Washington University in St Louis
George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Center for Mental Health Services Research
1 Brookings Dr
Box 1093
St Louis
MOUSA
63130
Biographical Sketch: Susan G. Pfefferle, PhD is an Associate at Abt Associates in Cambridge, MA. Prior to her work at Abt, she was a Research Fellow and an NIMH post-doctoral trainee at the Center for Mental Health Services Research at Washington University in St. Louis. She received her PhD in Social Policy with a concentration in mental health services research from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University in 2005 where she was an NIMH pre-doctoral fellow. She also holds a M.Ed. in counseling psychology from the University of Massachusetts. Prior to her doctoral studies she worked in community mental health as a clinician and administrator.
Dr. Pfefferle’s research concentrates on the intersection of policy, implementation, and adaptation of evidence-supported mental health interventions for use in non-mental health settings. Her research explores how organizations are responding to policy mandates for mental health screening and response and how the organizations’ attempts to respond to policy mandates impact organizational functioning, interactions with other providers, and actual services for vulnerable populations. She is currently Principal Investigator of an NIMH funded study to adapt Problem Solving Treatment for use in nurse home visitation.