Utpala Shanker, Ph.D.

Director

Dr.  Shanker is a licensed psychologist in private practice.  She has a Master’s degree in Educational Psychology with a specialization in ‘Learning, Cognition, and Development’ from Rutgers University. She completed another Master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Dr. Shanker did her pre-doctoral internship at the University of New Mexico -School of Medicine through the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Her clinical experiences include working with multidisciplinary teams in outpatient, inpatient, residential, day treatment, and medical settings. She has also been part of a pediatric endocrinology team providing assessment and brief psychotherapy to pediatric patients through outreach clinics in New Mexico.  Through her work in various clinical settings, Dr. Shanker has had the opportunity to expand her understanding of how mental illness is perceived in ethnic and racial demographics, as well as in immigrant and refugee populations. Her expertise in working with multicultural populations, her passion for promoting an understanding of multicultural issues among providers, and an awareness of the barriers in accessing mental health services among diverse populations is what has attracted her to ASHA International. Dr. Shanker brings an emic perspective into her understanding of multiculturalism that helps her bridge the chasm between the mental health needs of people from diverse backgrounds and the delivery of evidence-based practices to promote healing.