Mark Costa, MD, MPH

Mark Costa, MD, MPH, is a Research Scientist in Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine and a behavioral health services researcher at the Yale Program for Recovery and Community Health (PRCH). His research focuses on the implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of recovery-oriented behavioral health services for individuals with serious mental illness, substance use disorders, and co-occurring conditions. His work integrates implementation science, community-engaged research, and qualitative and mixed-methods approaches to strengthen recovery-oriented systems of care.

Over more than a decade at Yale, Dr. Costa has developed a program of research examining how evidence-based behavioral health interventions can be effectively implemented, adapted, and sustained in community settings. His scholarship spans supported employment, integrated behavioral healthcare, community mental health, criminal justice and reentry, behavioral health systems transformation, and the role of social networks and community connectedness in recovery. He serves in scientific leadership roles across federally, state-, and foundation-funded initiatives, directing implementation, evaluation, and mixed-methods components of multidisciplinary studies while partnering with state agencies, healthcare systems, and community organizations to translate research into practice.

A central focus of Dr. Costa’s work is advancing community-engaged research partnerships and strengthening the capacity of community organizations to participate in research and sustain evidence-informed services. He has played a key role in developing partnerships between academic investigators and community- and faith-based organizations, contributed to the development of major federally and foundation-funded initiatives, and supported organizations in building evaluation infrastructure, expanding competitive funding portfolios, and implementing sustainable, recovery-oriented programs. His contributions include collaborative work within the Templeton Foundation–supported Faith and Recovery Initiative and ongoing partnership activities with PRCH community-engaged projects, including the Imani Breakthrough Project.

Dr. Costa’s current research includes implementation of recovery-oriented behavioral health interventions in the United States and South America, studies of social networks, belonging, employment, disability, and recovery, and the development of Community-Based Intensive Treatment (CBIT) for adults with serious mental illness in rural communities. His work examines the organizational, workforce, and social factors that influence the adoption, sustainability, and scale-up of recovery-oriented practices.

As Co-Director of the International Visitors Program at PRCH and former Co-Director of the Yale Latino Colectivo, Dr. Costa has fostered research collaborations with investigators, practitioners, and community leaders throughout Brazil, Colombia, and other parts of South America. These partnerships advance implementation science, psychiatric rehabilitation, recovery-oriented behavioral health services, and community-engaged research while promoting international collaboration and workforce development.

Before joining Yale, Dr. Costa practiced for nearly two decades as a psychiatrist and clinical supervisor in Minas Gerais, Brazil, where he also coordinated the Fórum Mineiro de Saúde Mental and contributed to psychiatric reform and community-based mental healthcare. He earned his medical degree, completed residency training in psychiatry, and received his Master of Public Health from the Federal University of Minas Gerais before completing postdoctoral research training at Yale.

Dr. Costa’s research seeks to strengthen the implementation, quality, and sustainability of recovery-oriented behavioral health services while advancing innovative models of care that promote recovery, health, social connectedness, employment, and meaningful community participation.