MEET AMANDA SHARP

Too often our initial impressions of someone prevent us from offering empathy and compassion for their struggles without judgement or stipulations. In my travels, I have served a diverse set of people in impoverished and marginalized places. My exposure has developed my empathy and compassion for others, and I intend to use my experiences to work toward a systematic approach for improving the well-being of those on the fringes.

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I have a passion to help reform our healthcare system and create a cultural shift towards prioritizing of people facing behavioral health challenges. I am intrigued by the internal and external forces that influence a person’s motivation to change. In my academic work, I have focused on increasing effective clinician skills, such as expressing empathy and understanding. I am especially invested in implementing person-centered care in treatment and harm reduction strategies for addiction recovery.

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Amanda, PhD, MPH earned her PhD from the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences at the University of South Florida in the Department of Mental Health Law and Policy, her dissertation was titled, “The Role of Non-Secular Involvement Towards a Comprehensive Community Approach for Addressing Opioid Use Disorder”. She received her Master of Public Health from Boston University. She completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at Harvard Medical School in the Health Equity Research lab and The Center for Mindfulness and Compassion, where she now holds a teaching associate position. She was a Public Health Analyst for the federal government in HHS at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). In this position she served in the capacity of a Government Project Officer and Subject Matter Expert focused on national-level behavioral health systems change and policy for improving approaches to treatment for opioid use disorder, harm reduction, and co-occurring behavioral health solutions.

 

She is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) and a trainer in Adult Mental Health First Aid with extensive experience in behavioral health research and implementation. She has designed and implemented behavioral health interventions based on the application of person-centered care and evidence-based practices (EBPs) for behavior change. Her research focuses on health equity through the incorporation of individual needs and worldviews into the operations, culture, and policies of behavioral health delivery on both an interpersonal and systems level. Her peer-reviewed publications, technical reports, teaching, training, and research reflect this expertise with a focus on exploring the perspectives, attitudes, and cultural norms that contribute to disparities in behavioral health service delivery as well as informing meaningful mitigation efforts.