Immigrant and Refugee Health Center (IRHC)
Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights (BCRHHR)
Mental Health Research
The Immigrant and Refugee Health Center is home to investigators across primary care, OBGYN, and psychiatry. Here we showcase the mental health focused research of our IRHC team.
Contacts
*Prospective research assistants or volunteers should contact Katy Price, Sr. Research Assistant at IRHC: Kathryn.Price@bmc.org
*Inquiries about the behavioral health program should be directed to Dr. Joelle Taknint, Director of Behavioral Health: Joelle.Taknint@bmc.org
*All Investigators can be contacted directly for inquiries on their specific projects. Investigator contact information provided at end of bios.
Current & Recently Completed Projects
Advancing Reproductive Mental Health Equity in Clinical Practice
Developing a Perinatal Mental Health Education Module: Following a needs assessment, we aim to expand the clinical competency of interdisciplinary trainees and providers in reproductive mental health to effectively meet the perinatal mental health needs of multicultural patients with complex psychosocial needs. We will achieve this goal by developing publicly available educational content that integrates themes of mental health equity, social determinants of health, and unique considerations regarding diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of perinatal mental health conditions for refugees, and immigrants.
Principal Investigator: Maithri Ameresekere
Co-Investigators: Resham Gellatly, Joelle Taknint, Tithi Baul, Kala Jennissen
Funder: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Faculty Innovation in Education Award
Racialized Harms of Family Separation: Needs Assessment to Inform Treatment and Policy**
The current study uses a mixed-methods and participatory approach to document the experiences of separated migrant parents in order to a) bring to the public their narratives as a means of motivating political action to dismantle racist policies leading to family separation, b) inform the development of a mental health intervention to meet the needs of migrant parents to address mental health sequelae associated with separation, and c) inform policy reform priorities and advocacy strategies. More details about this project and research team can be found here.
Principal Investigators: Resham Gellatly & Joelle Taknint
Co-Investigators: Jessica Chicco, Jacqueline Kelley, Nuha Alshabani, Rudra Darai, Carmen Rosa Norona, Ivys Fernandez- Pastrana, Lin Piwowarczyk, Sarah Betancourt, and Luz Marilis Lopez
Research Assistants: Husna Mohammed Abdul Majid, Katy Price, Andrew Lenart, Chloe Mak, Elizabeth Raskin
Funder: Boston University Center for Antiracist Research
Vicarious Trauma in Hospital Interpreters: Understanding and Meeting Needs**
This study aims to understand the experiences of interpreters serving patients who have been exposed to trauma and examine how their experiences relate to vicarious trauma (VT), compassion fatigue (CF), and burnout (BO). The goal is to inform the development of systems of support to meet interpreters’ needs. The specific aims of the study include (a) confirming our understanding of how the emotional demands of interpreters’ work impact their well-being, (b) identifying interpreters’ needs regarding managing experiences of VT, CF, and BO, and (c) engaging key partners to develop systemic interventions to address interpreter needs.
Principal Investigators: Resham Gellatly & Nuha Alshabani
Collaborators: Sarah Kimball, Ellie Zambrano, Alegna Zavatti
Funder: Boston University Center for Forced Displacement
Immigrant and Refugee Health Center (IRHC) Primary Care Behavioral Health Needs Assessment **
The goal of this study is to gather IRHC patient and staff perspectives to inform the integration of behavioral health services in primary care. Integration of primary care and mental health care into one setting has emerged as an effective model of care for the general population. This model may be especially beneficial to refugee and asylum seekers who may be deterred from seeking mental health care independently due to barriers to accessing behavioral health treatments. This study gathers insights from key partners within the IRHC community about the assets that can be leveraged and challenges that must be addressed during the integration process, is a necessary step in ensuring the successful planning, implementation, and maintenance of the integrated care model.
Principal Investigator: Nuha Alshabani
Collaborators: Sarah Kimball, Joelle T. Taknint, Helena Kennedy, Kyle Haws
Funder: Boston Medical Center’s Immigrant and Refugee Health Center Innovation Fund
Research Groups
Building Empowering Treatments Through Equitable Research (BETTER) Lab
Our Team
The BETTER Lab is led by Drs. Nuha Alshabani and Resham Gellatly, faculty in the Department of Psychiatry at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. The BETTER Lab projects are supported by undergraduate, graduate, and medical student research assistants. We also collaborate with clinicians and researchers who are committed to improving health equity for refugees, asylum seekers, and new arrivals more broadly.
Program of Research
The BETTER Lab works to increase access to quality behavioral healthcare for traditionally underserved populations, including refugees, asylum seekers, and new arrivals more broadly, through collaborating with local partners (e.g., providers, patients, community members) to design, test, and adapt interventions aimed at reducing barriers to treatment and increasing culturally responsiveness of treatments. Current IRHC projects affiliated with the BETTER lab are **’d above.
BETTER Lab Alumni
Saarika Virkar MPH; Joanne Lau MPH; Jiwhan Park PHD, MS, MBA, MPH, CPSM, CPIM
IRHC Mental Health Researcher Bios (listed alphabetically)
Nuha Alshabani PhD
Nuha Alshabani PhD is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine and a licensed psychologist at both Recovery from Stress and Trauma through Outpatient Care, Research, and Education (RESTORE) Center and the Immigrant Refugee Health Center (IRHC). She received her doctorate in Counseling Psychology from The University of Akron and completed her predoctoral clinical internship at Denver Health Medical Center. She completed her post-doctoral training in Trauma and Context from the Department of Psychiatry at Boston Medical Center. Dr. Alshabani’s research focuses on improving health equity in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment for marginalized groups. She has extensive expertise in collaborating with communities to design and test interventions and implementation strategies to increase accessibility to, quality and cultural responsiveness of, and engagement in PTSD treatment. Dr Alshabani leads the BETTER lab with Dr. Resham Gellatly. Contact: Nuha.Alshabani@bmc.org
Maithri Ameresekere, MD, MSc, PMH-C
Dr. Maithri Ameresekere is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine (BUCASM) and Director of Women’s Mental Health at Boston Medical Center and BUCASM. She is a psychiatrist with specialized training in post-traumatic stress disorder, and reproductive and perinatal psychiatry. She is embedded in the ambulatory obstetrics department at Boston Medical Center and provides clinical services and training experiences in the Refugee Women’s Health Clinic, Project RESPECT (a multidisciplinary program focused on pregnant and postpartum patients with substance use disorders), and OB-integrated behavioral health. She has participated in mentorship and teaching of over 90 multidisciplinary trainees including receiving multiple nominations and an award for mentorship and teaching. She has provided didactic teaching on a variety of reproductive mental health focused topics and shaped curriculum efforts in women’s mental health, cultural and public psychiatry and capacity building in resource poor war-exposed environments. Her scholarly work has focused on understanding barriers to care for multicultural populations in the United States and globally as well as educating diverse healthcare providers in mental health service provision in resource-limited settings. She graduated with research honors during medical training for work on Somali immigrant women’s perceptions of cesarean delivery and patient-provider communication surrounding female circumcision and childbirth in the United States and was involved in projects related to patient-level barriers to accessing mental health services amongst African immigrant communities in Massachusetts. She has provided technical expertise to a World Bank funded project in South Sudan focused on evaluating the impact of programming efforts on adolescent girls’ lives and published review articles in the South Sudan Medical Journal in an effort to share knowledge regarding diagnosis and management of common psychiatric disorders. Contact: Maithri.Ameresekere@bmc.org
Rudra Darai, DSW, LCSW
Rudra Darai, DSW, is a clinical social worker at Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights (BCRHHR). Rudra has a Doctor of Social Work from the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. In his doctoral program, he is trained in program design, implementation, and evaluation, applying design thinking and human-centered research. Previously, Rudra also earned MSW in Clinical Social Work and a Certificate in Urban Leadership from Simmons University. He has more than seven years of experience as a family therapist. In his current role, Rudra utilizes trauma-informed and resiliency-based models, narrative exposure therapy, and a radical hospitality approach to serve refugees and immigrants with variant trauma experiences. Contact: Rudra.Darai@bmc.org
Resham Gellatly, PhD
Dr. Resham Gellatly (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and a clinical psychologist at Boston Medical Center, as well as Director of CBT Training for the BU School of Medicine Psychiatry Residency Program. Dr. Gellatly’s program of research focuses on expanding access to quality mental health care for marginalized communities not equitably served by mental health programs and initiatives, including immigrants and refugees. She collaborates with community partners to design and test interventions aimed at reducing barriers to psychological treatments and increasing scalability in culturally diverse populations. Dr. Gellatly has extensive experience in training non-specialist health workers to deliver interventions and specializes in conducting mixed methods research to investigate how culture and context impact the adoption and sustainability of evidence-based treatments. Dr. Gellatly leads the BETTER lab with Dr. Nuha Alshabani. Contact: Resham.Gellatly@bmc.org
Iman Ibrahim
Iman Ibrahim is a third-year undergraduate student at Northeastern University, with a major in Public Health and minor in Data Science. Iman completed a co-op at Boston Medical Center as a health equity research assistant with the RESTORE Center. Previously, she has been a health equity intern at Northeastern University, where she conducted research on social determinants of mental health and explored applications of natural language processing in public health. Iman is passionate about advancing health equity, with a particular focus on immigrant and refugee health, as well as leveraging digital health innovations to address disparities in care.
Andrew Lenart, MPH
As a Research Assistant for the BETTER Lab, Andrew supports the Racialized Harms of Family Separation Needs Assessment study. Andrew graduated from Wake Forest University in 2022 with a degree in Anthropology and completed his MPH at Boston University School of Public Health in 2024. Blending qualitative and quantitative research skill sets, he joined the lab as a founding member in 2023. His research interests include patient-centered, culturally sensitive care, and improving healthcare access for marginalized communities.
Chloe Mak
Chloe Mak is a third-year undergraduate student at Northeastern University, majoring in Psychology with a minor in Behavioral Neuroscience. Chloe completed a 6-month co-op at Boston Medical Center as a program assistant for the Addiction Psychiatry Treatment Program, and is now working as a research assistant for the BETTER Lab. She also has previous experience working as a Health Equity intern at Northeastern University, researching Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) as well as the impact of trauma on health. Chloe is particularly interested in research focused on not only enhancing our understanding of trauma and fostering resilience but also developing improvements to equitable and accessible mental health resources and services.
Sandra Mattar, PsyD
Dr. Sandra Mattar is a Clinical Psychologist, Clinical Associate Professor, and Director of Training at the Immigrant and Refugee Health Center at Boston Medical Center. She is also a Faculty at the Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology (CMTP). She is a graduate of William James College (formerly MSPP), and the Universidad Católica Andres Bello (Venezuela). She is a licensed psychologist with more than 25 years of clinical and teaching experience combined. She has done field research on war trauma in Lebanon. Dr. Mattar was Associate Dean and Associate Professor in the Graduate Counseling Program at Saint Mary’s College of California. Dr. Mattar is a founding member of Division 56 (Trauma Psychology) of the American Psychological Association (APA) and is a Past Chair of the Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs of APA. She was a contributor to the APA Race and Ethnicity Guidelines Task Force. Dr. Mattar’s research interests are on the intersection of psychological trauma and culture; immigrants and refugee mental health; multicultural and international psychology; culturally responsive, trauma-informed education and training, and mindfulness and spirituality. She is currently an Associate Editor for the Journal of Psychological Trauma. Dr. Mattar is bilingual in English and Spanish and speaks conversational Arabic and French. She holds a Yoga Teacher certification (RYT500) as well as a certification in Triyana Buddhist studies. Contact: Sandra.Mattar@bmc.org
Sushmita Oruganti PsyD
Susmita Oruganti is a postdoctoral fellow at the Boston Center for Refugee Health & Human Rights (BCRHHR) and the Recovery from Stress and Trauma through Outpatient Care, Research, and Education (RESTORE) Center both at Boston Medical Center. She has expertise in trauma-informed care and contextualizing trauma from a decolonial, liberatory, social justice, diversity, and multicultural framework(s) – factors that are essential in creating meaningful, holistic care. She has a diverse training background across India, Australia, and the United States, bringing a global perspective to her work in psychology. She has had the opportunity to practice under supervision and provisional licenses internationally, gaining rich insights from each setting. Contact: Sushmita.Oruganti@bmc.org
Lin Piwowarczyk, MD, MPH
Dr. Lin Piwowarczyk is an Emeritus Clinical Associate Professor at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Co-Founder of the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights (BCRHHR). Dr. Piwowarzyk served as the director of BCRHHR until her retirement in 2024. She practiced as a psychiatrist at Boston Medical Center, board certified in Psychiatry and Internal Medicine. She first began working with refugees in 1993, as a Fellow in International Psychiatry at the Indochinese Psychiatry Clinic. Dr. Piwowarczyk also completed an internship at the Geneva headquarters of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She specializes in the mental health evaluation and treatment of refugees and torture survivors. She served as the principal investigator for a grant funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, addressing, in part, the holistic treatment of survivors of torture. Since 2002, Dr. Piwowarczyk has served on the Executive Committee of the National Consortium of Torture Treatment Programs and since 2011 has been NCTTP President. She is also the recipient of Sarah Haley Memorial Award for Clinical Excellence from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, the Local Legends Award from the National Library of Medicine that honors female physicians and with BCRHHR colleagues, the Kenneth B. Schwartz Compassionate Caregiver Award Honorable Mention. A Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, she has presented on the topic of torture, locally, nationally, and internationally and has published several articles in various medical journals. Contact: piwo@bu.edu
Katy Price, BA
Katy received her Psychology B. A. from the University of Massachusetts Boston in 2020. She is currently the Senior Research Assistant at both the Immigrant and Refugee Health Center (IRHC) and the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights (BCRHHR). She is the BETTER Lab Director. Katy’s research interests are centered around intergenerational trauma and resilience. She is particularly interested in examining trauma and substance use within marginalized communities who have experienced sexual and gender-based violence. She plans to pursue a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology in the future. Contact: Kathryn.Price@bmc.org
Kalo C. Sokoto, PhD
Dr. Sokoto completed her pre- and postdoctoral clinical training at Boston Medical Center/Boston University. She received her doctorate in counseling psychology from West Virginia University in 2023. As an advocate for health equity, her dissertation looked at racism in US dental care settings and its relationship to dental anxiety and dental visits. Her findings deepened her interest in anxiety disorders among people of African descent. Her current research interest is: (1) understanding traumatic stress in people of African descent; (2) culturally responsive tailoring of existing evidence-based interventions for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); and (3) studying the implementation of evidence-based PTSD treatments in group format. As a T32 fellow in the BUMC-MGH Global Psychiatry Clinical Research Training Program, Dr. Sokoto is interested in collaborating with mental health researchers and providers in Kenya to advance the discourse on trauma exposure and PTSD interventions. Dr. Sokoto provides group-based PTSD treatment at Boston Medical Center’s Immigrant & Refugee Health Center. She has lived and worked in three continents, speaks three languages, and identifies as a global citizen. Contact: Kalo.Sokoto@bmc.org
Joelle Taos Taknint, PhD, MSc
Dr. Joelle Taos Taknint (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and a practicing clinical psychologist at Boston Medical Center (BMC). Dr. Taknint is Director of Behavioral Health for the Immigrant and Refugee Health Center (IRHC) at BMC where she leads the design, implementation, and evaluation of all behavioral health services. Dr. Taknint’s research expertise is in immigrant and refugee mental health across the lifespan. Her research has focused on strengthening relationships amongst immigrant and refugee families, the psychological effects of discrimination on migrants in the US and Canada, and the roles of migrant receiving communities and healthcare systems in fostering refugee well being. Dr. Taknint leverages qualitative and quantitative methodologies in her research to promote mental health equity. Dr. Taknint is trained in prevention science, and enjoys working with community partners to evaluate and sustain mental health programming that is community grown. Dr. Taknint is a settler in the U.S., and a 2nd generation immigrant of Amazigh (indigenous North African), European, and Middle Eastern ancestry. Contact: jtaknint@bu.edu
Recent Publications (2024)
- Hasser C, Ameresekere M, Girgis C, Knapp J, Shah R. Striking the Balance: Bipolar Disorder in the Perinatal Period. Focus (Am Psychiatr Publ). 2024 Jan; 22(1):3-15. PMID: 38694148.
- Alshabani, N., Godfrey, L. B., Taknint, J. T., Sahib, W. Atari-Khan, R., & Price, K. (in press). Intergenerational Resilience in the Context of Historical and Ongoing Trauma. Translational Issues in Psychological Science
- Bird C, Somantri AR, Narasimhan R, Lee I, Bowers G, Loo S, Piwowarczyk L, Ng LC. Mental health disparities of sexual minority refugees and asylum seekers: Provider perspectives on trauma exposure, symptom presentation, and treatment approach. J Couns Psychol. 2024 Jul; 71(4):229-241. PMID: 38722596
- Mattar, S. (2024). Instituting anti-oppressive and decolonizing approaches to supervision and clinical training. In Chang & Lausell Bryant (Eds.). Transformative Careers in Mental Health for Black, Indigenous and People of Color: Expert Strategies to Promote Healing and Social Change in Academia, Clinical Settings and Beyond.” New York: Routledge
- Taknint JT, Marzoughi M, Gellatly R, Krengel MH, Kimball SL. Improving Access to Disability Assessment for US Citizenship Applicants in Primary Care: An Embedded Neuropsychological Assessment Innovation. Ann Fam Med. 2024; 22(5):458. PMID: 39313347.
- Taknint, J. T., Thomas, F. C., Gellatly, R., & Ameresekere, M. (2024). Responding to Trauma: A Critical Review of Mental Health and Psychosocial Interventions for Refugee Women. Current Psychiatry Reports, 1-11.
- Gellatly R, Boustani M, Nair P, Mahajan R, Jambhale A, Sahu R, Chodankar B, Krishna M, Malik K, Mathur S, Becker K, Michelson D, Patel V, Chorpita B. Adolescent engagement in a stepped care, transdiagnostic mental health intervention delivered in Indian schools. Discov Psychol. 2024; 4(1):43. PMID: 38686018
- Ahmad SS, Hammad I, Rbeiz K, Ebrahimi CT, Alshabani N, McLaughlin MM, Kia-Keating M, Weisman de Mamani A. Exploring cumulative identity-based discrimination, distress, and traumatic exposure among Muslims living in the United States. Psychol Trauma. 2024 Aug 22. PMID: 39172408
- Taknint, JT, Depestre, S, Alshabani, N, Martin, AM, Virkar, S., & Milord, J. . Assessing psychotic spectrum disorders in partnership with patients: Three culturally-responsive therapeutic assessment cases. Practice Innovations. 2024
- Atari-Khan, R., Alshabani, N., Rabgay, S. D., Elhedk, F. R., Clifford, A., Gomariz, S., & Sahib, W. (2024). Understanding intergenerational trauma among Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African (Arab/MENA) Americans. Qualitative Psychology.
- Jadaszewski, S., Speight, S. L., Alshabani, N., Singletary, K., Opara, B., Michael, C., & Lewis, A. (2024). “It Felt Like Such a Closed Door”: Supervisory Cultural Rupture & Humility. The Counseling Psychologist, 52(2), 298-338.
Recent Conference Presentations (2024)
- Ameresekere M., Jennissen K., Louis K., Taknint J., Gellatly R., Montgomery A. Behavioral Health Screening Implementation in a Perinatal Refugee Women’s Health Clinic [poster]. PNQIN Fall 2024 Summit: Collective Community, Collaboration, and Care: Working Together to Promote the Well-Being of Birthing Families; December 9, 2024; Boston, MA.
- Ameresekere M., Jennissen K. Culturally Adapted Perinatal Behavioral Health Screening at Boston Medical Center [webinar]. PNQIN Perinatal Mental Health Conditions; November 19, 2024.
- Ameresekere M. Mother’s in Need: Helping Women Navigate Postpartum Mental Health [panelist]. Psychology Today; October 29, 2024; Psych Congress, Boston, MA.
- Virkar S., Alshabani N., Gellatly R., Lenart A., Lau J., Park J. Clifford, A., Bekui, S. & Lu, L. (2024, August). Vicarious Trauma in Hospital Interpreters: Understanding and Meeting Needs. Presented at the 2024 North American Refugee Health Conference. Minneapolis, MN.
- Price, K. Taknint, J. T., Kimball, S., Mak, C. & Alshabani, N., (2024, August). Interprofessional Approaches to Enhancing Refugee and Migrant Care: Integrating Behavioral Health. Poster presented at the 2024 North American Refugee Health Conference. Minneapolis, MN.
- Taknint, J. T., Gellatly R., Dickerson A., Ameresekere M., Alshabani N., Price K., (2024, August). Embedding Behavioral Healthcare into a Refugee Women’s (OBGYN) Health Clinic: A Process Evaluation. Poster presented at the 2024 North American Refugee Health Conference. Minneapolis, MN.
- Milord, J., Gellatly, R., Sokoto, K., Louis, E., Alshabani, N., & Ijebor, E., (2024, August). Best Practices for Culturally Responsive Mental Health Group Care for Haitian Migrants. Poster presented at the 2024 North American Refugee Health Conference. Minneapolis, MN.
- Mattar S., Alshabani N., Taknint, J. T., Quran R., Ijebor E., & Sokoto K. (2024, August). Ways we perpetuate colonized refugee mental healthcare: a panel discussion on our continued mistakes. Presented at the 2024 North American Refugee Health Conference. Minneapolis, MN.
- Sokoto K.C., Milord, J., Ijebor, E., Al Mosawi, L., Alshabani, N., Vincent, L., Julien, Jean., Mattar, Sandra., Gellatly, R., & Taknint, J. T. (2024, September 26 – 28). Advancing health equity: Accessible and culturally informed group behavioral health care for immigrants in hospital settings [Roundtable]. Coming Together For Action. Chicago, IL, USA.