Featured Publications
Implicit Organizational Bias: Mental Health Treatment Culture and Norms as Barriers to Engaging With Diversity
Desai MU, Paranamana N, Restrepo-Toro M, O’Connell M, Davidson L, Stanhope V. Implicit Organizational Bias: Mental Health Treatment Culture and Norms as Barriers to Engaging With Diversity. American Psychologist 2021, 76: 78-90. PMID: 32134280, PMCID: PMC7483157, DOI: 10.1037/amp0000621.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchSystem-Centered Care: How Bureaucracy and Racialization Decenter Attempts at Person-Centered Mental Health Care
Desai M, Paranamana N, Dovidio J, Davidson L, Stanhope V. System-Centered Care: How Bureaucracy and Racialization Decenter Attempts at Person-Centered Mental Health Care. Clinical Psychological Science 2022, 11: 476-489. PMID: 37333799, PMCID: PMC10275339, DOI: 10.1177/21677026221133053.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchPsychological sciencePsychosocial processesBasic psychosocial processMental health organizationsCovert formsMental health carePowerful influenceDeterminants of careStructural biasesPerson-centred careClientsFindingsIntentionalityHealth systemObjectsHealth OrganizationBiasesHealth careObjectificationCarePersonsClinical operationsRacismBiasContext“If You Want to Know About the Book, Ask the Author”: Enhancing Community Engagement Through Participatory Research in Clinical Mental Health Settings
Desai MU, Bellamy C, Guy K, Costa M, O’Connell M, Davidson L. “If You Want to Know About the Book, Ask the Author”: Enhancing Community Engagement Through Participatory Research in Clinical Mental Health Settings. Behavioral Medicine 2019, 45: 177-187. PMID: 31343967, DOI: 10.1080/08964289.2019.1587589.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsMental health settingsHealth settingsSevere mental illnessClinical mental health settingsDepartment of PsychiatryMental illnessEthnic disparitiesHealth equityMental healthParticipatory researchLarge medical schoolInnovative training programTraining programTwo-year initiativeCommunity mistrustMedical schoolsPatientsIllnessLived experienceSettingSlow uptake“That Was a State of Depression by Itself Dealing with Society”: Atmospheric racism, mental health, and the Black and African American faith community
Desai M, Guy K, Brown M, Thompson D, Manning B, Johnson S, Davidson L, Bellamy C. “That Was a State of Depression by Itself Dealing with Society”: Atmospheric racism, mental health, and the Black and African American faith community. American Journal Of Community Psychology 2023, 73: 104-117. PMID: 37006193, PMCID: PMC10545810, DOI: 10.1002/ajcp.12654.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchStructural racismSocial structural contextRole of racismCommunity-engaged projectsPolice brutalityAfrican American faith communityLived realitySocial servicesParticipants' narrativesRacismRacist stereotypesFaith communitiesNeighborhood conditionsMain focal pointsAfrican American churchesStakeholder engagementStructural contextWorkplace discriminationIndividual interviewsEmpirical researchDifferential treatmentFocus groupsSocietal focusAmerican churchesPhenomenological analysisExperiences with Racism Among Asian American Medical Students
Yang D, Justen M, Lee D, Kim H, Boatright D, Desai M, Tiyyagura G. Experiences with Racism Among Asian American Medical Students. JAMA Network Open 2023, 6: e2333067. PMID: 37695582, PMCID: PMC10495868, DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.33067.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsAmerican medical studentsMedical school learning environmentSchool learning environmentMedical studentsLearning environmentMedical schoolsRacial aggressionAmerican Medical Student AssociationMedical school environmentMedical school experienceMedical Student AssociationMedical school yearQualitative studySchool experiencesSchool environmentSchool yearStudent associationsAsian American experienceStudentsTraining experienceSchoolsMajor themesVideo interviewsRacismExperienceTravel and Movement in Clinical Psychology, The World Outside the Clinic
Desai M. Travel and Movement in Clinical Psychology, The World Outside the Clinic. 2018 DOI: 10.1057/978-1-137-57174-8.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchClinical psychologyMartin Luther KingSubfields of psychologyDr. Martin Luther KingEdmund HusserlMahatma GandhiMental health workIntercultural journeyPsychological scienceSocial justiceRacial justiceBook positionsSociopolitical contextPsychologyJusticeBookEnvironmental justiceHealth workWorldSciencePublic mental healthBuddhismHusserlThinkersMental healthFanon, phenomenology, and psychology
Laubscher L, Hook D, Desai MU. Fanon, phenomenology, and psychology. Routledge.BooksPerspectives (of People of Color) on Psychological Science: Does Psychological Science Listen?
Desai M, Laubscher L, Johnson S. Perspectives (of People of Color) on Psychological Science: Does Psychological Science Listen? Review Of General Psychology 2022, 27: 155-163. DOI: 10.1177/10892680221118038.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchPsychological sciencePattern of neglectPeople of colorTradition of communityBroader historyFrantz FanonHistorical originsDr. KingFoundational influenceProfound meditationReconciliation processRacismCollective actorsPsychologyPerspectives of peopleLongstanding inequitiesScientific dynamicsSciencePerspectiveFanonKingBuddhismPeopleTraditionScholarshipAn “Oasis Within a Desert,” But the Desert Remains: Clubhouse Members’ Experiences of Social Belonging and Societal Oppression
Desai MU, Manning R, Pavlo AJ, Blackman K, Ocasio L, Crespo M, Flanagan E. An “Oasis Within a Desert,” But the Desert Remains: Clubhouse Members’ Experiences of Social Belonging and Societal Oppression. American Journal Of Orthopsychiatry 2021, 91: 294-301. PMID: 33983776, PMCID: PMC9585918, DOI: 10.1037/ort0000539.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsSocial belongingPsychosocial clubhousePhenomenological qualitative methodRisk of stigmaSocial exclusionSocietal oppressionCommunity lifeCommunity engagementProfound deprivationMental health challengesPower imbalanceWider worldHumane spaceQualitative methodsSocial determinantsBelongingMembers' experiencesMember participationAlternative worldsMental health practiceSocial isolationOutside worldClubhouse modelMental healthHealth practicesA return to lived experiencers themselves: Participatory action research of and by psychosocial clubhouse members
Vescey L, Yoon J, Rice K, Group M, Davidson L, Desai M. A return to lived experiencers themselves: Participatory action research of and by psychosocial clubhouse members. Frontiers In Psychology 2023, 13: 962137. PMID: 36687812, PMCID: PMC9848492, DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.962137.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAn Investigation of Experiences Diagnosed as Depression in Primary Care—From the Perspective of the Diagnosed
Desai M, Wertz F, Davidson L, Karasz A. An Investigation of Experiences Diagnosed as Depression in Primary Care—From the Perspective of the Diagnosed. Qualitative Psychology 2019, 6: 268-279. DOI: 10.1037/qup0000129.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchInvestigation of experiencesProfound ruptureSense of purposeDepth interviewsSocial contextOwn viewpointParallel experiencesQualitative investigationScientific conceptualizationGreater connectionTheoretical conceptualizationMeaningful lifePhenomenological psychological methodLife purposeConceptualizationSame experienceExperienceCare servicesCommunityPerspectiveDaily lifePrimary care servicesDescription of patientsInterviewsConcernThe discovery of autism: Indian parents’ experiences of caring for their child with an autism spectrum disorder
Desai MU, Divan G, Wertz FJ, Patel V. The discovery of autism: Indian parents’ experiences of caring for their child with an autism spectrum disorder. Transcultural Psychiatry 2012, 49: 613-637. PMID: 22722980, PMCID: PMC3472559, DOI: 10.1177/1363461512447139.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsAutism spectrum disorderSpectrum disorderParents' experiencesEveryday social orderChildren's basic needsParents of childrenPhenomenological psychologyChildren's capacityChild behaviorParents' observationsBasic needsPublic situationsSocial worldChild's lifeQualitative shiftParentsCultural contextCurrent studyRelative normalcySocial cohesionSensitive researchChildrenSocial orderFundamental concernLocal society
2021
Mental wellbeing following landslides and residential displacement in Indonesia
Burrows K, Desai M, Pelupessy D, Bell M. Mental wellbeing following landslides and residential displacement in Indonesia. SSM - Mental Health 2021, 1: 100016. DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmmh.2021.100016.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchResidential displacementFuture disaster preparednessCommunity cohesionSocial cohesionLocal understandingsParticipants' livelihoodsQualitative interviewsDisaster preparednessKey intervention pointsFamily dynamicsMental wellbeingEconomic stabilityQualitative approachDisaster responseWellbeingLivelihoodsPhenomenological approachIntervention pointsMental healthCohesionIndonesiaCommunityDisastersClimate changeLimited research
2019
Landslides, Displacement, and Mental Health in Banjarnegara, Indonesia
K B, D P, M D, M B. Landslides, Displacement, and Mental Health in Banjarnegara, Indonesia. Environmental Epidemiology 2019, 3: 46-46. DOI: 10.1097/01.ee9.0000606140.88989.1f.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2018
Context Matters: Social, Cultural, and Political Dimensions of PTSD Among Vietnam Veterans
Desai M, Pavlo A, Davidson L, Harpaz-Rotem I, Rosenheck R. Context Matters: Social, Cultural, and Political Dimensions of PTSD Among Vietnam Veterans. Ethical Human Psychology And Psychiatry 2018, 20: 113-119. DOI: 10.1891/1559-4343.20.2.113.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchVietnam WarSocial determinantsSpecific social determinantsPolitical dimensionsSociopolitical meaningsPolitical milieuPeople's experiencesContextualized waySpecific contextWarCommunity interventionsJusticePsychosocial sufferingPosttraumatic stress disorderVeterans Health AdministrationRacismMasculinityExperienceMental healthcarePolicySocialMental healthBrief articleCulturalInterviews
2015
“I Want to Come Home”: Vietnam-Era Veterans’ Presenting for Mental Health Care, Roughly 40 Years After Vietnam
Desai MU, Pavlo AJ, Davidson L, Harpaz-Rotem I, Rosenheck R. “I Want to Come Home”: Vietnam-Era Veterans’ Presenting for Mental Health Care, Roughly 40 Years After Vietnam. Psychiatric Quarterly 2015, 87: 229-239. PMID: 26156261, DOI: 10.1007/s11126-015-9382-2.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPhenomenological qualitative methodMental health clinicsExperiences of rejectionEveryday waysGovernmental institutionsPervasive stigmatizationVietnam-era veteransHealth clinicsQualitative methodsLongstanding experienceStrong bridgesSocial rejectionVeterans Health AdministrationVA Medical CenterMental health careOwn preferencesProblematic patternsExperienceVietnamMeaningLong processDiagnosis of PTSDCare seekingMedical CenterVeterans Home
2013
Psychology, the psychological, and critical praxis: A phenomenologist reads Frantz Fanon
Desai M. Psychology, the psychological, and critical praxis: A phenomenologist reads Frantz Fanon. Theory & Psychology 2013, 24: 58-75. DOI: 10.1177/0959354313511869.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchPsychological investigationNexus of PsychologyPsychological insightsPsychologySociopolitical onesPresent paper buildsStyle of analysisSocial problemsMultiple perspectivesEssential momentPhenomenological readingPaper buildsCritical praxisStyleHuman liberationPraxisReadingPhenomenologistsMeaningTheoristsFrantz FanonExperienceRacismResearchEssential structureThe Effects of Race and Other Socioeconomic Factors on Health Service Use Among American Military Veterans
Tsai J, Desai MU, Cheng AW, Chang J. The Effects of Race and Other Socioeconomic Factors on Health Service Use Among American Military Veterans. Psychiatric Quarterly 2013, 85: 35-47. PMID: 23949577, DOI: 10.1007/s11126-013-9268-0.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsNon-VA health care systemsHealth service useHealth care systemCare systemService utilizationHealth insurancePrivate health insuranceService useVA health care systemGreater health care needsRacial disparitiesNative Americans/Alaskan NativesObservational study designHealth care needsLogistic regression modelsVA disability compensationDisability compensationCare needsPacific Islander veteransHealth statusSociodemographic characteristicsHealth disparitiesAmerican military veteransStudy designEffect of race