Stephania Hayes, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry,
University of California, Davis
Dr. Stephania Hayes joined EPI-CAL in 2021 as a Post-Doctoral Research Scholar researching topics such as rural mental health access and peer support under the Coordinated Specialty Care model. She brings a broad range of research, clinical, and personal expertise to the team. Dr. Hayes received her Ph.D. in Social Welfare from UC Berkeley, where her dissertation examined occupational stress in a large sample of peer support specialists across the US. Her prior work spans the areas coercive mental health treatment, apprehension toward clinical care, administration of consumer-driven mental health programs, and body-focused repetitive behaviors. She has methodological interests in measure development, utilization of large administrative datasets, and increasing accessibility of scientific findings to benefit general audiences. Dr. Hayes completed clinical training and her M.A. in Occupational Therapy at the University of Southern California, with field rotations on an Assertive Community Treatment team and an inpatient psychiatric unit for patients with complex medical needs. As a Certified Peer Support Specialist, she directed an innovative community program which blended creative arts and mental health recovery-oriented education for diverse groups throughout Riverside County. At UC Davis, she has enjoyed building on this mix of experiences. Now an Assistant Professor and member of the Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) and Learning Health Care Network (LHCN) Programs, Dr. Hayes leads the Lived Experience Integration Team which works to center the perspectives of service users in all aspects of research and practice in the EPI-CAL network. Her current research uses state-level health utilization data to estimate incidence of early psychosis and need for services across California. Dr. Hayes also mentors peer support providers at the EDAPT and SacEDAPT clinics.
