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Related Research Units

Psychiatry Research
Psychology Research

Research Overview

Alisa B. Miller, PhD is a clinical community psychologist whose primary expertise is in promoting the mental health and wellbeing of youth from communities that have experienced high levels of trauma and stress, specifically refugee and immigrant youth who have resettled in the US and Canada.

Her research interests include the effects of traumatic events, identity development, and family cohesion/conflict on refugee and immigrant functioning in family and community settings. Dr. Miller is also interested in health health equity among refugee and immigrant groups through the development and dissemination of culturally appropriate evidence based practices as well as the overall health and well-being of all youth in our society.

As the mental health needs of traumatized youth including immigrant, refugee and other ethnocultural minoritized youth in the US become ever more apparent, Dr. Miller develops and implements clinical interventions aimed at facilitating systemic change in order to better address their mental health needs.

Her current initiative is Project EPIC (Enhancing Pediatric Integrated Care). Project EPIC combines the content and clinical expertise of multiple Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH) Centers: Boston Children's Hospital Primary Care Center (CHPCC), its satellite community primary care clinic Martha Elliot Health Center, and the Refugee Trauma and Resilience Core of the Trauma and Community Resilience Center (TCRC). Project EPIC enhances current CHPCC and MEHC’s integrative behavioral health services by offering trauma-focused prevention and intervention services through the delivery of the evidence-based model Trauma Systems Therapy (TST) and components of its adaptation for refugees and immigrants (TST-R) to CHPCC and MEHC primary care patients ages 7-21.

Research Background

Alisa Miller, PhD, is a psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Boston Children’s and a research associate at the Boston Children’s Hospital Trauma and Community Resilience Center (TCRC). She is also Co-Director or Project EPIC –Enhancing Pediatric Integrated Care at Children's Hospital Primary Care Center and Martha Eliot Health Center. Dr. Miller is an assistant in psychology in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Boston Children’s and an instructor in psychology at Harvard Medical School. Her expertise is in promoting the mental health and well-being of youth from communities that have experienced high levels of trauma, adversity, and stress, specifically refugee and immigrant youth in the U.S. Dr. Miller is interested in increasing health equity for all youth in our society. She strives to be antiracist in all aspects of her personal and professional lives. “I work at the TCRC because I am encouraged and able to be innovative, to value lived expertise and advocate to make services that are meaningful and relevant to youth, families, and providers.

Publications

  1. Leveraging community-based mental health services to reduce inequities for children and families living in United States who have experienced migration-related trauma. Psychol Trauma. 2024 Aug; 16(Suppl 2):S426-S434. View Abstract
  2. Risk and Protective Factors Associated With Support of Violent Radicalization: Variations by Geographic Location. Int J Public Health. 2021; 66:617053. View Abstract
  3. A Qualitative Examination of How Somali Young Adults Think About and Understand Violence in Their Communities. J Interpers Violence. 2022 01; 37(1-2):NP803-NP829. View Abstract
  4. Predicting the Transition From Acute Stress Disorder to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children With Severe Injuries. J Pediatr Health Care. 2016 Nov - Dec; 30(6):558-568. View Abstract
  5. Understanding Bhutanese refugee suicide through the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2015 Jan; 85(1):43-55. View Abstract
  6. Multi-tier mental health program for refugee youth. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2013 Feb; 81(1):129-40. View Abstract
  7. Assessment of co-occurring depression and substance use in an ethnically diverse patient sample during behavioral health intake interviews. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2012 Sep; 125 Suppl 1:S51-8. View Abstract
  8. Interpersonal complementarity in the mental health intake: a mixed-methods study. J Couns Psychol. 2012 Apr; 59(2):185-96. View Abstract
  9. Corticotrophin-releasing hormone type 1 receptor gene (CRHR1) variants predict posttraumatic stress disorder onset and course in pediatric injury patients. Dis Markers. 2011; 30(2-3):89-99. View Abstract
  10. A diagnostic interview for acute stress disorder for children and adolescents. J Trauma Stress. 2009 Dec; 22(6):549-56. View Abstract
  11. Separation anxiety as a mediator between acute morphine administration and PTSD symptoms in injured children. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2006 Jul; 1071:41-5. View Abstract
  12. Ethnicity in child maltreatment research: a replication of Behl et al.'s content analysis. Child Maltreat. 2006 Feb; 11(1):16-26. View Abstract
  13. Incidence of and risk factors for acute stress disorder in children with injuries. J Trauma. 2005 Oct; 59(4):946-53. View Abstract

Contact Alisa Miller

Phone: 617-919-4622
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