Colin Powell School
Dr. Deidre Anglin’s journey into psychology was shaped by both personal experience and a deep commitment to equity
Please share something about your personal and professional background.
I am a first generation Black American with roots in the Caribbean. I grew up in a Jamaican household in a predominantly Black suburb in New York, attended public schools before enrolling at Cornell University where I was pre med before shifting gears to psychology. I received my PhD in clinical psychology from Fordham University and went on for specialized postdoctoral research training in public health at Columbia University. I’ve always valued the power of a strong education, especially when you don’t come from privilege — that was instilled in me from a very early age. I have always also been very passionate about improving the mental health of the most marginalized, especially Black populations, and that’s what drives me both personally and professionally.
How did you discover a passion for your field; and what made you decide to pursue a PhD?
I think the passion to improve the mental health of the most marginalized through research was really solidified when I was on clinical internship at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. It was there that I saw the realities firsthand and upfront of how mental illness and disadvantage can spiral into more precarious and often traumatic lived experiences and disproportionate suffering. I wanted to help such individuals clinically but also wanted to understand what needed to be changed in the larger system.
Can you please briefly describe your scholarly work and findings? What’s most meaningful to your field — and to you — about your work?
Much of my work has focused on the mental health of Black populations and how to reduce disparities. I’ve been particularly focused on the role of structural racism in neighborhoods and trauma and other social determinants of health and how they impact risk for psychosis and schizophrenia specifically. This work is very meaningful to me. I was one of the earlier researchers emphasizing the importance of the social environment — where we live, develop, and age — for risk for psychosis. I have seen firsthand how racism is a traumatic interconnected system and its role in psychosis risk has and still is underemphasized. It has been a privilege to have been able to research an area that is so meaningful to me and to focus my efforts and energy on trying to expand scientific knowledge and awareness. This was not an easy trajectory, but she persisted!
Can you say a bit about what brought you to CCNY?
What brought me to CCNY was wanting to be a part of a community dedicated to similar values as well as the ability to work more closely with students, mentor students, and provide them with unique opportunities. I was very excited by the prospect of influencing the next generation of clinical psychologists and social scientists. I started my tenure at CCNY before there was a Colin Powell School and since its inception, I have seen such tangible growth in the division’s commitment to the student body growing in leadership skills, finding their voices and getting applied experience within the field.
Please share something about your plans — regarding research, teaching, engagement — for the next couple of years.
For the next couple of years, I plan to just keep moving forward, keep doing what I do for as long as I can. I plan to continue teaching about diversity in clinical psychology, mentoring students in research focused on culture, racism, the social epidemiology of psychosis, and social determinants of health. I plan to continue disseminating my work through publications, as well as at other institutions. I hope to be encouraging for students looking to get into this field and help them persevere through these tough political times.
What would you want to make sure everyone knows about what makes the Colin Powell School special?
Part of what has made the Colin Powell School special has been the leadership, the commitment to student development, and providing real-world opportunities and internships where students can get applied experience. The school has an amazing team of staff who are dedicated to the student body, supporting them in multiple ways, not just academically. The team really understands the needs of the students in a nuanced way and actually addresses those needs through the institution, funding mechanisms, mentoring opportunities, etc. Executive leadership under Dean Andy Rich has been instrumental in this development and growth.