Shannon Gwin Mitchell Research Scientist Degrees: Ph.D., Human Services Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County                  M.A., Clinical Psychology, University of South Dakota Phone: 410-837-3977 ext. 238 Fax: 410-752-4218 Email: smitchell@friendsresearch.org

Research Interests

Dr. Mitchell is a Community Psychologist specializing in health promotion and disease prevention research.  She has spent the last decade working with Baltimore City residents who battle substance abuse, and its concomitant illnesses and treatments.  Her ethnographic research at Friends, much like her previous work at Johns Hopkins University, focuses primarily on the heroin addicted population.  

Shannon Gwin Mitchell’s research interests are diverse.  Her work focuses not just on individuals, but the systems in which they work and live, and how those systems impact individual and organizational functioning.  Her current research examines issues of entry and engagement into community-based methadone treatment centers.  Dr. Mitchell’s prior work has examined a variety of social factors within the HIV/substance abuse field, including issues of social support, disclosure, outreach worker credibility, and the role of social networks.  In addition, she has published on the topics of crisis intervention and worksite health promotion, as well as on a variety of methodological issues.        

Dr. Mitchell is a member of the American Public Health Association, the Society for Community Research and Action (Division 27 of APA), the Eastern Psychological Association, and the Society for Applied Anthropology.  She is the Co-chair of the Community Health Interest Group within SCRA, serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Emergency Mental Health, and as a reviewer for several national and international peer-reviewed journals.  Dr. Mitchell has also worked in the private sector as a Senior Research Leader with Thomson Healthcare (Washington, DC) and has worked as a private research consultant.    

Selected Publications

Della, L. J., DeJoy, D. M., Mitchell, S. G., Goetzel, R. Z., Chung-Roemer, E., & Wilson, M. G. (in press). Management support and workplace health promotion:  Field test of the Leading by Example (LBE) assessment tool.  American Journal of Health Promotion. Abstract

Mitchell, S. G., & Lounsbury, D.  (in press). Community Psychology.  To appear in Encyclopedia of Cross-Cultural School Psychology.  Springer.

Mitchell, S. G., Kelly, S. M., Brown, B. S., Reisinger, H. S., Peterson, J. A., Ruhf, A., Agar, M. H., O’Grady, K. E.& Schwartz, R. P. (in press). Uses of diverted methadone and buprenorphine by opioid-addicted individuals in Baltimore, Maryland.  The American Journal on Addictions. Abstract

Mitchell, S. G., Kelly, S. M., Brown, B. S., Reisinger, H. S., Peterson, J. A., Ruhf, A., Agar, M. H., & Schwartz, R. P. (in press). Incarceration and opioid withdrawal: The experiences of methadone patients and out-of-treatment heroin users.  Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. Abstract

Reisinger, H. S., Schwartz, R. P., Mitchell, S. G., Peterson, J. A., Kelly, S. M., O’Grady, K. E., Marrari, E. A., Brown, B. S., & Agar, M. H. (in press).  Premature discharge from methadone treatment: Patient perspectives.  Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. Abstract

Peterson, J. A., Schwartz, R. P., Mitchell, S. G., Reisinger, H. S., Kelly, S. M., O’Grady, K. E., Brown, B. S., & Agar, M. H. (in press). Why don’t out-of-treatment individuals enter methadone treatment programs? International Journal of Drug Policy. Abstract

Frye, V., Fortin, P., MacKenzie, S., Purcell, D., Edwards, L., V., Mitchell, S. G., Valverde, E., Garfein, R. S., Metsch, L., Latka, M. H. (2009). Managing identity impacts associated with disclosure of HIV status: A qualitative investigation.  AIDS Care, 21(8), 1071-1078. Abstract

Kelly, S. M., Schwartz, R. P., O’Grady, K. E., Mitchell, S. G., Reisinger, H. S., Peterson, J. A., Agar, M. H., & Brown, B. S. (2009).  Gender differences among in- and out-of-treatment opioid-addicted individuals. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 35, 38-42. Abstract

Schwartz, R. P., Kelly, S. M., O’Grady, K. E., Mitchell, S. G., Peterson, J. A., Reisinger, H. S., Agar, M. H., & Brown, B. S. (2008).  Attitudes toward buprenorphine and methadone among opioid-dependent individuals. The American Journal on Addictions, 17(5), 396-401. Abstract

Peterson, J. P., Reisinger, H. S., Schwartz, R. P., Mitchell, S. G., Kelly, S. M., Brown, B. S., & Agar, M. H. (2008). Targeted sampling in drug abuse research: A review and case study.  Field Methods, 20(2), 155-170. Abstract

Mitchell, S. G., Goetzel, R. Z., & Ozminkowski, R. J. (2008).  The value of worksite health promotion.  ACSM’s Heath and Fitness Journal, 12(2), 23-27. Abstract

Schwartz, R. P., Kelly, S. M., O’Grady, K. E., Peterson, J. A., Reisinger, H. S., Mitchell, S. G., Wilson, M. E., Agar, M. H. & Brown, B. S. (2008).  In-treatment v. out-of-treatment opioid dependent adults: Drug use and criminal history. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 34(1), 17-28. Abstract

Mitchell, S. G., Edwards, L. V., Mackenzie, S., Knowlton, A., Valverde, E., Arnsten, J., Santibanez, S., Latka, M. H., & Mizuno, Y. (2007). Participants’ descriptions of social support within a multi-site intervention for HIV-seropositive injection drug users (INSPIRE).  Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 46(Suppl. 2), S55-S63. Abstract

Lounsbury, D., & Mitchell, S. G. (2007). Introduction: Special Issue on Community Health and Community Health Research. The Community Psychologist.

Mitchell, S. G., Peterson, J. A. & Latkin, C. A. (2006). The impact of drug use on perceptions of credibility in indigenous outreach workers. Qualitative Health Research, 16, 1108-1119. Abstract

Peterson, J. A., Mitchell, S. G., Hong, Y., Agar, M. H., & Latkin, C. A. (2006). Getting clean and harm reduction: Adversarial or complimentary issues for injection drug users. Cad. Saude Publica, 22(4), 733-740. ISSN 0102-311X. Abstract

Mitchell, S. G., & Mitchell, J. T. (2006). Caplan, community, and critical incident stress management. International Journal of Emergency Mental Health, 8(1), 5-14. Abstract

Peterson, J. A., Mitchell, S. G., & Latkin, C. A. (2005). The shooting gallery: Opportunities and implications for the introduction of an ethnographic HIV prevention intervention. AIDS and Anthropology Bulletin, 17(2), 26-28. Abstract

Hong, Y., Mitchell, S. G., Peterson, J. A., Latkin, C. A., Tobin, K., & Gann, D. (2005).  Ethnographic process evaluation: Piloting an HIV prevention intervention program among injection drug users. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 4(1), Article 1. Abstract

Mitchell, S. G. (2005). Developing our emergency mental health research capacity: Taming the chaos in a multidisciplinary field. International Journal of Emergency Mental Health, 7(1), 1-4.

Antonellis, P. J., & Mitchell, S.G. (2005).  Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Firefighters: The Calls that Stick with You. Ellicott City, MD: Chevron Publishing.

Mitchell, S. G., Peterson, J. A., & Kaya, S. (2004). Making the switch to digital audio.  International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 3(4), Article 6.

Mitchell, S. G., & Loomis, C. (2000).  Faculty-graduate student mentoring:  A community psychology perspective.  The Community Psychologist, 33(4), 19-20.