Shawn Utsey

Shawn Utsey is a Professor of Counseling Psychology in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. He earned his Ph.D. from Fordham University in 1997 and has been a tenured faculty member specializing in the psychology of the African-American experience.

Dr. Utsey's research focuses on two primary areas related to the African-American experience:

• Understanding how race-related stress impacts the physical, psychological, and social well-being of African-Americans
• Examining how trauma is manifested in victims of racial violence

Additional research interests include the influence of African-American cultural elements (collective social orientation, spiritual centeredness, verve) on health and well-being indicators. His work explores concepts such as "prolonged activation" of race-related stress and "anticipatory race-related stress," where individuals experience stress in anticipation of potential racism.

Dr. Utsey has conducted significant research on the intergenerational transmission of racial trauma, including interviews with survivors of the 1921 Tulsa race riots and their descendants. His scholarly work examines how chronic exposure to racism affects African-American communities across generations.

His contributions to the field have been recognized with an award from the American Psychological Association (Division 45 and APAGS) in 2004 for his work in ethnic minority psychology and for his dedication as a mentor to students of African descent.

Dr. Utsey is actively engaged in public discourse on race-related psychological issues, as evidenced by his interview with VICE discussing the psychological consequences of being Black in America, police violence, and the mental health implications of systemic racism.