Associate Professor of Psychology
Education
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and Women’s Studies with a minor in Gerontology
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Women’s Studies
Rutgers University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ
About
I am interested on examining ways to improve the access and quality of mental health care in underserved communities, in United States and internationally. Despite a high burden of mental health problems, disparate access to mental health access is well documented among minority groups in the United States. My past projects examined ways to expand the reach of evidence-based practices to low-income, minority elder and caregivers of people with dementia. My current projects are in Nepal, where I work with local partners to develop and test mental health interventions that if found effective, can be incorporated into existing systems of care for long-term sustainability and expansion of mental health care.
I collected my dissertation data in Nepal examining the narratives of older Nepali women on quality of life. As I return to Nepal, my plan is to integrate my interests in elder care and mental health service utilization. I want to examine existing mental health care systems, including elder care, and contribute to the development of a trained workforce equipped to address the unique mental health needs in Nepal.
Publications
Khatri, R., Rimal, P., Ekstrand, M.L., Sapkota, S., Sigdel, K., Sharma, D., Shrestha, J., Shrestha, S. & Acharya, B. (2024). Community health workers’ barriers and facilitators to use a novel mHealth tool for motivational interviewing to improve adherence to care among youth living with HIV in rural Nepal. PLOS Global Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0002911
Acharya, B., Sigdel, K., Khatri, R., Rimal, P., Shrestha, S., Sharma, D., Shrestha, J. & Sapkota, S. (2024). Improving the quality of global mental health services with digital tools: Best practices and lessons learned from Rural Nepal. Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science, 9, 522 -525. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41347-024-00389-8
!Essa, S., Kaplan, J., Huang, S., Lazarescou, N., Banu, S., Du, Y. B., & Shrestha, S (2023). “A successful partnership”: Pre-migration advantages and post-migration importance of community in refugee resettlement. Journal. Of International Migration and Integration. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-023-01086-w
!Kaplan, J., Lazarescou, N., Huang, S., Ali, S., Bau, S., Du, B. & Shrestha, S. (2021) Overview of challenges faced by refugees following resettlement in Houston, Texas: A qualitative study at five refugee resettlement agencies. International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, 18 (1). 1 – 12. doi: 10.1108/lJMHSC-01-2021-0009
Sibley, A. A., Shrestha, S., Lipovac-Dew, M. & Kunik, M. E. (2021). Addressing depression with/without coexisting anxiety in community-dwelling persons with dementia. American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias. doi: 10.1177/1533317521990267
Evans, T. L., Kunik, M. E., Snow, L., Shrestha, S., Richey, S., Ramsey, D., Yusuf, Z. & Amspoker, A. B. (2021) Validation of a brief screen to identify persons with dementia at risk for behavioral problems] Journal of Applied Gerontology. Advance online publication.https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464821996521
Rimal, P., Khadka, S., Bogati, B., Chaudhury, J., Rawat, L. K., Bhat, K. C., Manandhar, P., Citrin, D., Maru, D., Ekstrand, M., Sawar, S., B., Aryal, A. Bohrt, B., Shrestha, S. & Acharya, B. (2021). Adapting Motivational Interviewing, individual-focused intervention, in a cross-cultural, cross-linguistic setting, in rural Nepal. BMC Psychology, 9 (52), https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-021-00557-y
Rimal, P., Choudhury, N., Agrawal, P. Basnet, M., Bohara, B., Citrin, D., Dhungana, S. K., Gauchan, B., Gupta, P., Gupta, T. K., Halliday, S., Kadaya, B., Mahar, R., Maru, D., Nguyen, V., Poudel, S., Raut, A., Rawal, J., Sapkota, S., Schwarz, D., Schwarz, R., Shrestha, S., Sawar, S., Thapa, A., Thapa, P., White, R. & Acharya, B. (2021). Collaborative care model for depression in rural Nepal: A mixed methods implementation-effectiveness prospective cohort study. BMC Open, 11:e048481. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-048481.
Shrestha, S., Richey, S., Lipovas-Dew, M., Kunik, M.E., Stanley, M.A. & Amspoker, A. B., (2020). An Examination of Positive and Negative Dementia Caregiving Experiences. Clinical Gerontologist. 45(5), 1263-1272. https://doi.org/10.1080/07317115.2020.1868033
Kunik, M.E., Stanley, M.A., Srijana, S., Ramsey D., Richey, S., Snow, L., Freshour, J., Evans, T., Newmark, M., Williams, S., Wilson, N., Amspoker, A.A. (2020). Aggression Prevention Training for individuals with dementia and their caregivers: A randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 28 (6), 662 – 672. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2020.01.190
(!indicates senior authorship)
Teaching Interests
Aging and Mental Health, Abnormal Psychology, Global/Multicultural Psychology, Qualitative Methods, and Psychology of Women and Gender
Student Projects
Current Projects involving students:
Exploratory qualitative examination of elder care in Nepal
Review of global partnership in mental health research
Systematic review of facilitators and barriers of sexual health care among women with physical disability
Research Interests
Aging and mental health, mental health in diverse contexts, utilization of mental health services in underserved communities, discourse on diversity using a feminist framework
Department(s)
Program(s)
Office
Diana Davis Spencer Discovery Center 3310
Hours
Mondays 2:00 - 3:30
Wednesdays 11 - 12
Please email to request a virtual meeting.