Tamar Kodish

Education:  PhD, University of California Los Angeles, 2022

Research Interests: My research focuses on improving access, engagement, and quality of mental health services for marginalized young people with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. 

Areas of Interest

Youth mental health disparities; Depression intervention and suicide prevention for marginalized youth; Implementation science; Access and engagement with mental health care; Non-traditional treatment delivery paradigms (e.g. school-based, digital mental health, peer coach models)

Research Summary:

My program of research focuses on improving access, engagement, and quality of mental health services for marginalized young people, particularly youth of color, with depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. Young people of color are less likely to receive mental health care than their white peers, and when they do receive services, youth of color are less likely to receive evidence-based, culturally responsive care, leading to premature treatment dropout. Given our system’s shortcomings in serving youth of color, my program of research has three primary aims: 

• Identify racial/ethnic disparities in mental health problems and service use
• Understand factors that drive disparities and unmet need for care 
• Generate and test strategies and interventions to improve mental health equity among adolescents and emerging adults with depression, anxiety, and suicide risk. 

To date, I have explored these lines of inquiry within three mental health service delivery contexts, (1) healthcare settings, (2) education sector (K-12, college campuses) and (3) digital mental health. My work is guided by implementation science frameworks, centers community partnership, and employs mixed methodological approaches. 

Current Projects and Future Directions:

Currently, we are conducting a study titled: Design and Pilot Test of a Text-Messaging Intervention to Address Barriers and Increase Uptake of STAND among Community College Students of Color. This study is in partnership with the UCLA STAND ALACRITY Center (https://alacrity.dgc.ucla.edu/). 

Future directions and potential areas of interest include: implementation of suicide prevention interventions in school-based settings, peer models of mental health delivery/support, and continued focus on engagement in mental health services for marginalized youth and families.

Please see my Google scholar profile for a recent list of publications.