The DIVAA Lab

Principal Investigator

  • Bernadine Waller, PHD, LMHC

    Profile Headshot
    • Director, Community Engagement, Columbia Community Mental Wellness Center
    • Principal Investigator, DIVAA Lab

Welcome to the DIVAA Lab! The Lab is housed in the Division of Translational Epidemiology and Mental Health Equity at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons and New York State Psychiatric Institute. The lab conducts studies that increase our understanding of the psychosocial needs and outcomes of underserved survivors and those who inflict intimate partner violence (IPV). The lab utilizes a range of community-engaged and implementation science approaches to identify and reduce the mental health burden among historically underserved and under-researched populations. We partner with trusted faith- and community-based organizations to deliver free psychological services and care designed to improve the overall well-being of our community.

Our Research

Our interdisciplinary and translational research includes:

  • Theoretical development and implementation sustainment
  • Interrogating IPV and the mental health burden in underserved communities throughout the lifespan
  • Adaptations of interpersonal counseling (IPC) for depressed IPV survivors to be delivered in faith- and community-based settings
  • Evaluation of treatment engagement among underserved survivors
  • Examining femicide and IPV-related femicide among Black women
  • Training non-traditional providers to deliver interventions in low-resourced communities
  • Co-creating and implementing culturally responsive interventions for survivors and those who inflict violence

Lab Members

  • Sinmi Adeyemo

    • Biology/Pre-Med, Columbia University

  • Morenike Alakiu

    • Biology/Pre-Med, Columbia University

  • Etornam Amesimeku, MPH

    • Biostatistics, New York University

  • Ashley Butler, MSW

    • PhD Student, Adelphi University School of Social Work

  • Whittni Holland, LMSW

    • PhD Candidate, Howard University School of Social Work

  • Tierra Murray, LCSW

    • PhD Student, University of Houston School of Social Work

  • Cassandra Nathan, LMSW

    • Columbia School of Social Work

Alumni

  • Tsering Choedhar

    • Psychology, Boston University

  • Michelle Ridley, PhD, LCSW

    • University of Kansas School of Social Welfare

  • Maraki Solomon

    • Global Health and Health Economics, Stanford University

  • Temiloluwa Adeyemo

    • Provost Scholar, University of California, San Diego Medical School

  • Chiamaka Chide, MA

    • Mental Health Counseling, Teacher’s College at Columbia

  • Pratibha Nadav, MA

    • Psychology, Teacher’s College at Columbia

  • Alyse Johnson

    • Psychology, Spelman College

  • Vidhi Nayee, MSW

    • Stony Brook University

  • SeugJu Lee, MSW, PhD

    • Assistant Professor, California State University, Chico

Select Publications

  • Waller BY, Johnson KA, Goddard-Eckrich D, +Holland W, +Richardson-Ridley M, Wilson AM, +Chide C, Taffy A, +Adeyemo T, Bent-Goodley TB. “I thought I was going to die”: Identifying gaps in the intimate partner violence service provision system for Black women. J Interpers Violence. 2025 Mar 12:8862605251319020. doi: 10.1177/08862605251319020. PMID: 40071839

  • Goodwill J & Waller BY. Barriers to mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic for Black adults in the United States. J Soc Social Work Res. 2024 Dec. https://doi.org/10.1086/734288

  • Waller BY, Joseph VA, Keyes KM. Racial inequities in homicide rates and homicide methods among Black and White women aged 25–44 years in the USA, 1999–2020: A cross-sectional time series study. Lancet. 2024 Mar 9;403(10430):935-945. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)02279-1. PMID: 38342127

  • Waller BY, +Lee SJ, +Legros NC, Ombayo BK, Mootz JJ, Green MC, Hankerson SH, +Williams SN, *Williams JE, Wainberg ML. Interventions targeting depression and posttraumatic stress disorder in United States Black women experiencing intimate partner violence: A systematic review. Trauma Violence Abuse. 2024 Jul;25(3):2078-2089. doi: 10.1177/15248380231206113. PMID: 37937723.

  • Waller BY, Goddard-Eckrich D, Kagotho N, Hankerson SH, *Hawks A, Wainberg ML. Sarah Waller’s help-seeking model: Understanding African American women intimate partner violence survivors’ help-seeking process. J Interpers Violence. 2023 Jun;38(11-12):7170-7192. doi: 10.1177/08862605221141869. PMID: 36583331

  • Waller BY, Bent-Goodley TB. “I have to fight to get out”: African American women intimate partner violence survivors’ construction of agency. J Interpers Violence. 2023 Feb;38(3-4):4166-4188. doi: 10.1177/08862605221113008. PMID: 35876177

  • Waller BY, Joyce PA, Quinn CR, Hassan Shaari AA, Boyd DT. “I am the one that needs help”: The theory of help-seeking behavior for survivors of intimate partner violence. J Interpers Violence. 2023 Jan;38(1-2):NP288-NP310. doi: 10.1177/08862605221084340. PMID: 35350920

  • Waller BY, Harris J, Quinn CR. Caught in the crossroad: An intersectional examination of African American women intimate partner violence survivors’ help seeking. Trauma Violence Abuse. 2022 Oct;23(4):1235-1248. doi: 10.1177/1524838021991303. PMID: 33596772

  • Waller B. Broken fixes: A systematic analysis of the effectiveness of modern and postmodern interventions utilized to decrease IPV perpetration among Black males remanded to treatment. Aggression & Violent Behavior. 2016 Mar 1;27:42-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2016.02.003.