Mental health issues are an urgent public health concern and the leading cause of disability worldwide. But major gaps persist in access to culturally relevant treatments, especially in low-resourced contexts. MA Psychology students can deepen their understanding of the innovations and challenges involved in working toward mental health equity by taking related courses, conducting research in the Trauma and Global Mental Health Lab, and pursuing field experiences.
Specialized courses seek to provide students with a broad, interdisciplinary understanding of how mental health scholars and practitioners are developing and implementing treatments and prevention programs that can be delivered and scaled up in diverse contexts. Recent courses offered include Global Mental Health, Child and Adolescent Global Mental Health, Community Psychology, and Culture and Social Cognition.
Faculty and students at the Trauma and Global Mental Health Lab investigate the identification of mental health issues as well as the development and implementation of novel interventions that can reduce barriers to care in low-resourced contexts. Current research focuses on refugee mental health and psychosocial support, hospital-based mental health detection and prevention, human rights and global mental health, and laboratory-based work.
Students are advised to meet with associate professor of psychology Adam Brown to discuss how to best tailor these opportunities to their specific interests, including identifying volunteer field experiences, and how to ensure that they are adequately prepared to undertake them.
This subject area is an informal path within the MA in Psychology and does not appear on students' transcripts or diplomas.