Feion Villodas, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Clinical Internship
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA
Ph.D., Clinical Psychology
University of California, San Diego/San Diego State University Joint Doctoral Program, San Diego, CA
M.P.H., Health Promotion
San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
M.S., Clinical Psychology
San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
M.A., Clinical Psychology
San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
B.A., Psychology
San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
Bio: Feion Villodas, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and educator in the Department of Psychology at San Diego State University. Her work is driven by a commitment to improving mental and behavioral health for Black, Latinx, and other historically underserved communities. She specializes in developing and adapting evidence-based programs that are culturally responsive and designed to reduce long-standing inequities in health and education.
Dr. Villodas has led and contributed to research projects supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the Children’s Trust of Miami, as well as the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and the Institute of Education Sciences. Across these projects, she works closely with schools, families, and community partners to ensure that effective mental health services are accessible, relevant, and sustainable.
In addition to her research and teaching, Dr. Villodas is a clinical supervisor in the SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, where she mentors doctoral trainees in one of the nation’s leading clinical psychology programs. She is trained in a range of evidence-based therapies, including Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, trauma-focused treatments, and family-centered interventions.
Research Interests: My research focuses on addressing mental and behavioral health disparities among African-Americans and Latino/as. I am particularly interested in acculturation, cultural competence, community-based participatory research approaches and the adaptation and implementation of effective treatments for culturally diverse populations.
I was the co-developer and founding Director of the After-school Treatment Program (ATP) at Florida International University in Miami. The ATP was a community-based adaptation of the Summer Treatment Program for ADHD that was designed for implementation with Latino/a elementary school children with attention and behavioral challenges and their in an afterschool setting. I currently serve as a Co-Investigator on school-based intervention studies conducted by the HCFD Lab that aim to improve access to evidence-based interventions through schools for Black and Latino/a children with attention and behavioral problems. In this role, I work with school and community stakeholders to culturally adapt evidence-based intervention strategies and train school mental health providers to implement them with underserved children and families.