Behavioral Activation for First Episode Psychosis (FEP)
We examine service engagement among persons with First Episode Psychosis (FEP) and adapt, implement, and optimize the empirically-supported treatment Behavioral Activation (BA) for individuals with FEP. Dr. Santos has worked with FEP populations involving several lines of research: examining predictors of the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) among U.S.-born and immigrant Latinos, studying the conceptualization and measurement of the DUP in community mental health settings, and investigating whether a relationship exists between activation and FEP-related outcomes. Dr. Santos is currently developing BA for FEP to improve engagement in mental health services and other outcomes. Through the "Finding a Path Forward Project", BA for FEP will be tested relative to treatment as usual (TAU) with Latinos with FEP and their family caregivers. This research will identify treatment mediators of engagement and improve our understanding of factors that predict engagement and disengagement in community mental health service settings. For more information and to connect with us about referrals, please visit our study website.
Current research program
- External Funding: National Institute of Mental Health, K23 Grant, 2020-2025, Role: PI
- Internal Funding: CSUSB Undergraduate Summer Research Program, 2021, Role: PI ; CSUSB Office of Student Research, STEM en familia Grant Program, 2020-21, Role: PI
Behavioral Activation for Depression
Dr. Santos has contributed to the development of BA for Latinos (BAL) with depression and examined the effectiveness and efficacy of BAL when compared to community treatment as usual. We expand on the empirical knowledge base of BA for depression with an interest in BA development research. This includes development and examination of efficacy and effectiveness, as well for whom BAL works.
Internal Funding: CSUSB Office of Student Research, STEM en familia Grant Program, 2019, Role: PI
Santos, M. M., Ullman, J., Leonard, R. C., Puspitasari, A. J., Cook, J., & Riemann, B. C. (2019). Behavioral activation as a mechanism of change in residential treatment for mood problems: a growth curve model analysis. Behavior Therapy. doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2019.05.004
Santos, M. M., Rae, J. R., Nagy, G. A., Manbeck, K. E., Dieguez Hurtado, G., West, P., Santiago-Rivera, A., & Kanter, J. W. (2017). A client-level session-by-session evaluation of behavioral activation’s mechanism of action. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 54, 93-100. doi: doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2016.07.003
Santos, M. M., Puspitasari, A., Nagy, G., & Kanter, J. W. (2021). Behavioral activation. In A. Wenzel (Ed.), Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Vol. 1. Overview and Approaches (pp. 235-273). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000218-009
Santos, M. M., Nagy, G. A., Diéguez Hurtado, G., West, P., Santiago-Rivera, A. L., Lee, H. J., & Kanter, J. W. (2017). Acculturative stress as a moderator of treatment engagement and retention in Behavioral Activation and treatment as usual for Latinos with depression. Journal of Latina/o Psychology, 5(4), 275-289.https://doi.org/10.1037/lat0000074
Cultural Factors and Evidence-Based Practice
We are focused on more effectively addressing the mental health needs of diverse and hard-to-reach populations by attending to cultural and contextual factors in developing and implementing treatment. Past work by Dr. Santos includes: examining a process-model of cultural competence, conceptualizing the integration of the cultural competence model with a behavioral intervention, and conceptualizing an approach to tailoring and delivering mental health services that promote recovery shaped by individual experience in local, social worlds.
Santos, M. M., Nagy, G. A., Kanter, J. W., & Lopez, S. R. (2021). Applying a process-oriented model of cultural competence to behavioral activation for depression. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2020.11.007
López, S. R., Ribas, A. C., Sheinbaum, T., Santos, M. M., Benalcázar, A., Garro, L., & Kopelowicz, A. (2020). Defining and assessing key behavioral indicators of the Shifting Cultural Lenses Model of Cultural Competence. Transcultural Psychiatry, 57(4), 594-609. doi:10.1177/1363461520909599
Reyes Ortega, M. A., Kuczynski, A. M., Kanter, J. W., Arango de Montis, I., & Santos, M. M. (2019). A preliminary test of a social connectedness burnout intervention for Mexican mental health professionals. The Psychological Record. doi: 10.1007/s40732-019-00338-5
Santos, M. M., Kopelowicz, A., & Lopez, S. R. (2018). Recovery from schizophrenia: The case of Mexican-origin consumers and family caregivers. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 206(6), 439-445. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000000826
Other Publications
Esparza Lizarazo, N., Muñoz-Martínez, A. M., Santos, M. M., & Kanter, J. W. (2015). A within subjects evaluation of the effects of functional analytic psychotherapy on in-session and out-of-session client behavior. The Psychological Record. doi: 10.1007/s40732-015-0122-7
Mentorship
Student research has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) STEM en familia Grant Program and the Undergraduate Summer Research Program.
Previous projects have included:
- examine behavioral activation treatment’s mechanism of change when measured as homework completion
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develop Spanish-language translations of measures for use in the randomized controlled pilot trial of behavioral activation for FEP
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conduct data collection and examine the psychometric properties of the translated measures