Dena T. Smith is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), where she researches, writes, and teaches about the mental health professions, gender and mental health, and the sociology of medicine more broadly. Dr. Smith’s book, Medicine over Mind: Mental Health Practice in the Biomedical Era, was published by Rutgers University Press in 2019. The book describes the consequences of medicalization for mental health practitioners with a focus on the role of the DSM in practice, as well as doctors’ ideas about etiology and treatment. Smith explores the different impacts of the biomedical model on practitioners with diverse training backgrounds. Her other central area of research is on men’s mental health, specifically how masculinity beliefs impact mental health outcomes. Her co-authored articles on this topic are published in The American Journal of Men’s Health and Sex Roles. Dr. Smith is also affiliate faculty in the School of Public Policy, the Doctoral Program in Language, Literacy and Culture, as well as in the Department of Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies at UMBC. Smith received her Ph.D. from the Department of Sociology at Rutgers University. She has also taught at Goucher College.
