General
Engaging Urban Families in Child Mental Health Care: What does the evidence suggest?
Mary McKay, Ph.D.
New York UniversityAbout Keynote
In this overview, Dr. Mary McKay describes the challenges and barriers that individuals face in initiating treatment for mental health problems. Dr. McKay then describes techniques that agencies and treatment providers can use to encourage their clients to participate in mental health treatment and reduce rates of treatment drop-out.About Speaker
Mary McKay, Ph.D. is Professor and Director of the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy & Research at New York University. Prior to joining Silver, she served as the Head of the Division of Mental Health Services Research at Mount Sinai. She has received substantial federal funding for research focused on meeting the mental health and health prevention needs of inner-city youth and families. Working with colleagues in the field, she developed a substantial body of research findings around engagement practices to improve involvement in family-based HIV prevention programs and mental health services by children, youth, and families in poverty-impacted urban areas. She has significant expertise in services and implementation research methods, as well as 15 years of experience conducting HIV prevention and care oriented studies, all of which has been supported by continuous NIH funding. In addition, she has collaborated with the National Institute of Mental Health, the New York State Office of Mental Health, and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to create evidence-based engagement interventions and to test models of dissemination and training for mental health professionals in engagement best practices. She has published over 100 peer-reviewed publications on the topics of mental and behavioral health, HIV/AIDS prevention and behavior modification, and other urban health issues.Course Materials
