Kathryn T. Luk, LGSW, MSW (she/her) is a doctoral student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work. She received an MSW from the University of Pittsburgh’s joint MSW/PhD program and a BS in Neuroscience with a minor in Public Health from the University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences. Her research interests employ trauma-informed and recovery-oriented lenses to examine service user outcomes associated with experiencing coercion within the mental healthcare system. Her dissertation examines provider- and community-level factors associated with mobile crisis workers’ decisions to deploy coercive interventions. Informed by her personal and professional experiences working with victim/survivors of gender-based violence accessing the mental healthcare system, Kathryn’s long-term goals are to critically evaluate and integrate trauma-informed care and recovery-oriented services into behavioral healthcare services and systems.
Additional Research Activities
- Evaluation of the New York State Assisted Outpatient Treatment Program
Role: Graduate Student Researcher with Dr. Nev Jones, in collaboration with Human Services Research Institute (HSRI)
- Mobile Crisis Teams: Testing the Potential for Perpetuating Disparities
Role: Graduate Student Researcher with Dr. Leah Jacobs
- CDC Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma (ReCAST)
Role: Graduate Student Researcher with Dr. Mary Ohmer & Dr. Leah Jacobs
Representative Publications
Luk, K.T. & Jones, N. (2024). National Seclusion and Restraint Trends within Child Residential Treatment Facilities: 2010-2020 in Review. Psychiatric Quarterly, 95, 253-269. DOI: 10.1007/s11126-024-10069-8
Labrum, T., Luk, K., Newhill, C.E., & Solomon, P. (2024). Relationship quality among persons with serious mental illness and their relatives: Rates and correlates. Psychiatric Quarterly, 95, 681-695. DOI: 10.1007/s11126-024-10098-3
Luk, K.T. & Newhill, C.E. (2023). Hurt Instead of Help: BIPOC clients and sanctuary harm during inpatient care. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work. Under Review.
