Matthew Hagler, PhD

Dr. Hagler is a postdoctoral associate at Yale University School of Medicine, having recently completed his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Massachusetts Boston and predoctoral internship in clinical and community psychology at Yale.

Dr. Hagler's program of research investigates the precedents, processes, and outcomes of intergenerational social support. Much of this work has focused on mentoring relationships between youth and nonparent adults – including those that are formally matched within volunteer and paraprofessional youth programs (e.g., Big Brothers Big Sisters), as well as those that arise organically within families, schools, extracurricular activities, and communities. For his dissertation, Dr. Hagler conducted a longitudinal, mixed-methods study of first-generation college students’ mentoring relationships during their transition to college. Blending his research and clinical interests, another line of work explores the dissemination of evidence-based psychological interventions (e.g., motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness) via paraprofessional helpers as a strategy to bridge disparities in young people’s access to treatment. During graduate school, his research was supported by a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Hagler's clinical training has given him the opportunity to work with children, adolescents, young adults, and families from diverse, underserved backgrounds in the context of community mental health, academic medical, residential, and university counseling settings. He has a particular interest in working with young people with complex trauma, as well as those who are at risk for or in the early stages of developing serious mental illness. Dr. Hagler has specialized training in the assessment and treatment of clinical high-risk and first-episode psychosis. His theoretical orientation and interventions integrate cognitive-behavioral, mindfulness/acceptance-based, and relational-cultural approaches.

Prior to pursuing his doctorate, Dr. Hagler graduated from Sewanee, the University of the South with a B.A. in psychology and English, completed a Fulbright Fellowship in Turkey, and worked as a project manager at the Life Paths Appalachian Research Center.