Faculty Directory
Thomas O'Hare
Associate Professor
Thomas O'Hare
Ph.D.
Contact
McGuinn Hall 124
Telephone: 617-552-4060
Email: thomas.ohare@bc.edu
Education
- B.A., Manhattan College
- M.S.W., Rutgers University
- Ph.D., Rutgers University
Research Interests
Severe mental illness; co-occurring mental health and substance use problems; trauma and mental illness
Expertise
- Clinical Practice
- Mental Health
- Substance Misuse
- Trauma
Profile
As a social worker since 1980, Thomas O'Hare, PhD, has worked as a clinician for 15 years, as a quality assurance evaluator in community mental health for three years, and as a social work instructor and research scholar for over 25 years. As a clinician, Dr. O'Hare worked with adults, children, adolescents, and their families covering an array of mental health concerns. As an instructor he has developed and taught courses on clinical practice, research and evaluation methods, and substance abuse with MSW students, and behavioral science theory with PhD students, many of whom he has successfully mentored through completion of their doctoral degrees.
Dr. O’Hare’s research interests have included substance abuse and mental health concerns in young people. However, during the past ten years he has focused on co-occurring substance use, trauma, and posttraumatic stress symptoms in people with severe mental illness. Given his commitment to integrating research and practice, most of these studies (both funded and unfunded) have been conducted collaboratively with other mental health professionals as part of routine care within the community mental health system. As Dr. O’Hare is equally committed to applying what is currently known about effective practice, he has also authored two well-reviewed texts: Evidence-based practices for social workers: an interdisciplinary approach, and Essential skills of social work practice: assessment, intervention, and evaluation. Lastly, having recently completed a Fulbright-Nehru Grant and qualitative study in Kerala, India, Dr. O’Hare’s interests have expanded to include the way mental health services are delivered in other cultures.
selected publications
O’Hare, T. (2015) Evidence-based practices for social workers: an interdisciplinary approach, second edition. Oxford University Press.
O’Hare, T. (2016) Essential skills of social work practice: assessment, intervention, and evaluation, second edition. Oxford University Press.
O’Hare, T., Shen, C. & Sherrer, M. (2013) Suicide attempts and trauma-related subjective distress in people with severe mental illnesses. Journal of Traumatic Stress Disorders & Treatment, 2, 4, (published online) doi.org/10.4172/2324-8947.1000111
O’Hare, T., Shen, C. & Sherrer, M. (2014) Lifetime trauma and suicide attempts in people with severe mental illness. Community mental health journal, 50, 673-680.
O’Hare, T., Sherrer, M., & Shen, C. (2014) Sudden losses and negative appraisal in people with severe mental illness. Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 84, 664-673.
O’Hare, T., Shen, C. & Sherrer, M. (2015) Lifetime abuse and self-harm in people with severe mental illness: A structural equation model. Psychological trauma: theory, research, practice and policy, 7,4, 348-355.
O’Hare, T., Shen, C. & Sherrer, M. (2016, on line) Witnessing violence and self-harming behaviors in women and men with severe mental illness. Social Work in Mental Health.
O’Hare, T., Shen, C. & Sherrer, M. (2016) Lifetime physical and sexual abuse and self-harm in women with severe mental illness. Violence against women, 22, 1211–1227.
O’Hare, T., Shen, C., & Sherrer, M. (2016). Race, trauma, and suicide attempts: Comparing African-American, white and Hispanic people with severe mental illness. Best Practices in Mental Health, 12, 96-108.
O’Hare, T., Shen, C., & Sherrer, M. (2017, on-line) Racial Differences in Response to Trauma: comparing African-American, white and Hispanic people with severe mental illness. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work.