Dr. Malitta Engstrom Rejoins SIG as a Visiting Scholar

SIG is joined by Visiting Scholar Malitta Engstrom, PhD, on sabbatical from her role as Faculty Director of the Master of Social Work Program at the University of Pennsylvania, where she has also taught social work practice courses for more than 10 years. This marks a return to Columbia for Dr. Engstrom, who received her MSW from Columbia School of Social Work, as well as a PhD in Social Work from the Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Engstrom is a dedicated researcher. Her research is centered on substance use and co-occurring issues, such as victimization, trauma, HIV, and legal issues, with a particular focus on older women, who are often overlooked in HIV and substance use research. Her interest in social work research arose from her time as a clinical social worker, when she observed that evidence-based information to guide practice was limited. “I started working in harm reduction when harm reduction was considered a radical approach,” Dr. Engstrom added. “I coordinated a program where we transitioned from a traditional approach to HIV services to a harm reduction approach. Later I collaborated on research that looked at how service providers think about and draw upon12-step approaches like Alcoholics Anonymous and harm reduction.”

Dr. Engstrom’s work has helped debunk myths about substance use and HIV risk among older adults and older women, and she has collaborated on multiple intervention studies, including finding that an intervention using yoga can reduce stress and substance use among people living with HIV who are returning to the community following incarceration. She emphasizes the important role that social workers can play in reaching people because they interact with so many different people in so many different circumstances. She recently completed a practitioner training program with MSW students at Penn, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to ensure that all students gain competence in evidence-supported practices to assist people experiencing substance use-related concerns. “An enduring component of my research is that it is very much connected to practice, including informing practice and policy, developing interventions, and testing interventions,” she said.

Dr. Engstrom’s focus on evidence-based interventions to guide social work practice brought her into contact with SIG Director Dr. Nabila El-Bassel and Professor Emeritus Edward Mullen as a doctoral student. “Having the research infrastructure of SIG as a doctoral student was incredible,” she said. “Even informal conversations were extremely helpful and got me to think differently about my dissertation and connections between theory and methods. I was able to do far more with my dissertation through my work with SIG than I would have been able to do on my own.”

In addition to her research and teaching, Dr. Engstrom has had an enduring commitment to institutional leadership. Her roles have included MSW Program Faculty Director (Penn), Personnel Committee Chair (Penn), Foundation Practice Sequence Chair (Penn), Clinical Concentration Chair (University of Chicago), Admissions Committee Chair (University of Chicago), and Morningside Institutional Review Board Student Representative (Columbia).

During her time back at SIG, Dr. Engstrom hopes to engage in more of the collaboration that was so important to her as a student at Columbia. She plans to focus several papers that she has currently in process, as well as a new project underway focused on providing support for people to continue their engagement in HIV services and substance use treatment as they leave carceral settings and a grant application focused on supporting women experiencing OUD during pregnancy.

“Columbia has been a special place to me as a social worker and researcher,” Dr. Engstrom said. “I have a profound appreciation for my experience at Columbia and all the faculty, staff, and students who were part of it. There continues to be important research on local and global health and social issues happening at SIG. It’s really meaningful to be reengaging at this phase in my career.”