Sara Matsuzaka

Biography

Sara Matsuzaka, Assistant Professor, received her PhD in Social Work from Fordham University. Before joining Montclair State University, she completed a postdoctoral research appointment in the Department of Psychology at the University of Virginia. Dr. Matsuzaka has worked as a NY-state licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) in substance use treatment and private practice settings. As such, she is deeply intentional about producing research that can be directly applied to promoting enhanced mental health and substance use treatment care for marginalized and stigmatized groups. Accordingly, Dr. Matsuzaka’s research focuses on understanding and addressing how stigma contributes to mental health and substance use-related inequities among marginalized and stigmatized groups, particularly at the intersections of race, gender, and sexual identity. Specifically, her research has two areas of focus: 1) stigma and inequities in substance use and substance use treatment, and 2) the application of intersectionality in social work research and practice.

Research

substance use, clinical social work, mental health, intersectionality, online racism