Maureen Freed
Papers
2
Total Citations
15
H-Index
1
About
Maureen Freed is a researcher at the forefront of digital mental health interventions, with a specific focus on leveraging socially assistive robotics to support emotion regulation in young adults. Her work addresses the critical gap between rising mental health needs among university students and the limited capacity of traditional counseling services. Freed’s primary contribution is her pioneering investigation into the feasibility and acceptability of using physically embodied robots—rather than apps or websites—to help highly anxious students manage their emotions in real time. Her most cited paper, a 2023 mixed methods open trial, demonstrates that students find these robotic interventions engaging and impactful, offering a novel, scalable solution for campus mental health. Although her publication record is early-stage, this work has already garnered 14 citations, signaling strong interest from the human-computer interaction and clinical psychology communities. By exploring how social robots can serve as non-judgmental, always-available coaches for breathing exercises and cognitive reframing, Freed is helping to define a new frontier in technology-assisted mental health support. Her research is particularly notable for its user-centered design, prioritizing student feedback to ensure interventions are both practical and destigmatizing.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1
- 2