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Sarah Lowe, PhD, on a Public Health Approach to Mental Health

Sarah Lowe, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Yale School of Public Health. Her research focuses on the long-term mental health consequences of a range of potentially traumatic events, from hurricanes to pandemics. ...

Mental Health

Nearly 1 in 4 people will experience a mental illness in their lifetimes. The sheer burden of mental illness on the global population demands effective and efficient public health approaches to assessment and intervention. Faculty, researchers, and students in the Social and Behavioral Sciences apply innovative, community-based methods to the prevention and treatment of mental illness across the life course. Using longitudinal and experimental methods, we seek to understand the interplay of mental health with substance use (Lowe, White), aging (Levy), physical health conditions (Lowe), and the factors shaping psychological resilience after exposure to traumatic and stressful life events (Lowe, Tebes). We use psychophysiological approaches to examine the mental and physical health consequences of caregiving (Monin). Our interventions take advantage of emerging technologies (Hagaman, Kershaw, Pachankis). We work with community-based organizations to uncover the influence of maternal depression on birth outcomes and parenting (Hagaman), improve detection and prevention interventions to reduce suicidality (Hagaman), to explore transgenerational impact of mental distress including the impacts on children and families in Pakistan and Nepal (Hagaman) and to implement community interventions for preventing substance use among adolescents and promoting resilience among trauma survivors (Tebes).

Faculty of Interest

Ashley Hagaman, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Public Health (Social & Behavioral Sciences); Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Research Interests
Suicide
Maternal Health
Maternal-Child Health Services
Public Health Systems Research
Qualitative Research
Biostatistics
Global Health
Health Services
Depression
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Trace Kershaw, PhD
Department Chair and Susan Dwight Bliss Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences); Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Research Interests
Global Health
Epidemiology
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
HIV
India
Maternal-Fetal Relations
Public Health
Risk Reduction Behavior
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
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Becca Levy, PhD
Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences) and Psychology; Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Research Interests
Social Sciences
Psychological Phenomena
Aging
Environment and Public Health
Mental Health
Psychiatry and Psychology
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Sarah Lowe, PhD
Associate Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences), Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Clinical Professor of Nursing; Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Research Interests
Anxiety Disorders
Genetics, Behavioral
Exposure to Violence
Gender-Based Violence
Disaster Victims
Disasters
Psychology, Clinical
Psychiatry and Psychology
Psychological Phenomena
Psychological Trauma
Mental Disorders
Mood Disorders
Mental Health Services
Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders
Substance-Related Disorders
Resilience, Psychological
Rwanda
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorders, Traumatic, Acute
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Joan K Monin, PhD
Associate Professor of Public Health (Social & Behavioral Sciences)
Research Interests
Diseases
Phenomena and Processes
Psychiatry and Psychology
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Ijeoma Opara, PhD, LMSW, MPH
Associate Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences); Director, The SASH Lab, Yale School of Public Health; Co-Director of Yale AIDS Prevention Training Program (T32), Yale School of Public Health; Associate Director, Justice, Community Capacity, Equity (JuCCE) Core, Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University
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John Pachankis, PhD
David R. Kessler, M.D. '55 Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences), Professor of Psychology and Professor of Psychiatry; Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Research Interests
Sexual and Gender Minorities
Social Behavior
Social Change
Social Conditions
Social Sciences
Social Stigma
Depression
Behavioral Research
Behavioral Sciences
Anxiety
Mental Health
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Jacob Tebes, PhD, BS
Professor of Psychiatry (Psychology), in the Child Study Center and of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences); Director, Division of Prevention and Community Research, Department of Psychiatry; Chief Psychologist, Connecticut Mental Health Center; Program Director, NIDA T32 Postdoctoral Research Training Program in Substance Abuse Prevention; Director, Elm City COMPASS, Psychiatry
Research Interests
Public Health
Resilience, Psychological
Primary Prevention
Program Evaluation
Social Change
Social Justice
Cultural Diversity
Community-Based Participatory Research
Vulnerable Populations
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Marney A. White, PhD, MS
Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences); Director of Online Education, Social and Behavioral Sciences; Professor, Social and Behavioral Sciences; Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health; Professor, Psychiatry
Research Interests
Tobacco Use Disorder
Feeding and Eating Disorders
Obesity
Psychometrics
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Centers and other resources

Empower Neighborhoods and Relationships to Improve Community Health (ENRICH)ENRICH explores the impact of people and environments on individuals and communities, and in collaboration with communities, develops programs to improve community health.
Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA)CIRA provides HIV-related resources, skills, services, training, and professional networking opportunities to HIV researchers and practitioners who can contribute to advances in HIV prevention and treatment.
Division of Women’s Behavioral Health Research
Elevate: A Policy Lab to Elevate Mental Health and Disrupt Poverty
Yale LGBTQ Mental Health InitiativeThis initiative provides a home for scholars and scholarship devoted to understanding and improving the mental health of LGBTQ populations in the US and around the world.
Family Accommodation Obsessive-Compulsive DisorderFAOCD refers to family members' or significant others’ participation in or facilitation of patients’ rituals and/or avoidance.
Mood Disorders Research Program
Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence
Yale Child Study Center
Yale Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center
Yale Depression Research Program
Yale MacMillan Center Program on Refugees, Forced Displacement and Humanitarian Responses
Yale Psychology Department Clinic
The Substance Abuse and Sexual Health Lab (SASH)SASH lab focuses on conducting and disseminating strengths-based youth substance use and HIV prevention research.