak, A. (2019, October 22). When Bipolar Disorder Makes Me Question Who I Am. The Mighty. https://bit.ly/39nn7zZ
Burcak, A. (2019, October 3). What It’s Like to live with ‘Smiling’ Bipolar. The Mighty. https://bit.ly/37jaOBY
Burcak, A. (2019, June 20). 8 Things to Consider when College is Around the Corner- and You Have Bipolar. bpHope blog. https://bit.ly/36ivnz2
Burcak, A. (2019, February 19). 10 Ways My Mental Health Advocacy Impacts Me. Yahoo! Lifestyle. The Mighty. https://yhoo.it/36eJYf6. https://bit.ly/3lbndgk.
Burcak, A. (2018, December 15). When Bipolar Disorder Makes You Spend Way Too Much Money Over the Holidays. Yahoo! Finance. The Mighty. https://yhoo.it/3o9qxu3. https://bit.ly/3mjOn5Q.
Burcak, A. (2018, September 5). 3 Ways Bipolar Mania and Hypomania Change Me. Yahoo! Lifestyle. The Mighty. https://yhoo.it/3llVtFM. https://bit.ly/3fRGWk3.
Burcak, A. (2018, June 16). Mental Health of Immigrant Children Split from Families in the US: Health Professionals React. Blasting News. https://bit.ly/3o4nL9x.
Burcak, A. (2018, May 29). School Shootings now Average more than one per Week in the US. Blasting News. https://bit.ly/37i5lLD.
Burcak, A. (2018, May 23). 8 Problems with the New Season of ’13 Reasons Why.’ The Mighty. https://bit.ly/33mLauP
Burcak, A. (2017, September 5). 30 Things that aren’t True about Eating Disorders. The Odyssey. https://bit.ly/3o8ZCPl
Burcak, A. (2017, August 21). What Bipolar Disorder Has Given Me. The Odyssey. https://bit.ly/39p5OOQ
Burcak, A. (2017, August 20). Lady Gaga’s Tweet Is Sparking Controversy Over Transgender Suicide Risk. The Odyssey. https://bit.ly/2KSF6UR
Burcak, A. (2017, August 8). 5 Common Opinions on Mental Illness that are Flat Out Wrong. The Odyssey. https://bit.ly/2HLPP1W
Burcak, A. (2017, July 31). Anxiety Made Me the ‘Perfect’ Student – but at What Cost? The Mighty. https://bit.ly/36haTqI
Burcak, A. (2017, April 20). When Being a Prepared Student Is Really Anxiety in Disguise. The Mighty. https://bit.ly/33qsZog
Burcak, A. (2017, April 11). A Synopsis of Parkinson’s Disease. Consumer Health Digest Blogs.
Burcak, A. (2017, April). #WhatBipolarFeelsLike – How Bipolar Disorder Impacts Individuals. Consumer Health Digest. https://bit.ly/3llaLdQ
Burcak, A. (2013, December 17). Off With Your Head? Carolina Scientific Blog.
AUDIOVISUAL
Burcak, A. (2018, December 17). Overcoming Isolation during Bipolar Depression. bpHope blog. https://bit.ly/36dvA6O
Burcak, A. (2018, October 31). Does Bipolar Disorder Affect Your Physical Health and More? What You Can Do. bpHope blog. https://bit.ly/3mib5LD
Burcak, A. (2018, September 27). Overwhelmed by the Pain of Others? How to Get Rid of Excessive Empathy. bpHope blog. https://bit.ly/2HQOqHA
SELECTED PRESS
PRINT (ONLINE)
Gold, J. (2020, 3 August). Here’s What It’s Like to Love Someone with Bipolar Disorder. InStyle. https://bit.ly/36eMuSq
Noguchi, Y. (2020, 13 May). Act Now To Get Ahead Of A Mental Health Crisis, Specialists Advise U.S. National Public Radio. https://n.pr/2VcOGUb
D’Arcy-Sharpe, A. (2019, 8 August). Having a Mental Illness Does Not Make us a Risk to Others. Highs & Lows: A Bipolar Journey (Psych Central blog). https://bit.ly/3o649lk
AUDIO & AUDIOVISUAL
Burcak A. Panelist. “New Year, Same Struggles: The Problem with Resolutions.” Rudy Caseres’ channel. Live Stream (YouTube). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgpwqkooukA
Burcak A. Panelist. “College Spring Breakdown.” SPSM Chat (Suicide Prevention Social Media). Live stream panel. 2021 April 19. https://bit.ly/3eEgFXl
Burcak A. Panelist. “Navigating Triggers and PTSD Triggers.” Lifelines Counseling. Live stream panel. 2020 Oct 8.
Burcak A. Panelist. “State of Bipolar Advocacy.” The Mighty Site. Live stream panel. 2020 Oct 7. https://bit.ly/36jiJQF
Burcak A. Guest. “The Calculating Mind.” Talk Mental Health with Logan Noone Podcast. 2020 May 12. https://bit.ly/39obetn
Burcak A. Panelist. “Let’s Talk about World Bipolar Day.” SPSM Chat (Suicide Prevention Social Media). Live stream panel. 2020 March 29. https://bit.ly/2KQjlVB
Burcak A. Guest. “Blogger and Mental Health Advocate- Anja Burcak.” Voices for Change 2.0. Podcast. 2019 July 6. https://bit.ly/36hkVIn
Burcak A. Guest. “Inside the Calculating Mind of Anja Burcak.” Mind of Her Own Podcast with Julie Trites. 2019 February 26. https://bit.ly/2VdM6NQ
Burcak A. Guest. “Depression, Bipolar, and College Life with Anja Burcak.” Beyond Your Past Radio Podcast. 2018 August 27. https://bit.ly/3ljVmKV
COMMUNITY OUTREACH/PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
2023 Student State Representative on NCSPA Board for 2023
2022-2023 NCSPA ECU Student Representative (2022-2023)
2018-2019 Judge, Teen Changemakers Essay Contest, International Bipolar Foundation
The Calculating Mind 