Education
- Ph.D. 2025 – University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, Clinical Psychology and Clinical Science
- M.S. 2016 – Teachers College, Columbia University, Neuroscience and Education
- B.S. 2014 – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Biology
Areas of Expertise
- Structural Determinants of Mental Health
- Community-Based Participatory Research Methods
- Black/African American Youth Mental Health
- Racial Equity
- Cultural Adaptations of Evidence-Based Interventions
- Out-of-Schooltime Programming
Background
Aaron Neal, Ph.D. specializes in supporting the well-being and mental health of marginalized youth. He has been working with youth and families for over a decade as an educator, curriculum developer, research partner, and mental health therapist. While working as an educator, he learned about the challenges marginalized students face and the intrinsic factors that shape their mental health. This experience led him to pursue a career as a clinical psychologist.
In his current work, Neal works to address the root causes shaping youths’ mental health and supports the development of culturally relevant interventions. He takes a relational approach as a clinician, researcher, and educator, partnering with researchers, community members, and clients as they work towards accomplishing shared goals.
Research
- identify and change structural determinants of mental health to reduce stressors and promote wellness for youth and
- support youth and families with developing coping skills and tools to support their mental health.
His recent research examined how structural inequities (across school and neighborhood contexts) shaped Black youth’s mental health and what factors (i.e., racial identity, cultural coping) and community assets (i.e., social support, civic engagement, neighborhood and school connectedness) are protective of their mental health. Neal uses survey, qualitative, and community-based participatory methods (i.e., photovoice, participatory codesign, concept mapping) to partner with communities to identify assets and challenges within communities that support well-being and improve mental health. Findings from that research are used to develop individual- and community-level interventions to support mental health and wellbeing of marginalized youth and their families. Currently, his work focuses on youth co-design processes to support the development, cultural adaptation, and implementation of evidence-based suicide and mental health interventions on digital platforms (i.e., virtual reality, social media) and in schools, hospitals, and community contexts.