Joan Beasley is a woman with very short curly styled grey hair wearing glasses with a dark frame at the top and silver dangly earrings.

Joan Beasley

Research Professor
Research Professor
Phone: (603) 228-2084
Office: Institute on Disability, 10 West Edge Drive, Durham, NH 03824

Joan B Beasley, PhD is a Research Professor and Director of the National Research Consortium in MH-IDD, Institute on Disability, College of Health and Human Services at the University of New Hampshire. Dr. Beasley is a licensed mental health counselor and holds a Ph.D. in mental health policy from the Heller School at Brandeis University. She developed the cross-systems framework on which she built and served as the principal author and investigator of the START model, first implemented in 1988, a cross-systems crisis prevention and intervention evidence-informed program to improve capacity for effective mental health services. In recent years, her work has emphasized the conduct of more inclusive research and the development of methods to make mental health services more accessible, effective and meaningful for people with IDD. Dr. Beasley is currently the Principal Investigator/lead on several national studies in the US that emphasize inclusive research, measures of effective services and the promotion of mental health/well being for people with IDD and mental health service experiences. She also mentors students, researchers and policy leaders to improve research, policies and practices across the U.S and abroad. In addition to her work at UNH, her efforts include work with Georgetown University. She also serves as a visiting scholar at Brandeis University.

Education

  • Ph.D., Admin/Plan/Soc Pol, Brandeis University
  • M.Ed., Northeastern University
  • B.A., City University of New York

Research Interests

  • Mental Health Services
  • Emotional/Mental Health--Child/Adolescent
  • Community Health
  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Crisis decision making
  • Crisis Counseling
  • Social Welfare Planning/Policy
  • BEHAVIORAL/SOCIAL SCIENCES

Selected Publications

  • Kalb, L. G., Kramer, J. M., Goode, T. D., Black, S. J., Klick, S., Caoili, A., . . . Beasley, J. B. (2023). Evaluation of telemental health services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities: protocol for a randomized non-inferiority trial.. BMC Health Serv Res, 23(1), 795. doi:10.1186/s12913-023-09663-6

  • Kramer, J. M., Guerrero, F., Caoili, A., Beasley, J. B., Kalb, L., Klein, A., & Goode, T. D. (2023). Telehealth information and communication technology access for family caregivers of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and mental health needs.. Disabil Health J, 16(3), 101463. doi:10.1016/j.dhjo.2023.101463

  • Kramer, J. M., Beasley, J. B., Caoili, A., Kalb, L., Urquilla, M. P., Klein, A. E., . . . Tessler, R. C. (2023). Development and content validity of the Person Experiences Interview Survey (PEIS): a measure of the mental health services experiences of people with developmental disabilities.. Front Psychiatry, 14, 1271210. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1271210

  • Schwartz, A. E., Caoili, A., Beasley, J. B., Kramer, J. M., & Kalb, L. G. (2022). Clinical applications of the VIA Inventory of Strengths with Individuals with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities. JOURNAL OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY. doi:10.1080/17439760.2022.2036797

  • Wise, E., Holingue, C., Klein, A., Caoili, A., Charlot, L., Barnhill, J., & Beasley, J. B. (2022). Psychiatric Presentations and Medication Use in Older Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, 30(1), 65-77. doi:10.1016/j.jagp.2021.05.022

  • McLaren, J. L., Lichtenstein, J. D., Metcalfe, J. D., Charlot, L. R., Drake, R. E., & Beasley, J. B. (2021). Psychotropic Use Among Youths With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. PSYCHIATRIC SERVICES, 72(9), 988-997. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.201900465

  • Beasley, J. B., Kalb, L., & Klein, A. (2018). Improving Mental Health Outcomes for Individuals With Intellectual Disability Through the Iowa START (I-START) Program. JOURNAL OF MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, 11(4), 287-300. doi:10.1080/19315864.2018.1504362

  • Grisel, J. E., Beasley, J. B., Bertram, E. C., Decker, B. E., Duan, C. A., Etuma, M., . . . Whitmire, M. P. (2014). Initial subjective reward: single-exposure conditioned place preference to alcohol in mice. FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE, 8. doi:10.3389/fnins.2014.00345

  • Charlot, L., & Beasley, J. B. (2013). Intellectual Disabilities and Mental Health: United States-Based Research. JOURNAL OF MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, 6(2), 74-105. doi:10.1080/19315864.2012.715724

  • Beasley, J. B. (2004). Importance of training and expertise to assess "what works" for individuals with intellectual disabilities. MENTAL RETARDATION, 42(5), 405-406. doi:10.1352/0047-6765(2004)422.0.CO;2

  • Most Cited Publications