Chantel T Ebrahimi-Azadegan, Ph.D.

About

Dr. Chantel T. Ebrahimi-Azadegan is an Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Psychology at California Lutheran University. She received her MA in psychology with a Concentration in Mental Health and Substance Abuse Counseling and PhD in clinical psychology from The New School. Her professional areas of interest include cultural psychology, development, health disparities, trauma, and substance use.

Education

The New School, PhD in Clinical Psychology (2025)

The New School, MA in Psychology (2021)

Concentration in Mental Health and Substance Abuse Counseling

University of California, Los Angeles, BS in Psychobiology (2015)

Expertise

Dr. Ebrahimi-Azadegan’s research interests span the intersection of development, trauma, and substance use in communities of color. She has largely focused her research on racial trauma and substance use outcomes among ethnoracially minoritized adolescents and young adults as well as researching PTSD+SUD treatment outcomes. Her research aims to investigate the sociocultural context of psychopathology and the promotion of mental well-being among ethnoracially minoritized communities. Specifically, Ebrahimi-Azadegan studies racism-related stress as a sociocultural traumatic stressor and the mechanisms of substance use and misuse behaviors. Her research is focused on understanding the causes for elevated substance use and misuse behaviors among ethnoracially minoritized communities by clarifying the risk and protective factors. Overall, her research aims to improve the cultural responsiveness of co-morbid trauma and substance use treatment. 

Ebrahimi-Azadegan completed a R25 Predoctoral Research Fellowship with the Translational Research Training in Addictions for Underrepresented Groups (TRACC) program held at The City University of New York. She also held one of the prestigious Mellon Dissertation Fellow positions at The New School where she examined the associations of historical trauma, contemporary racism, posttraumatic stress, and polysubstance use among Black young adults. She also completed her psychology predoctoral internship at the VA New York Harbor Health Care System, Margaret Cochran Corbin (Manhattan) VA Campus and has trained at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s World Trade Center Health Program, Student Health Services at The New School, The Safran Center, the Evolution Trauma + Wellness Center, and Greenwich House.

Publications

Selected Publications:

1.     Ebrahimi, C. T., Song, H., Machado, M., Segura, P., Espinosa, A., & Polanco-Roman, L. (2024). Racism-related experiences and substance use: A systematic and meta-analytic review. Social Science & Medicine, 362, 117434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117434

2.     Ahmad, S., S., Hammad, I., Rbeiz, K., Ebrahimi, C. T., Alshabani, N., McLaughlin, M., de Mamanni, A., & Kia-Keating, M. (2024). Exploring Identity-based Discrimination, Psychological Distress, and Trauma among Muslims living in the United States. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001764

3.     Ebrahimi, C. T., Polanco-Roman, L., Saraiya, T. C., Bauer, A. G., & Hien, D. (2024). Historical trauma and polysubstance use in Black young adults: The role of contemporary racism. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001652

4.     Polanco-Roman, L., Ebrahimi, C. T., Satinsky, E. N., Benau, E. M., Martins Lanes, A., Iyer, M., & Galán, C. A. (2024). Racism-Related Experiences and Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Ethnoracially Minoritized Youth: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology: the official journal for the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, American Psychological Association, Division 53, 1–18. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2023.2292042

Grant Funding

Completed funding:

National Institute on Drug Abuse (R36 DA058830, PI: Ebrahimi): "Exploring Historical Trauma, Racial Discrimination, PTSD, and Substance Use Among Black Young Adults"