Susan A. Pickett, Ph.D.

Deputy Director, Center for Research and Evaluation

Susan A. Pickett, Ph.D., is a deputy director of research and evaluation at AHP and has more than 25 years of experience in mental health services research. She has designed and implemented numerous federally funded rigorous research studies that examined the effectiveness of health services for diverse and underserved populations, including adults with serious mental illness, at-risk youth, and persons experiencing chronic homelessness. Dr. Pickett brings expertise in program evaluation, quantitative and qualitative methods and analyses, outcome measurement development, research instrument design, project management, and training and technical assistance (TA). She has published widely on behavioral health care treatment and outcomes, peer-led mental health services, family education and support group programs, homelessness and employment, and mental health service satisfaction.

Dr. Pickett is co-investigator of a National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)-funded study that is developing and testing a peer-led integrated behavioral health and primary care intervention for African Americans with serious mental illness who are experiencing homelessness. She also is an evaluator and leads site visits for the national evaluation of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) homeless programs. At the systems level, Dr. Pickett has worked with state and local agencies to use data-driven strategies to deliver evidence-based services to at-risk populations. This includes a recent TA project with Heartland Health Outreach to identify performance measures designed to enhance integrated housing and health care services for adults experiencing chronic homelessness.

Prior to joining AHP, Dr. Pickett was an associate professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and co-principal investigator of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR)-funded UIC National Research & Training Center on Psychiatric Disability. As the associate director for systems transformation and strategic planning at the Illinois Department of Human Services/Division of Mental Health, Dr. Pickett worked with state and local agencies to develop data-driven policies to better equip the current system to provide high-quality, community-based primary and behavioral health care to indigent adults and children. Dr. Pickett serves on the editorial board for the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal and chairs the American Psychological Association’s Task Force on Serious Mental Illness.



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