Dr. Gigi on Clubhouse

Bio

A clinical psychologist and Haiti native, Dr. Gilberte (“Gigi”) Bastien is a licensed clinical psychologist, who currently serves as Associate Director for the Office of Global Health Equity at Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) and Assistant Professor within MSM’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Bastien’s research and clinical interests focus on the intersection of culture and mental health with the aim of improving accessibility, acceptability, and efficacy of mental health services for underserved populations. Dr. Bastien’s complimentary interests in disaster mental health and global mental health capacity building were largely influenced by her involvement in the mental health response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. As a Satcher Health Leadership Institute (SHLI) health policy fellow at MSM, Dr. Bastien gained invaluable training in health leadership and strategies for advancing policy solutions to health disparities domestically and globally. As an NIH Fogarty Global Health Fellow, Dr. Bastien completed a project in collaboration with the Carter Center’s Mental Health Program in Liberia, which focused on understanding mental health and resilience in Ebola affected communities in Liberia. Additionally, as consultant on an Emory University funded pilot grant, Dr. Bastien collaborated with a team of ophthalmologists to examine the relationship between ebola related vision impairment and quality of life and mental health functioning within a pediatric population in Sierra Leone. These experiences have strengthened Dr. Bastien’s interest in leveraging large-scale emergencies as a pathway to addressing pre-existing mental health disparities in LMICs and other resource constrained settings. Ultimately, Dr. Bastien’s passion is to help create environments where individuals and communities adversely affected by adversity can move towards recovery and constructing a meaningful life. Walking out this passion requires a commitment to contributing to mental health services science as a community-engaged researcher, partnering with communities in mutually beneficial and culturally responsive ways, and serving in advocacy to promote mental wellness for historically underserved populations.