Lisa Mikesell
Associate Professor of Communication
Faculty, PhD COM Faculty
Biography
Lisa Mikesell’s research consists of three intertwining threads guided by her interest in patient engagement and patient-clinician relationships, particularly as they relate to well-being and mental health communication. The first is situated in community contexts and examines interactional practices of patients, most notably of individuals diagnosed with neuropsychiatric disorders and children to provide a grounded perspective on competence, everyday functioning, and patient engagement. The second is situated in clinic contexts and provides an ecologically sensitive lens on applications of patient- and relationship-centeredness, shared decision-making, and the use of decision support strategies in the clinic. The third highlights patient engagement in the collective sense by exploring the practices, perceptions, and ethics of community-engagement in health communication research.
She was the recipient of the AAUW’s American Dissertation Fellowship and the Child Intervention, Prevention and Services Institute fellowship awarded by the National Institute of Mental Health. Her projects center collaborations with the Department of Family Medicine, Pediatrics, and the Rutgers Cancer Institute that have been funded by the National Cancer Institute, the New Jersey Health Foundation, the New Jersey Alliance for Clinical and Translational Science, and the Rutgers Center for COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparation.
Mikesell serves as a co-editor of the book series "Language, Discourse and Mental Health" (University of Exeter Press), showcasing language and discourse-based approaches to examining mental health/illness. Her current projects critically examine the landscape of mental health communication research within the discipline and also expand community-engaged approaches to incorporate youth as partners in mental health communication research.
Education
Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
M.A., University of California, Los Angeles
B.A., University of Pennsylvania