Afroze Shaikh

Afroze Shaikh examines the specific needs of marginalized communities and how systems can better serve these communities using anti-oppressive practices. Her research broadly aims to identify approaches to prevent suicide and expand mental health care access by examining factors that influence health service use, particularly among underserved communities.

Dr. Shaikh has a background in mental health counseling, with specific training and expertise in community-based survey research and quantitative methods focused on suicide risk and service use among populations that are often excluded from research. Her clinical experiences involve working at a level-1 trauma center, an inpatient forensics unit, and a university counseling center providing services to individuals and families impacted by community violence and trauma.

She is currently engaged in an innovative pilot at UT Austin to create a new bachelors level certification pathway within the mental health workforce to help address the provider shortage. The research team supports this project by generating evidence needed to ensure the pilots long-term scalability, sustainability, and impact on expanding access to mental health care.