Greetings, fellow rebels, resistance fighters, space guardians, and caped crusaders! I’m delighted to share my story with you. I’m a licensed psychologist with a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a doctorate from UCSD.
With a background in implementation science, I design and scale mental health initiatives and provide consultation, performance coaching, and tailored support for organizations on a path toward healthy cultures. I proudly serve at UCLA as a mental health leader and well-being strategist, contributing to a shared mission to expand and elevate resilience among and within diverse communities. I’ve taught courses and guest lectures at UCLA, UCSD, and Chapman University. I stay current with best practices in psychology and coaching as a Fellow at the Institute of Coaching, McLean Hospital, a Harvard Medical School Affiliate.
When I was in college, I dreamed of earning a doctorate and becoming a psychologist. But when I looked at the professionals leading the field, I didn't think I would fit in. Inside and out, I felt so different.
Growing up, I was always drawn to characters who wore capes and cowls, who slayed dragons, and who searched for their purpose in galaxies far, far away. From Star Wars to Batman to Lord of the Rings, these immersive worlds became formative and deeply personal to me--they were part of my psychological fabric. In exploring these narratives with others, I learned that many of us have similar connections to fictional characters and stories. We experience joy, fear, sadness, grief, and loss as we journey alongside our favorite heroes. Moreover, these connections can help us gain insight, emotional self-awareness, and the opportunity for our own self-discovery. The relationships we have with fictional worlds are powerful--and can be healing.
I discovered that I could follow my own path and embrace what I loved, by intersecting the worlds of psychological science with fictional heroism. As such, I contribute to public health education using the intersections of science and stories. To bring psychology to wide audiences and help others bridge the worlds of fantasy and reality, I host podcasts and deliver seminars, panels, and keynotes at universities, tech organizations, and comic conventions. Since 2010, I've served as a psychological consultant for graphic novel writers, script developers, and other creatives interested in portraying aspects of mental health. As a pop culture enthusiast, I’ve been featured in commentaries for film and television produced by Disney+, CNN, MTV, and Warner Bros. Entertainment, to name a few.
In my TEDx Talk about resiliency and superheroes, I delivered an audiovisual memoir about coming to terms with my own self-doubt and imposter syndrome, aptly titled, “Capes, Cowls and Courage.”
The WAY FORWARD:
Like many professionals, I have multiple roles and responsibilities. Candidly, it isn’t always easy to manage it all. However, I am personally and deeply dedicated to my mission of making psychological science available to everyone. I believe every individual has the fundamental right to access mental health education, and learn key concepts, so that they can achieve insight, equanimity, and happiness.
The creative arts and entertainment media can help us cope with difficult times. I feel excited and empowered to lean into my passion for Star Wars, Batman, Dungeons and Dragons and other fun, fantastical stories! Pop culture is often a safe, comfortable, and engaging way to reach each other and connect important messages. I’m here to offer my stewardship as we begin this illuminating journey ahead!
RESILIENCE AS EVERYDAY HEROISM
~TESTIMONIALS~
“Millions and millions around the world are emotionally connected to superhero movies. ...Dr. Letamendi sees more in the best of these films than the giants of cinema do.
”Superhero films are giving us a way to practice and explore really important emotional processes that we may not be able to examine in our everyday lives,” she says.”
“Dr. Drea led a very impactful session. She was so relatable, confident, and knowledgeable. She was vulnerable and created a space for us to breathe and feel safe. The data she shared was eye-opening. I would like to invite her to present to my entire department.”
“Dr. Drea was our keynote presenter at our 2022 EDI Retreat. Her thought leadership, compassion, calm and enthusiasm for helping my team learn about mental health and wellbeing was truly superb! She integrated critical perspectives into traditional approaches that demonstrated inclusive excellence. ”
“Drea created and delivered a session that brought healing, empathy and hope to our staff. I appreciate her generosity in giving her time to us at what must be one of the most challenging periods for her profession. Only six hours since her presentation, her solutions had already triggered some staff to feel energized and inspired to mobilize for good.”
“I have worked with Dr. Drea Letamendi on a web-series providing insights and tools around health and well-being to the Animation and Visual Effects industry. In conversations with industry professionals, Dr. Drea shared her vast expertise supporting people within in the industry and beyond to refocus on themselves.”
“Recently, Dr. Drea worked with our team at Million Dollar Vegan and guided us through her Raising Consciousness, Empathy and Resilience program. As a group of activists and people fighting for justice, we deal with burnout and compassion fatigue pretty frequently. Drea’s topics allowed our team to feel validated, find terminology to assign to their experiences, and helped them realized that they were not alone in their struggles. Drea’s content was impactful and it was enhanced by her facilitation skills and the way that she showed care and attention to each of our team members. Our team at MDV consistently references their learnings from Drea’s session and have voiced that they now feel more connected to our organization and each other.”
“Dr. Letamendi is introducing patients and students alike to a new facet of psychology: utilizing media and pop culture to spread the message of self-acceptance and destigmatize mental health.”
“It’s inspiring that Dr. Letamendi found a way to connect her passion with the general population and use it to help others and inspire others. ...Through her lecture, I realized that no matter what your passion is you can still make an influence in ways you would never expect.”
“Dr. Drea’s article really resonated with me because I felt a strong connection with Rey [from Star Wars], and I speculate that is a very important aspect of journalism- some degree of relatability. As an adopted person, I can relate to Rey’s desire to know her birth parents, her frequent wonder towards why her parents gave her up, and her struggle to find meaning and connections regardless of blood. Because of this, reading this article honestly hit me a different way- it was kind of like reading about my childhood. Of course I did not grow up with superpowers and I am a real person, but my ability to relate with a fictional character so strongly suggests the importance of having relatable aspects of fictional characters. People should be able to connect with these characters’ moments of humanity as well as their hopes, fears, and experiences. ”
“Dr. Letamendi was the ideal and exemplary guest lecturer. I was so impressed with her ability to connect with my students about storytelling and characters. She was enthusiastic and knowledgeable—I especially appreciated our conversations about how powerful storytelling can be. ”
“When I began creating my first original comic book series,The Kill Lock, Dr. Drea was an invaluable help in making me further understand my own characters, and suggesting things that absolutely improved the story. ...I cannot say enough good things about Dr. Drea’s work- she has a profound understanding of not just psychology but also character and story. If you’re looking for someone to consult on your original story, you can not do better than Dr. Drea.”