Dr. Karen Kyeunghae Lee is Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work. Dr. Lee teaches courses in social work practice with diverse populations, human behavior and mater’s project. Her current research interests are focused on integrated behavioral healthcare, mental health disparities, improving access and quality of care for people with serious mental illness through collaboration with community-based agencies, and mental health issues of Asians and Asian Americans. She is a Co-Evaluator of two government grants, which are the SBIRT Training Grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, and the California Reducing Disparities Project from the California Department of Public Health Office of Health Equity. Dr. Lee is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) in California and practiced professional social work in public mental health for several years.

 

Courses Taught:

• MSW 502: Social Work Perspectives on Human Behavior
• MSW 530: Applied Social Work Research Methods
• MSW 550: Social Work Practice with Diverse Populations
• MSW 596: Master’s Project Development
• MSW 597: Master’s Project

 

Research Interests:

• Integrated care
• Mental health disparities in ethnic minority communities
• Community integration of people with severe mental illness

 

Current Projects:

Principal Investigator, 2017- 2022: “A Culturally Competent Model for Integrated Care”. California Reducing Disparities Project (CRDP) Phase 2 Asian Pacific Islander Implementation Pilot project. (Co-Principal Investigator: Mikyong Kim-Goh). Korean Community Services/ California Department of Public Health. $200,000.

Co-Principal Investigator (Co-Evaluation Specialist), 2016-2019: “Orange County Community Health SBIRT Program” (Principal Investigator: Beverly Quaye; Co-evaluation Specialist: Mikyong Kim-Goh; Outreach Coordinator: Carol Metoyer). Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 1H79TI026438-0. $769,556.