S. Megan Berthold, PhD

Professor

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S. Megan Berthold, Ph.D., MSW, LCSW, is a professor at the UConn School of Social Work. Dr. Berthold is an expert in trauma recovery, human rights–based social work, and the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers, including survivors of torture and genocide. She has extensive experience conducting research and program evaluation with individuals and communities affected by severe human rights violations.

Dr. Berthold has served as an expert witness in hundreds of asylum hearings and is a national leader in torture treatment research and policy. She currently serves as Principal Investigator of the U.S. National Consortium of Torture Treatment Programs (NCTTP) Study, a collaborative study involving specialized torture treatment centers from across the United States. This research advances evidence-based practice and data-driven advocacy for survivors of torture.

Dr. Berthold’s epidemiological and community-based participatory research with Cambodian genocide survivors living in the United States and in rural Cambodia examines health intervention and behavior change in a population experiencing profound health disparities and extremely high rates of comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, type 2 diabetes and hypertension, and stroke. This work has important implications for the prevention and management of complex health conditions among newer refugee populations.

Her scholarship has been grounded in interdisciplinary and community-engaged collaboration with researchers and clinicians from the School of Social Work, the School of Pharmacy, and UConn Health, as well as community partners including Khmer Health Advocates—a Connecticut-based nonprofit and lead agency of the National Cambodian American Health Initiative—and the Cambodian Diabetes Association in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

She is actively engaged in a long-term research program regarding the community sponsorship of refugees in the United States with colleagues Dr. Kathryn Libal, professor in the School of Social Work and professor of human rights; Dr. Scott Harding, associate professor and associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Social Work; and current and former doctoral students.

Additionally, Dr. Berthold is a widely published scholar, with her work appearing in leading journals and edited volumes across social work, public health, health, and trauma. Her publications include highly cited research on the mental health of Cambodian refugees in JAMA; studies of barriers to mental health care utilization in Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology; contributions to the revision of Harvard Trauma Questionnaire in European Journal of Public Health; examinations of comorbid physical and mental health conditions in Journal of Community Health; and practice-focused work such as social work with trauma survivors in Social Work. She is also the author of the book Human Rights-Based Approaches to Clinical Social Work Practice and co-author of Working with Refugees in the U.S.: Trauma-Informed and Structurally Competent Social Work Approaches.

She also serves on the Executive Committee of the NCTTP, the Editorial Advisory Board of Torture Journal, and the Research Advisory Board of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT).

Dr. Berthold earned her Ph.D. in social welfare from the University of California, Los Angeles, her MSW in clinical social work with a specialization in health and mental health from the University of Utah, and her BA in government from Harvard-Radcliffe College.

The UConn Immigration Detention Service Project that Dr. Berthold co-organized received the Light of Liberty Award (2017) from the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center, honoring outstanding pro bono service to immigrants in detention and commitment to human rights and immigrant justice.

Previously, Dr. Berthold was selected as the National Social Worker of the Year by the National Association of Social Work (NASW) in 2009 for her work with torture survivors.

Dr. Berthold was awarded a 2024-2025 Fulbright Canada Distinguished Chair in Public Affairs in North America: Society, Policy, Media, Carleton University. She conducted interviews of refugees, community sponsors, and providers across Canada for her study, Community Sponsorship of Refugees in Canada: Best Practices & Lessons Learned Emerging from Pandemic.

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