Helena Addison

Helena Addison PhD, RN is a postdoctoral fellow and VA scholar in the National Clinician Scholars Program at Yale University. She earned her PhD in Nursing Science from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing with her dissertation focused on Mental Health and Health-Seeking Behaviors of Formerly Incarcerated Black Men. She also earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology at University of Maryland Baltimore County and her MSN through the Master’s Entry into Nursing Program at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. Her research interests were, in part, informed by her clinical experiences as a Registered Nurse in inpatient psychiatric hospitals caring for adults with mental illness and substance use disorder who, too often, have a history of incarceration. Her research interests include examining the impact of incarceration, violence, and additional trauma exposures on mental health, as well as the role of care coordination and multi-sector collaborations in increasing access to mental health care.

As a VA Scholar, she is involved in research examining suicide risk and treatment engagement in veteran experiencing homelessness and/or criminal legal involvement. At Yale, she works with the SEICHE Center for Health and Justice.

Her overall career goal is to engage in innovative and interdisciplinary research that informs policies and practices to improve mental health among marginalized groups, and more broadly, promote health equity and social justice.