Mercedes Hernandez

Mercedes Hernandez, Ph.D., LCSW, serves as Associate Professor at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin. Her work addresses systemic mental health disparities among racial/ethnic minorities with serious mental illness, emphasizing culturally responsive care for Latino communities and their families.

Her research priorities include:

• Serious mental illness interventions
• First-episode psychosis treatment
• Mental health equity frameworks
• Culturally adapted evidence-based practices

Current projects analyze sociocultural determinants of care for Latinx families supporting adults with psychiatric disabilities, digital health solutions for substance-exposed pregnancy prevention, and family engagement in early psychosis treatment. This body of work consistently centers cultural humility and structural barriers in mental healthcare access.

Scientific awards: No specific awards documented in source material.

Dr. Hernandez secured National Institute of Mental Health funding for protective factors research in Latino schizophrenia outcomes and completed postdoctoral training on NIMH-funded psychosis duration studies at USC. Her clinical background in community mental health directly informs intervention development.