Dr. Hsu investigates how basic cognitive processes (e.g., attention, executive functioning) impact the etiology and exacerbate symptom severity of depression and anxiety. He is also interested in scalable mental health interventions (e.g., cognitive training, brief interventions) and examining mechanisms underlying psychotherapeutic interventions, as well as increasing awareness of issues surrounding mental health and stigma in communities that are typically under-served or under-utilize mental health services. Clinically, Kean specializes in the treatment of depression, anxiety disorders, and stress in adults.
Kean completed a B.A. in psychology (with a behavioral neuroscience specialization) at Yale University before receiving his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Southern California in 2014. He completed postdoctoral research fellowships at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Texas at Austin. Most recently, Kean was a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin in the Institute for Mental Health Research and the Department of Psychology. He also co-directed the Anxiety and Stress Clinic with Jasper Smits, Ph.D., at UT-Austin.
Specifically, Dr. Hsu has helped to develop two mental health interventions, BASIC (Brief Assessment-informed Skills Intervention for COVID-19) and STAT (Short-term Transdiagnostic Anxiety Treatment). He is already actively involved in integrating BASIC, a brief personalized treatment based on patient-identified treatment targets using skills adapted from empirically supported interventions, into the Department of Psychiatry’s fast-track response to COVID-19 for Medstar associates. He will be offering training in BASIC to residents, fellows and faculty in the near term.