Professor Doris F. Chang

My work draws upon the rich theoretical and methodological traditions of clinical psychology, cultural psychiatry, and medical anthropology to address key issues in immigrant and minority mental health. As reported in the recent Surgeon General's report, Mental Health: Culture, Race, and Ethnicity (2001), "racial and ethnic minorities bear a greater burden from unmet mental health needs and thus suffer a greater loss to their overall health and productivity" (p. 3). Addressing this disparity in access, quality, and delivery of mental health services to racial and ethnic minorities is critical from the perspective of public health and social justice.

Towards that end, my research seeks to deepen our understanding of the ways in which context and culture influence mental health and treatment practices. In particular, I am interested in how individuals' subjective experience of illness and help-seeking are influenced by social, cultural and economic changes arising from migration and globalization. Recent projects have focused on Asian immigrant and ethnic minority communities in the United States , as well as urban and rural areas of China . As a 2nd generation Chinese-American raised in Texas and married to a Jewish man, I am fascinated by the new cultural hybrids that emerge in a multicultural society. For fun, I enjoy traveling and scuba diving with my husband Jon, practicing taekwondo , taking pictures, baking, and spending time with friends and family.