Mai Le (Thi Ngoc Mai Le) is a rising senior at Dickinson College, double majoring Psychology and Educational Studies. Mai developed an interest in psychology through her bicultural upbringing in Vietnam and the US. Her research interests include psychometrics, barriers to mental health care access, and global implementation and adaptation of mental health interventions.
During her summer internship at the Columbia-WHO Center for Global Mental Health, Mai Le collaborated closely with Dr. Jennifer Mootz on a project addressing the intersection of common mental disorders and intimate partner violence in Mozambique. She gained valuable skills in REDCap, R, Mendeley, and qualitative research, expanding her research toolkit. Under Dr. Mootz’s mentorship, Mai is co-authoring a manuscript on adapting Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Couples (IPT-C) in Nampula, Mozambique. The manuscript she is co-authoring details adaptations made to IPT for couples in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), drawing on analyses of community stakeholder and key informant interviews. She gained valuable knowledge in the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), Framework for Reporting Adaptations and Modifications-Expanded (FRAME), and ways Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) has been adapted globally. Her weekly interactions with the research team in Mozambique provided invaluable insights into the challenges and opportunities of implementing mental health interventions in LMICs.
Mai’s passion for mental health research and implementation science was solidified through this internship. She is grateful for the opportunity to have worked alongside talented individuals who share her commitment to advancing mental health care globally and looks forward to continuing her collaboration with Dr. Mootz.