Dr. Joelle Taos Taknint (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and a practicing clinical psychologist at Boston Medical Center (BMC). Dr. Taknint is Director of Behavioral Health for the Immigrant and Refugee Health Center (IRHC) at BMC. Dr. Taknint also oversees the Therapeutic Assessment and Psychological Testing (TAPT) service housed in outpatient psychiatry, which is the generalist psychological assessment service for adult patients. There is a small research arm to the TAPT service which evaluates the longitudinal effects of therapeutic assessment, for which Dr. Taknint is principal investigator.

Dr. Taknint’s research expertise is in immigrant and refugee mental health across the lifespan. Her research has focused on strengthening relationships amongst immigrant and refugee families, the psychological effects of discrimination on migrants in the US and Canada, and the roles of migrant receiving communities and healthcare systems in fostering refugee well being. Dr. Taknint leverages qualitative and quantitative methodologies in her research to promote mental health equity. Dr. Taknint is trained in prevention science, and enjoys working with community partners to evaluate and sustain mental health programming that is community grown. Dr. Taknint is a settler in the U.S., and a 2nd generation immigrant of Amazigh (indigenous North African), European, and Middle Eastern ancestry.