Janice Habarth

Dr. Janice Habarth serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Palo Alto University, holding key leadership roles including Associate Director for Academic and Research Training in the Clinical Psychology PhD Program, Director of the Meditation & Psychology Area of Emphasis, and faculty advisor for the Psychological Association for Gender Expression and Sexual Orientation (PAGES) student group.

Her academic credentials include:

• PhD in Clinical Psychology and Women’s Studies from the University of Michigan (2008)
• BA in Anthropology from Eastern Michigan University (1996)

Employing feminist and critical science frameworks, Dr. Habarth investigates healthcare provider cultural competencies, minority stress, and socially normative attitudes regarding gender and sexual orientation. She developed the Heteronormative Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (2015) and co-created the Gender Minority Stress and Resilience Scale (2015), with research aimed at improving healthcare delivery for diverse populations through evidence-based cultural competence.

Her publication portfolio demonstrates consistent focus on gender/sexual minority health disparities, heteronormativity, and stress resilience mechanisms. Recent work examines transgender mental health in international contexts, psychosocial functioning in same-sex relationships, and trauma recovery among military veterans using mixed-methods approaches including large-scale surveys and psychometric scale development.

Dr. Habarth actively mentors doctoral students, with multiple student co-authorships across her publications. Her research initiatives include the U-M ADVANCE Project assessing campus climate for sexual minority graduate students and a medical student wellness study conducted during her postdoctoral fellowship at Michigan State University.

She directs the Personality & Social Norms Research Lab where mindfulness interventions are integrated with psychological science to address health disparities, and oversees the Meditation & Psychology Area of Emphasis curriculum development at PAU.