Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Victoria M. O’Keefe, PhD, MS, works to achieve strengths-based and culturally informed suicide prevention, mental health promotion, and wellness among Indigenous communities.
Research Interests
American Indian; Alaska Native; Indigenous; Mixed Methods; Suicide; Self-Injury; Psychology; Mental Health
Experiences & Accomplishments
Education
PhD
Oklahoma State University
2016
MS
Oklahoma State University
2012
BS
John Carroll University
2009
Overview
As a member of the Cherokee and Seminole Nations of Oklahoma, I am dedicated to working collaboratively with tribal communities to eradicate health inequities. I am an Associate Director at the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health, where I also conduct research. My community-based participatory research (CBPR) with Native communities focuses on strengths-based and culturally-informed suicide prevention, mental health promotion, and wellness.
Honors & Awards
Cherokee Nation Community Leadership Individual Award (2020)
Child Intervention, Prevention, and Services (CHIPS) Research Training Institute (National Institute of Mental Health, Division of Services and Intervention Research; 2019)
Research Training Institute in Suicide Prevention, Injury Control Research Center for Suicide Prevention (2018)
Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship (2012-2015)
Psychologists in Public Service Wayfinder Award, American Psychological Association, Division 18 (2015)
Child Intervention, Prevention, and Services (CHIPS) Research Training Institute (National Institute of Mental Health, Division of Services and Intervention Research; 2019)
Research Training Institute in Suicide Prevention, Injury Control Research Center for Suicide Prevention (2018)
Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship (2012-2015)
Psychologists in Public Service Wayfinder Award, American Psychological Association, Division 18 (2015)
Select Publications
Select publications
- O’Keefe, V. M., Cwik, M. F., Haroz, E. E., & Barlow, A. Increasing Culturally Responsive Care and Mental Health Equity with Indigenous Community Mental Health Workers. Psychological Services. Advance online publication: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ser0000358
- O'Keefe, V. M., Tucker, R. P., Cole, A. B., Hollingsworth, D. W., & Wingate, L. R. (2018). Understanding Indigenous suicide through a theoretical lens: A review of majority, cultural, and Indigenous frameworks. Transcultural Psychiatry, 55(6), 775-799. doi: 10.1177/1363461518778937
- O'Keefe, V. M. & Reger, G. (2017) Suicide among American Indian/Alaska Native military service members and Veterans. Psychological Services, 14(3), 289-294. doi: 10.1037/ser0000117
- O’Keefe, V. M., Wingate, L. R., Cole, A. B., Hollingsworth, D. W., & Tucker, R. P. (2015). Seemingly harmless racial communications are not so harmless: Racial microaggressions lead to suicidal ideation by way of depression symptoms. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 45(5), 567-576. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12150
- O’Keefe, V. M., Wingate, L. R., Tucker, R. P., Rhoades-Kerswill, S., Slish, M. L., & Davidson, C. L. (2014). Interpersonal suicide risk for American Indians: Investigating thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 20(1), 61-67. doi:10.1037/a0033540