Teresa G. Vargas, PhD
RESEARCHER AND CLINICAL SCIENTIST
EXAMINING THE INTERPLAY OF STRESS, NEIGHBORHOODS, COMMUNITIES, AND MENTAL HEALTH
UPDATES
Summer 2025
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Video summary of latest study
Watch our video summarizing the findings of our most recent study published in Developmental Science, showing that community education supports could be particularly beneficial for learning for youth from highly disadvantaged communities:
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Our study was featured in local newspaper the Bay State Banner
I led a study of nearly 30,000 Massachusetts students using data from Dr. Randi Schuster’s team at the Mass General Center for School Behavioral Health. Students in schools with more mental health staff reported fewer mental health challenges—especially in communities facing greater disadvantage. The study was featured in the Bay State Banner’s coverage of Boston’s youth mental health efforts.
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ABOUT ME
I earned my B.S. from the University of Miami in 2014, double majoring in Psychology and English Literature. From there, I completed my Clinical Internship in the Cognitive Behavioral Track at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School and received my PhD in Clinical Psychology from Northwestern University in 2023.
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​Currently, I'm serving as a postdoctoral fellow at the Stress and Development Lab in the Harvard College of Arts and Sciences. My primary research focuses on understanding how neighborhood and community-level factors contribute to mental illness vulnerability. I’ve been looking at how neighborhoods and communities can influence mental health, aiming to identify biological, cognitive, and emotional mechanisms underlying their impact on individuals.
Millions of children in the United States and around the world live in neighborhoods where they do not feel safe. More and more families are struggling to meet basic needs, and many neighborhoods lack the resources children need to grow up healthy and thrive. In addition, numerous neighborhoods foster feelings of exclusion or a lack of belonging, contributing to the nationwide rise in loneliness and mental illness. My work seeks to understand how these structural and environmental factors influence development and mental health. By deepening our understanding, I hope to move us closer to identifying effective strategies for prevention and intervention.
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Clinically, I treat adolescents and adults with anxiety and depression, and specialize in evidence-based assessment and treatment for adolescents and adults dealing with severe mental illness and complex psychopathology. My training background is in full protocol dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
RESEARCH &
DATA ANALYSIS
MENTAL
HEALTH
NEURO
DEVELOPMENT
EVIDENCE-BASED
ASSESSMENT & TREATMENT
BI-LINGUAL TREATMENT
COMMUNITY LEVEL PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION​
CURRICULUM VITAE
LICENSED CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST
2024-PRESENT
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
2023-PRESENT
Massachusetts
PSY10000583
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW
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Postdoctoral Fellow, Stress and Development Lab
MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
2022-2023
CLINICAL FELLOW
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Clinical Fellow in Psychology
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APA Accredited Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Track
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
2018-2023
Ph.D.,
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
2016-2018
Master of Science,
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI
2010-2014
Bachelor of Science
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Double majors in Psychology and English Literature
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Minor in Biology
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General University Honors, and Latin honors (Cum Laude)
RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS
My work has focused on severe mental illness and identifying markers and mechanisms that might help us understand how that vulnerability happens. I’ve been particularly interested in neighborhood and community-level influences on mental illness vulnerability and understanding underlying processes of influence.
CLINICAL EXPERIENCE
I provide evidence-based therapy to adolescents and adults in outpatient, hospital, and community settings. My clinical work includes Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and I have experience adapting CBT for individuals with severe mental illness, including psychosis. I specialize in helping clients manage anxiety, depression, and stress, and am committed to culturally sensitive care. I offer therapy in both English and Spanish, using a structured, collaborative approach focused on building practical skills and strengths, and centering values and fulfillment.
CONTACT
For inquiries about professional consultations, academic collaborations, or research opportunities, please reach out.
I look forward to hearing from you!
