Associate Professor Michael Lindsey Speaks at The University of Michigan and Harvard University

The University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research (ISR) invited Associate Professor Michael Lindsey to give a talk on mental health treatment disparities among African American adolescents. Lindsey will be also speaking on the topic at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in early April. Lindsey, who joined the NYU Silver School of Social Work faculty in January, focuses his research on the prohibitive factors that lead to unmet mental health need among vulnerable youth with serious psychiatric illnesses.

Lindsey spoke on March 24 at the University of Michigan Research Center for Group Dynamics (within ISR) as part of its Winter 2014 Seminar Series: New Science on Race, Discrimination, and the Social Lives of Black Americans. Titled “Eliminating Mental Health Treatment Disparities among Black Youth: Where is the Evidence?”, his talk examined factors that influence mental health treatment use for Black youth, and reflected upon evidence for strategies that best engage Black youth and their families in school- and community-based treatment. As he pointed out, lack of insurance does not explain the low rates of mental health treatment among Black youth as compared to other ethnic groups. Factors that must be addressed in any intervention or treatment include: stigma regarding mental illness and service use; social network influences such as perceived support; and engagement challenges like service accessibility and motivation. Lindsey’s talk was well attended among students, staff, and faculty members across the University of Michigan.

Lindsey is scheduled to speak at Harvard University on April 5 as part of the 10th Annual Black Policy Conference at the Kennedy School. He will participate in a panel discussion addressing mental health in the Black community. Other panelists include: Darrel Hudson of Washington University in St. Louis; Lonnie Snowden on the University of California at Berkeley; and Terrie Williams, author, mental health activist, and founder and president of The Terrie Williams Agency. Milo Dodson of the University of Illinois at Urbana will moderate the panel. The panel will explore the many societal factors that impact mental health, as well as access to quality health care and mental health services by African Americans.

The Silver School community will have a chance to hear Lindsey give his first talk at NYU Silver, the final lecture in the Spring 2014 Dean’s Colloquium Series, on April 16 (at 4:00 pm in the Silver School Parlor). His lecture, titled “Treatment Engagement in Child Mental Health Services: Examining the Best Practices and Innovation,” will focus on effective treatment engagement strategies and interventions identified in clinical trials to improve attendance, adherence, and motivation among children and families participating in mental health services. Lindsey will argue that mental health treatment disparities among children and their families can be resolved with effective and comprehensive engagement efforts.