Culture & Mental Health Lab

Student from this lab giving a commencement speech.

About the Lab

The Culture & Mental Health Lab is comprised of graduate students in the combined Clinical/Counseling Psychology specialization in the psychology doctoral program at Utah State University and undergraduate students in the Psychology Department. Lab members are engaged in independent research in an interdependent context. Project content is in parenting, cultural values, microaggressions, and evidence-based interventions. Students are expected to be productive as a result of independent motivation and commitment, engaged mentoring, and proactive collaboration and support from a talented peer group, multiple faculty in the rural/multicultural emphasis area, as well as from family and loved ones. 


Meet Our Mentor

Melanie Domenech Rodriguez

Dr. Melanie Domenech Rodriguez


Mentorship Statement

My work addresses health disparities through scholarship, teaching/training, and mentorship. My scholarship on cultural adaptations of evidence-based interventions addresses health disparities in access, acceptability, and effectiveness of treatment for ethnic and culturally diverse people.The work on cultural adaptations spans the gamut from specific trials (Amador Buenabad et al., 2019; Domenech et al., 2011; Parra-Cardona et al., 2017) to advances in theory development (Bernal & Domenech Rodríguez, 2012; Kofsloski & Domenech Rodríguez, 2017) to meta-analytic examination of impacts of cultural adaptations on treatment effectiveness (Smith et al., 2011; Soto et al., 2018).

The impact is evident in citations (h index = 31, i-10 index = 54) and grant funding (continuous since 2003; $11.3m in funding across teams). I have improved accessibility to training in evidence-based interventions for providers working with ethnic and culturally diverse clients (Baumann et al., 2019). My courses in multiculturalism and diversity prepare psychologists entering the workforce from the undergraduate or graduate level to attend to diversity and equity in their professional pursuits. My approach to teaching/training is systematic and evidence-based whether at the undergraduate level in psychology (Patterson et al., 2018; Alvarez & Domenech Rodríguez, 2020) or at the graduate level in physician assistant studies (Domenech Rodríguez et al., 2019; Phelps et al., in press). In psychology, I have chaired 22 dissertations to completion: 21 added specifically to health disparities scholarship, 18 were authored by graduate students of color, 13 of whom were bilingual in English and another language. Finally, I have advanced an agenda to reduce health disparities through leadership activities in human research protections (Domenech Rodríguez et al., 2017), leadership in the National Latinx Psychological Association (Miville et al., 2017) and Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology (Domenech Rodríguez, 2018, 2019).

Meet Our Lab

Graduate Alumni

Domenech Lab
Directory
Psychology
Grad - Sociobehavioral Epidemiology
Niyonta Nahia Chowdhury-Magaña

Niyonta Nahia Chowdhury-Magaña

Graduate Student - Sociobehavioral Epidemiology Program

A02310970@usu.edu

Domenech Lab
Psychology
Grad - Combined Clinical Counseling
Directory
Daramola Damilola

Daramola Damilola

Graduate Student - Combined Clinical/Counseling Specialization

a02419243@usu.edu

Grad - Combined Clinical Counseling
Domenech Lab
Directory
Psychology
José Manuel Gonzalez Vera

José Manuel Gonzalez Vera

Graduate Student - Combined Clinical/Counseling Program

A02310033@usu.edu

Domenech Lab
Grad - Combined Clinical Counseling
Psychology
Directory
Jazmin Lara

Jazmin Lara

Graduate Student - Combined Clinical/Counseling Specialization

A02261239@usu.edu

Grad - Sociobehavioral Epidemiology
Psychology
Domenech Lab
Directory
Diana Perez

Diana Perez

Graduate Student - Sociobehavioral Epidemiology Program

A02278438@usu.edu


Research Opportunities

My work addresses health disparities through scholarship, teaching/training, and mentorship. My scholarship on cultural adaptations of evidence-based interventions addresses health disparities in access, acceptability, and effectiveness of treatment for ethnic and culturally diverse people.The work on cultural adaptations spans the gamut from specific trials (Amador Buenabad et al., 2019; Domenech et al., 2011; Parra-Cardona et al., 2017) to advances in theory development (Bernal & Domenech Rodríguez, 2012; Kofsloski & Domenech Rodríguez, 2017) to meta-analytic examination of impacts of cultural adaptations on treatment effectiveness (Smith et al., 2011; Soto et al., 2018).

Lab Director, Melanie Domenech Rodriguez

Current Projects

Evidence-Based Parenting Intervention

There are a variety of projects within this area that focus on evaluation and implementation of GenerationPMTO, a premier evidence-based parent training intervention. Projects in this area include evaluation of culturally-adapted interventions, trials with ethnically and culturally diverse populations, and examination of training mechanisms (e.g., fidelity monitoring).

Latinx Immigrant Health and Wellbeing

Projects in this area are primarily developed within the Latinx Immigrant Health Alliance (LIHA) collaborative group (ok to link to website here?). Projects in this area concern the health and wellbeing of Latinx immigrants, with a focus on persons who are undocumented and/or DACA recipients. LIHA scholars work closely with community-based organizations to ensure that the work is based on community needs. Current projects include (a) ongoing survey to monitor health and wellbeing of undocumented persons and (b) cultural adaptation of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Online Guide (in collaboration with Dr. Michael Levin and the ACT Lab).

EDI / Workforce Development

There are two main veins within this broad domain. The first concerns the shifts in attitudes, beliefs, and values in undergraduate students that take a Multicultural Psychology class on campus to better understand the impact of this course on aspects relevant to workforce development. The second concerns the development of attitudes and skills of Physician Assistants working with underserved and marginalized persons. These projects are funded by the Health Services and Resources Administration grants.

Resources


School of Graduate Studies - Thesis and Dissertation Requirements
College of Education and Human Services - Graduate Student Research Awards
Office of Research - Poster Templates
American Psychological Foundation - Graduate Student Scholarship

Baby pointing to books in a shelf

Involvement

Students interested in getting involved with the lab can use the contact form below or email the lab director directly.

Melanie M. Domenech Rodríguez

Melanie M. Domenech Rodríguez

Professor - Combined Clinical/Counseling Specialization

Phone: 435-797-3059
Office Location: EDUC 425