Professor of Social Work, Director of MH-RITES Research Center

Email: rgearing@uh.edu
Room: 301 Social Work Building
Phone:713-743-8075

Current Curriculum Vitae

Personal Statement

Dr. Robin E. Gearing is a Professor of Social Work and the Director of the Center for Mental Health Research and Innovation in Treatment Engagement and Service (MH-RITES). The mission of the MH-RITES Research Center is to improve the lives of individuals managing mental health issues through research, education, and clinical interventions.

Dr. Gearing’s research focuses on improving the mental health outcomes of adolescents and young adults with serious mental illnesses and their families. His research is driven by an interest in informing and improving engagement to empirically-supported psychosocial and medication treatment and developing evidence-based interventions. This interest is the result of more than 25 years of clinical work with youth, resulting in firsthand professional knowledge of the needs and gaps in the field. As a researcher, his areas of expertise are schizophrenia spectrum disorders, depressive disorders, and suicide intervention. Dr. Gearing’s work focuses on engagement with mental health services, including culturally informed adaptations of empirically-supported interventions.

His research collaborations nationally and internationally concentrate on innovative strategies for treatment engagement, addressing mental health stigma, and facilitating service utilization. Specifically, Dr. Gearing has conducted a series of national and international studies examining the multidimensional components of treatment engagement, including the barriers, promoters, and temporal patterns of adherence, resulting in the development of culturally informed treatment adherence strategies and interventions. His research continues to focus on developing and testing interventions, improving treatment engagement, service access, and utilization for underserved populations. Dr. Gearing also holds a clinical faculty appointment at the University of Texas Health McGovern Medical School Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and he serves as a board member on the Board of Trustees for The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD.

Education

PhD, University of Toronto, 2006
MSW, Wilfrid Laurier University, 1997
BA, University of Toronto, 1991

Licenses & Certifications

2009 – present | Licensed Clinical Social Worker (#886568055), State of New York
2009 – present | Member, National Association of Social Workers
2000 – present | Licensed/Registered Clinical Social Worker (#320645), Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, Registration
1997 – present | Member, Ontario Association of Social Workers

Courses Taught

• SOCW 7324 - Clinical Applications of the DSM in Social Work
• SOCW 7318 - Cognitive Behavioral Interventions
• SOCW 7397 - Advanced Clinical Practice: Suicide Assessment and Treatment
• SOCW 7360 - International Social Work: A Comparative Approach
• SOCW 8335 - Teaching in Higher Education (PhD Course)

Research Interests

• Improving outcomes for adolescents and emerging adults with serious mental illnesses and their families
• Client engagement and adherence to evidence-based psychosocial and pharmacological treatments
• Service access and utilization for underserved racial, ethnic, cultural, and stigmatized populations
• Patterns of service delivery, service utilization, and treatment adherence
• Strategies for addressing barriers and enhancing promoters to mental health treatment and services
• Interventions nationally and internationally to maintain clients in treatment and improve outcomes and recovery