Faculty


Steven Lopez

Professor of Psychology and Social Work

Contact Information
E-mail: lopezs@usc.edu
Phone: (213) 740-6310
Office: SGM 1001

LINKS
Curriculum Vitae
Professional Website
 

Biographical Sketch

Steven Regeser López is a professor of psychology and social work at the University of Southern California. His research provides a critical cultural perspective to the study of psychopathology, assessment, and intervention of Latinos and other ethnic minority groups. The overall goal of his research is to reduce disparities in mental health care for Latinos in the United States and Mexico. To do so Lopez and his research team have developed studies along three pathways to care for those with serious mental illness. To facilitate the recognition of psychosis in a timely manner, Lopez and colleagues have developed a novel Spanish language public education program to help relatives identify the key signs of psychosis in their loved ones. They have demonstrated that the program, which they refer to as La CLAve, increases psychosis literacy. In a second line of study, Lopez and colleagues examine how families relate to their ill relatives and how that is associated with the course of schizophrenia. One key finding is that emotional overinvolvement is the prominent family factor associated with relapse with primarily Mexican immigrant families. In a third line of research, Lopez’ research team tests a model of cultural competence that they have developed to improve treatment of Latinos. The model encourages clinicians to develop a collaborative relationship that promotes the development of shared narratives and an understanding of what is at stake in their client’s local social world.

Education

  • Ph.D. Psychology (Clinical), UCLA, 8/1983

    • Academic Appointment, Affiliation, and Employment History

    • Professor of Psychology and Social Work, University of Southern California, 01/01/2008-  

    Description of Research

    Summary Statement of Research Interests
    Culture and psychopathology, assessment, and intervention with particular attention given to Latino communities, both in the United States and Mexico.

    Affiliations with Research Centers, Labs, and Other Institutions

    • Foundation for Psychocultural Research, Advisory Board Member

    Publications


    Book Chapter
    • Kopelowicz, A., Lopez, S. R., Vega, W. A. (2009). Disabled Populations. pp. 198-209. Baltimore: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins: Disparities in psychiatric care: Clinical and cross-cultural perspectives.
    • Lopez, S., Guarnaccia, P. (2008). Conceptions of psychopathology: The social world’s impact on mental illness. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Associates.

    Journal Article
    • Lopez, S. R. (2012). From documenting to eliminating disparities in mental health care for Latinos. American Psychologist. Vol. 67, pp. 511-523.
    • Kopelowicz, A., Zarate, R., Wallace, C. J., Lopez, S. R., Liberman, R. P., Mintz, J. (2012). The ability of multifamily groups to improve treatment adherence in Mexican Americans with schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry. Vol. 69, pp. 265-273.
    • Medina-Pradas, C., Navarro, J. B., Lopez, S. R., Grau, A., Obiolos, J. E. (2011). Dyadic view of expressed emotion, stress, and eating disorder psychopathology. Appetite. Vol. 57 (3), pp. 743-748.
    • Lee, C. S., Lopez, S. R., Hernandez, L., Colby, S. M., Caetano, R. (2011). A cultural adaptation of motivational interviewing to address heavy drinking among Hispanics. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. Vol. 17, pp. 317-324.
    • Medina-Pradas, C., Navarro, J. B., Lopez, S. R., Grau, A., Obiolos, J. E. (2011). Further development of a scale of perceived expressed emotion and its evaluation in a sample of patients with eating disorders. Psychiatry Research. Vol. 190, pp. 291-296.
    • Aguilera, A., Lopez, S. R., Breitborde, N. J., Kopelowicz, A., Zarate, R. (2010). Expressed emotion, sociocultural context and the course of schizophrenia. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. Vol. 119, pp. 875-885.
    • Breitborde, N. J., Lopez, S. R., Kopelowicz, A. (2010). Expressed emotion and health outcomes among Mexican-Americans with schizophrenia and their caregiving relatives. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. Vol. 198, pp. 105-109.
    • Lopez, S., Lara Munoz, M., Kopelowicz, A., al., e. (2009). La CLAve to Increase Psychosis Literacy of Spanish-speaking. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Vol. 77, pp. 763-774.
    • Lopez, S. R., Ramirez Garcia, J. I., Ullman, J. B., Kopelowicz, A., Jenkins, J., Breitborde, N. J., Placencia, P. (2009). Cultural variability in manifestation of expressed emotion. Family Process. Vol. 48, pp. 179-194.
    • Polo, A. J., Lopez, S. (2009). Culture, context, and the internalizing distress of Mexican American youth. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. Vol. 38, pp. 1-13.
    • Breitborde, N. J., Lopez, S., Neuchterlein, K. (2009). Expressed emotion, human agency, and schizophrenia: Toward a new model for the EE-relapse association. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry.. Vol. 33, pp. 41-60.
    • Breitborde, N. J., Lopez, S. R., Neuchterlein, K. (2009). Expressed emotion, human agency, and schizophrenia: Toward a new model for the EE-relapse association. Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry. Vol. 33, pp. 41-60.
    • Breitborde, N. J., Lopez, S. R., Chang, C., Kopelowicz, A., Zarate, R. (2009). Emotional overinvolvement can be deleterious to for caregivers’ health: Mexican Americans caring for an ill relative with schizophrenia. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. Vol. 44, pp. 716-723.
    • O’Brien, M. P., Zinberg, J. L., Bearden, C. E., Lopez, S., Kopelowicz, A., Daley, M., Cannon, T. D. (2008). Parent attitudes and parent adolescent interaction in families of youth at risk for psychosis and with recent-onset psychotic symptoms. Early Intervention in Psychiatry. Vol. 2 (268-276)
    • Dorian, M., Ramirez Garcia, J., Lopez, S., Hernandez, B. (2008). Acceptance and expressed emotion in Mexican American caregivers of relatives with schizophrenia. Family Process. Vol. 47 (2), pp. 215-228.
    • Lee, C. S., Abrantes, A. M., Colby, S. M., Lopez, S., Jordan, T. (2008). Medical student judgments of adolescents with alcohol use disorders (AUD. Substance Use and Misuse. Vol. 43 (5), pp. 709-721.
    • Aguilera, A., Lopez, S. (2008). Community determinants of Latinos’ use of mental health services. Psychiatric Services. Vol. 58 (4), pp. 385-394.


    Honors and Awards

    • Stanley Sue Award for distinguished contribution to diversity in clinical psychology, Div 12, Am Psychological Assoc, 2010-2011   
    • California Psychological Association, Distinguished Scientific Achievement in Psychology Award, 2007-2008   

    Service to the Profession


    Conferences Organized
    • Program Chair, Western Psychological Association, Cancun, Mexico, 2009-2010   

    Other Service to the Profession
    • National Advisory Council, National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities, 2005-2009  


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  • Department of Psychology
  • University of Southern California
  • SGM 501
  • 3620 South McClintock Ave.
  • Los Angeles, CA 90089-1061