A prolific researcher whose career is focused on reducing mental health disparities
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Dr. Alegríaopens in new window is a Latina psychologist, researcher, and Harvard professor who currently serves as the chief of the Disparities Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. In addition to being the principal investigator (primary researcher) on several large-scale projects aimed at improving the mental health of diverse communities, Dr. Alegría has published over 200 papers, training manuals, and book chapters. She has also received numerous awards for her contributions to the field of psychology, including the Mental Health Section Award of the American Public Health Association and the Health Disparities Innovation Award from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities.
Widely regarded as one of the foremost leaders in understanding mental health disparities among communities of color and immigrants, Dr. Algería’s research focuses on improving the mental health and substance use outcomes of the Latine population.
Alegría, M., Canino, G., Shrout, P. E., Woo, M., Duan, N., Vila, D., Torres, M., Chen, C. N., & Meng, X. L. (2008). Prevalence of mental illness in immigrant and non-immigrant U.S. Latino groups. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 165(3), 359–369. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2007.07040704opens in new window
Alegría, M., Chatterji, P., Wells, K., Cao, Z., Chen, C. N., Takeuchi, D., Jackson, J., & Meng, X. L. (2008). Disparity in depression treatment among racial and ethnic minority populations in the United States. Psychiatric Services, 59(11), 1264–1272. https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.2008.59.11.1264opens in new window
Alegría, M., Zhen-Duan, J., O'Malley, I. S., & DiMarzio, K. (2022). A new agenda for optimizing investments in community mental health and reducing disparities. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 179(6), 402–416. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.21100970opens in new window
Race, Mental Health, Substance Use, Disparities
The development of resources to broaden diversity and representation in the teaching of high school psychology resources is an APA Committee of Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools initiative supported by funding from the American Psychological Foundation David and Carol Myers Fund. This resource was developed by Eric Castro, Shawn C.T. Jones, PhD, Allyn Olsen, and Catherine Sanderson, PhD.