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Concepcion Barrio

Associate Professor

Barrio has a national reputation in mental health services research, particularly the interaction of ethnicity & effective clinical practice.

Media Contact
Concepcion Barrio
Email:  cbarrio@usc.edu
Phone:  +1 213.821.1306
Rank:  Tenure Track Faculty

Concepcion Barrio

Associate Professor

Barrio has a national reputation in mental health services research, particularly the interaction of ethnicity & effective clinical practice.

Media Contact

Biography

Concepcion Barrio has a national reputation in mental health services research, particularly the interaction of ethnicity and effective mental health services. Professor Barrio brings over twenty years of clinical experience with multicultural populations to her research focus on ethnocultural factors in serious mental illness and the cultural relevance of psychosocial services, particularly for Latinx families. Since 1997, she has been the principal investigator on four National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) grants including a research study on the development of a culturally-based family intervention for Mexican-Americans dealing with schizophrenia. She served as Co-PI of an NIMH-R01study focused on improvement of the informed consent process for Latinx with schizophrenia, addressing the underrepresentation of Latinx in mental health and other biomedical research. Her research contributions examine key aspects of ethnic disparities in health and mental health services for Latinx and other underserved and underresearched populations dealing with serious mental illness and co-morbid conditions.
Professor Barrio joined the USC Social Work faculty in 2006 after serving as associate professor in the School of Social Work at San Diego State University, and co-investigator at two research centers funded by NIMH: Child and Adolescent Services Center and Advanced Center for Interventions and Services Research (ACISR) at the University of California, San Diego. She served as the principal investigator of the Latino Studies Unit at the ACISR and continues to maintain research collaborations at that center.
She has served as a standing member on the Services Research Scientific Merit Review Committee at the NIMH, and as an invited member of this Review Committee and other NIMH and NIH Review Panels. Professor Barrio also serves as reviewer for numerous interdisciplinary scientific journals in social work, psychiatry, psychology, public health, anthropology, cultural diversity and mental health services.
Professor Barrio’s extensive clinical practice and research experience informs her teaching expertise in the area of advanced clinical practice in mental health settings and psychopathology and the diagnosis of mental disorders. She is a licensed clinical social worker in California, and as a clinician-researcher provides consultation services to community based organizations and advisory boards.
To reference the work of Concepcion Barrio online, we ask that you directly quote their work where possible and attribute it to "Concepcion Barrio, a faculty at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work” (LINK: https://dworakpeck.usc.edu)

Media

Listen.Up.People. - Podcast Episode 3: Immigration - Fear, hate and mental health

Education

University of Southern California

PhD 1998

University of Southern California

MSW 1980

Loyola Marymount University

BA 1978

Area of Expertise

  • Latinx Mental Health
  • Schizophrenia
  • Serious Mental Illness
  • Latinx Family Caregiving
  • Diversity/Cross-Cultural

Industry Experience

  • Research
  • Mental Health Care
  • Education/Learning

Research Interest

Mental Health Diversity/Cross Cultural Aging

Accomplishments

Mentor Recognition Initiative Honor

CSWE Council on the Role and Status of Women in Social Work Education Mentor Recognition Program, 2011

Hutto Patterson Award for Distinguished Excellence in Teaching & Service

USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, 2011

USC Mellon Award for Excellence in Mentoring

2008

Most Influential Graduate Faculty Award

San Diego State University, School of Social Work, 2005-2006

Articles & Publications

The Relationship between Social Competence, Symptom Severity and Employment in Schizophrenia | Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health

Mercedes Hernandez, Concepción Barrio, Caroline Lim, John S. Brekke
2017 Given the functional impairments associated with schizophrenia, engaging in work activities is challenging for most individuals with the illness. This study examined clinical and social barriers to employment among individuals with schizophrenia.

 

Families and Medication Use and Adherence Among Latinos With Schizophrenia | Journal of Mental Health

Mercedes Hernandez & Concepción Barrio
2016 Medication nonadherence among Latinos with schizophrenia represents a significant treatment obstacle. Although some studies have examined patient and family perceptions of adherence, few have examined these perceptions together. However, such knowledge can provide a deeper understanding of how family processes may contribute to or impede adherence among underserved groups such as Latinos.

 

Bored in Board-and-Care and Other Settings: Perspectives of Latinos With Schizophrenia | Psychiatric Services

Concepción Barrio, Ph.D., L.C.S.W., Dahlia Fuentes, Ph.D., M.P.H., Mercedes Hernandez, Ph.D., L.C.S.W., Paula Helu-Brown, M.S., Barton W. Palmer, Ph.D.
2016 Our practice and research experiences have corroborated the ubiquitous nature of boredom as a legitimate problem among persons with schizophrenia. We report here on data from qualitative interviews conducted with 13 Latinos with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. The data are part of a larger study to determine the effectiveness of an educational intervention to improve the informed consent process. Boredom emerged as a salient theme related to research participation.

 

Remission of Symptoms in Community-based Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services for Individuals With Schizophrenia | APA PsycNET

Lim, Caroline Barrio, Concepción Hernandez, Mercedes Barragán, Armando Yamada, Ann-Marie Brekke, John S.
2016 The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of remission in individuals with schizophrenia at baseline and 6 months after admission to community-based psychosocial rehabilitation and whether baseline intrapersonal and environmental resources predicted remission at 6 months, controlling for relevant demographic and clinical variables.

 

Correlates in the Endorsement of Psychotic Symptoms and Services Use: Findings from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys | Community Mental Health Journal

Armando Barragán, Ann-Marie Yamada, Karen Kyeunghae Lee, Concepción Barrio
2016 Endorsement of psychotic symptoms serves as an indicator of significant health issues and interpersonal distress. Seeking services is the ultimate recourse for many individuals, yet few studies have assessed the help-seeking process in a nationally representative sample. This study, guided by Lewis-Fernández et al.’s (J Nerv Ment Dis 197(5):337–347, 2009) analyses, examined the association of lifetime endorsement of psychotic symptoms with demographic, clinical and support system variables and types of services received.