APRIL 26, 2022—TUESDAY, 7 P.M. PT
Join SoCalMWA for a discussion on character development from Dr. Drea Letamendi.
Dr. Drea is a licensed clinical psychologist, consultant, and TEDx speaker—specializing in trauma work, crisis response, and behavioral threat assessment—and currently serves as the Interim Director of the UCLA Resilience Center where she develops, innovates, and oversees projects aimed at bettering mental health and providing well-being practices.
For 12 years, Dr. Drea has served as a mental health consultant and takes requests for technical consultations related to the use of psychology in the popular arts including film, television, comics, and gaming (Marvel, DC Comics, Skybound, Riot Games, Screen Junkies). Her commentary can be seen in featurettes produced by Disney+ and Warner Brothers’ Home Entertainment (Gotham, Supergirl, Arrow, Batman: Hush, The Long Halloween, etc.) and in the upcoming sci-fi documentary, In Search of Tomorrow. Dr. Drea’s work has been featured in The Atlantic, the Associated Press, the L.A. Times, the New York Times, Vanity Fair, Psychology Today, and Wired. She has written several chapters and articles about the positive impact that mediated storytelling has on our mental health. If you’re a comics reader, you will recognize her as a character in DC Comics—the writer for Batgirl wrote Dr. Drea into canon as Batgirl’s therapist.
Finally, Dr. Drea is the co-host and creator of The Arkham Sessions, a podcast that gives listeners worldwide insight into psychological science through the deep exploration of superheroes and their stories.
She will discuss trauma, psychological burdens, and other traits that you can give your characters.