Therese Todd

AFFILIATED SCHOLAR

Therese Todd is a NYU Provostial Faculty Fellow in the School of Law and has worked with the Policing Project since fall 2023. She holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Forensic Psychology from the CUNY Graduate Center through John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She earned an M.Phil. in Psychology from the CUNY Graduate Center and an M.A. in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College. Her B.A. is in Psychology from the University of California Los Angeles. During her Ph.D. program, Therese received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and was a research fellow at the Vera Institute of Justice.

Therese’s research focuses on mental health disparities in the criminal justice system. Specifically, she explores how police and communities respond to behavioral health crises, with a special interest in non-police alternative response programs. She is passionate about translational applied research to inform public health and criminal justice policy and change. She uses a diverse range of mixed-methods to apply the most rigorous research design tailored to each research question. As a clinical psychologist, Therese has a specialization in the treatment of serious mental illness, specifically psychosis and PTSD. Therese leverages her dual expertise as a clinician and researcher to advance evidence-based solutions that strengthen crisis response systems, challenge stigma, and expand equitable access to care for individuals with behavioral health needs.