Thomas Anthony Chávez, Ph.D.
Thomas Anthony Chávez, Ph.D., is a dedicated research faculty member at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Division of Community Behavioral Health. With advanced training in clinical psychology, counseling, and counseling psychology from UNM and the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Dr. Chávez brings over 15 years of hands-on experience providing culturally grounded counseling and psychotherapy across diverse communities in New Mexico, New York, and Wisconsin. A committed educator and advocate, he has taught foundational and advanced courses in multicultural counseling, child and adolescent therapy, school counseling, ethics, and currently leads seminars on social justice, advocacy, and policy for psychology interns and cultural psychiatry for psychiatry residents. Using community-engaged and qualitative research paradigms as well as critical frameworks (e.g., decolonial and liberation psychology), his scholarship focuses on intersectional Latinx behavioral health, centering mental health promotion, substance misuse prevention, experiences with chronic pain, immigrant trauma, and LGBTQAI+ wellbeing. Related experience also includes SAMHSA and NIH-funded program evaluation and community education and training. Dr. Chávez’s work bridges academic research and community priorities, advancing culturally congruent approaches that empower underserved populations and foster health equity.