Andel V. Nicasio, Ph.D.

Current Title & Duties

Catedrático Asociado

Biography

Dr. Andel V. Nicasio is an Associate Professor at the Clinical Psychology PhD Program at Albizu University (AU) and an Affiliated Researcher at the Mental Health Disparities and Diversity Program (MHDDP) at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Nicasio received her Ph.D. from University of Central Florida (UCF) and completed her postdoctoral fellowship on trauma, telehealth and mental health disparities research at MHDDP-MUSC. She also worked at the Center of Excellence for Cultural Competence, Columbia University-New York State Psychiatric Institute as a Research Coordinator conducting mental health services research aimed at reducing health and mental health disparities for racially/ethnically diverse populations in New York state and internationally. She is a recipient of an NIH T37 Minority International Research Training Grant. Dr. Nicasio’s research focuses on (1) adapting and implementing trauma-focused interventions and (2) utilizing community-based and technology-based service delivery models to reduce barriers to access to care and increase treatment engagement and retention among trauma exposed Latinx youth and other underserved populations. Recently she received funding from MUSC for two research projects: (1) examining the transition from in-person to telehealth trauma-focused treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico and (2) Developing a training protocol for post-disaster intervention in Honduras.

Research / Research Interests

Trauma-focused interventions; post-disaster interventions; Evidence-based Practice; Telepsychology; cancer patients; Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Insomnia (CBT-I); Community Base Participatory Research (CBPR); Translational Research; International Research.

Academics, Education, Certifications

▪ 2000 B.A. Organizational Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University Madre y Maestra, Dom. Rep.
▪ 2006 M.S.Ed. Rehabilitation Counseling, Hunter College of New York, NY
▪ 2016 M.S. Clinical Psychology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
▪ 2019 Ph.D. Clinical psychology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
▪ 2020 Post-doctoral Clinical Psychology Fellowship, Trauma, Telehealth and Mental Health Disparities Research, Medical University of South Carolina, Mental Health Disparities and Diversity Program, Charleston, SC

Recent Publications

Nicasio, A. V., Hernandez Rodriguez, J., Villalobos, V., & Dueweke, A. (R&R). Telehealth and culturalapplications of trauma-focused treatment among Latinos: Case series and clinical recommendations for covid-19 impact.

▪ Dueweke, A. R., Nicasio, A. V., & Orengo-Aguayo, R. (2021). Co-located mental health care services in primary medical groups in Puerto Rico: Facilitators, barriers, and recommendations for the future. RevistaCiencias de la Conducta (Behavioral Sciences Journal), 36(1), 49-64.

▪ Prachthauser, M., Cassisi, J.E.*, Le, T-A., & Nicasio, A. V. (2021). The Social Distance Scale (v1): A Screening Instrument to Assess Patient Adherence to Prevention Strategies During Pandemics. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

▪ Stewart, R.W., Villalobos, V. T., Dueweke, A. R., Hernandez Rodriguez, J., Nicasio, A. V., Alto, M, & Orengo-Aguayo, R. (2021). Universal School-Based Mental Health Screening Pilot Trial in El Salvador: Traumatic Stress in an Under-Resourced School Environment.Journal of Traumatic Stress.https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22716

▪ Dueweke, A. R., Wallace, M. M., Nicasio, A. V., Villalobos, B. T., Hernández Rodriguez, J., & Stewart, R.W. (2020). Resources and Recommendations for Engaging Children and Adolescents in Telemental Health Interventions During COVID-19 and Beyond. The Behavior Therapist, 43(5), 171-176. ISSN:0278-8403

▪ Alto, M. E., Nicasio, A. V., Orengo-Aguayo, R., Rodríguez-Sanfiorenzo, T., González-Elías, G., & Stewart, R. (2020). Provision of mental health services immediately following natural disaster: Experiences following Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Journal of Emergency Management, 19(8), 167-175.

▪ Chang, D. F., Hsieh, E., Somerville, W. B., Dimond, J., Thomas, M., Nicasio, A. V., Boiler, M. & Lewis-Fernández, F. (2020). Rethinking Interpreter Functions in Mental Health Services. Culture & Mental Health Services. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.202000085

▪ Nicasio, A. V., Cassisi, J. E., Negy, C. & Jentsch, F. (2018). Attitude-behavior discrepancy in familism and its relation to symptoms of depression among Latinos. Journal of Latinx Psychology, 7(2), 154-170.doi:10.1037/lat0000113

▪ Collins, S. E, Clifasefi, S. L., Stanton, J., Straits, K. J. E, Gil-Kashiwabara, E, Rodriguez Espinosa, P, Nicasio, A. V., Andrasik, M. P, Hawes, S. M., Miller, K. A,Nelson, L. A, Orfaly, V. E, Duran, B. M, Wallerstein, N; LEAP Advisory Board (2018). Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR): Towards equitableinvolvement of community in psychology research. American Psychologist, 73(7),884doi:10.1037/amp0000167

▪ Sahs, J. A., Nicasio, A. V., Storey, J. E., Guarnaccia, P. J., & Lewis-Fernández, R. (2016). Developing research collaborations in an academic clinical setting: Challenges and lessons learned. Community Mental Health Journal, 1-14. doi:10.1007/s10597-016-0073-8