Christian Nicholas Adames

Christian is a Counseling Psychology PhD student at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he conducts research within the Stigma, Identity, and Intersectionality Research Lab. Broadly, his research, clinical, and teaching interests take an intersectional and decolonial approach to understanding how systems and institutions affect the mental and sexual health of multiply-marginalized people—with a specific interest in the well-being of LGBTQ+ BIPOC adolescents and emerging adults.

To explore these interests, Christian has engaged in mixed methods research exploring the effects of oppression, privilege, and collective identity attitudes on the mental health and career development of sexual, gender, and racial/ethnic minority people. He is a predoctoral fellow in the SAMHSA-funded American Psychological Association Minority Fellowship Program, which provides support to develop his research and clinical skills working with racial and ethnic minority people. Currently, Christian is the Principal Investigator of a scale development project to better assess the unique manifestations of minority stress that impact sexual minority Latinx people.

Prior to arriving at Columbia University, Christian worked at Northwestern University’s Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing, where he engaged in community-based participatory research and program evaluation projects focused on HIV prevention and treatment, substance use, and the mental health of LGBTQ+ young people.

He received his MA degree in Clinical Psychology and Education—as well as an Advanced Certificate in Sexuality, Women, and Gender—from Teachers College, and holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Chicago.

In addition to being a CPRC Fellow, Christian is also a psychology extern at two outpatient clinics in the New York City area, where he provides bilingual (English/Spanish) psychotherapy and assessment services to children, adolescents, and young adults.