Alinne Barrera, PhD
Position:
Professor
Director, PhD in Clinical Psychology Program
Contact Information:
abarrera@paloaltou.eduPrograms:
PhD Program in Clinical Psychology
Education:
PhD, Clinical Psychology, University of Colorado, Boulder
MA, Clinical Psychology, University of Colorado, Boulder
BA, Psychology, University of California, Berkeley
Biography:
Alinne Barrera, PhD is a California licensed clinical psychologist. She is an expert clinician and researcher whose scholarly work focuses on depression prevention, intervention adaptations, and the use of technology to disseminate perinatal mental health resources and interventions. Dr. Barrera is an internationally known expert trainer and consultant on the implementation of the Mothers and Babies Course (MB) which was recognized by the US Preventive Services Task Force as an evidence-based prevention intervention for high-risk perinatal persons. She created and empirically tested the first digital versions of the MB, the Mothers and Babies Online Course (www.eMB.health) and the BabyText Program (SMS version).
Dr. Barrera previously served as an Executive Board Member and Clinical Advisor at the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health and on the Clinical Advisory Board to digital platform companies (EmmaWell, Canopie). Most recently, she served as Chief of the Adult Psychosocial Interventions Research Program in the Division of Services and Intervention Research at the National Institute of Mental Health, where she managed a portfolio of extramural grants and provided technical assistance for clinical trials focused on developing, adapting, and implementing evidence-based treatments in real-world settings.
Alinne Barrera, PhD joined the PAU faculty in 2009. She is a Full Professor and the Director of the PhD Clinical Psychology Program.
Areas of Interest:
Depression prevention and perinatal mental health
Evidence-based and digital mental health interventions
Treatment adaptations for underserved and/or diverse populations and for use in real-world settings
Selected Publications:
Armas, A., Corona, K. , & Barrera, A.Z. (2025). Developing a brief online psychoeducational intervention for Latina survivors of intimate partner violence. Women’s Health, 21. https://doi:10.1177/17455057251329638
Baez, L., Hamil, J., McBride, E., Czech, K., Taple, B.J., Santillano, A., Huang, M., Barrera, A.Z., & Tandon, S.D. (2024). Developing a coaching protocol to provide human support for the Mothers and Babies Online (eMB) perinatal mental health intervention. Internet Interventions, 38, 100792. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2024.100792
Platt, R., Polk, S., Barrera, A.Z. et al. (2024). Mothers and Babies Virtual Group (MBVG) for perinatal Latina women: Study protocol for a hybrid type-1 effectiveness-implementation randomized controlled trial. Trials, 25, 606. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-024-08423-z
Morris, S.Y., & Barrera, A. Z. (2024). A decolonized mental health framework for black women and birthing people. Journal of Lesbian Studies, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/10894160.2024.2356994
Barrera, A.Z., Morris, S.Y., & Ruiz, A. (2022). Mothers and Babies Online Course: Participant characteristics and behaviors in a web-based prevention of postpartum depression. Frontiers in Global Women’s Health. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgwh.2022.846611
Barrera, A.Z., Hamil, J.L., & Tandon, S.D. (2021). Feasibility and acceptability of integrating SMS into a postpartum depression preventive intervention delivered in home visitation programs. JMIR Form Res, 5(11): e30995. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/30995
Muñoz, R.F., Le, HN., Barrera, A.Z., & Pineda, B. (2021). Leading the charge toward a world without depression: Perinatal depression can be prevented. Archives of Women’s Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-021-01160-1
Muñoz, R.F., Leykin, Y., Barrera, A.Z., Dunn, L.B., Gutierrez, R., Curland, R.A., & Pineda, B.S. (2021). Who comes to a self-help depression prevention website? Characteristics of Spanish- and English-speaking visitors. Internet Interventions, 23, 100359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2020.100359
Lara-Cinisomo, S., Ramirez, A., Rosales, M., & Barrera, A.Z. (2021). A systematic review of technology-based prevention and treatment interventions for perinatal depression and anxiety in Latina and African American women. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 25, 268–281. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-020-03028-9
Barrera, A.Z., Moh, Y., Nichols, A., & Le, H.-L. (2020). The reliability and validity of the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) among an international sample of pregnant women. Journal of Women’s Health. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2020.8320
Osma, J.L., Suso-Ribera, C., Martínez-Borba, V., & Barrera, A.Z. (2020). Content and format preferences of a depression prevention program: A study in perinatal women. Annals of Psychology, 3(1), 56-63. https://doi.org/10.6018/analesps.356051
Barrera, A. Z., Aguilera, A., Inlow, N., & Servin, J. (2019). BabyText: Examining the acceptability of a brief SMS program for perinatal women. Health Informatics Journal, 26(2), 1079-1087. https://doi.org/10.1177/1460458219866560
Ramphos, E.S., Kelman, A.R., Stanley, M.L., & Barrera, A. Z. (2019). Responding to women's needs and preferences in an online program to prevent postpartum depression. Internet Interventions, 18, 100275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2019.100275
Rodriguez, R., Rocha, I., & Barrera, A.Z. (2019). Depression: Triggers among Latinx adolescent girls. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 41(3), 412-426. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739986319860509
Kelman, A.R., Evare, B.S., Barrera, A.Z., Muñoz, R.F., & Gilbert, P. (2018). A proof-of- concept pilot randomized comparative trial of brief Internet-based compassionate mind training and cognitive-behavioral therapy for perinatal and intending to become pregnant women. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 25(4), 608-619. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2185
Barrera, A.Z., Dunn, L.B., Nichols, A., Reardon, S., & Muñoz, R.F. (2016). Getting it ‘right’: Ensuring informed consent for an online clinical trial. Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics, 11(4) 291–298. https://doi.org/10.1177/1556264616668974
Osma, J.L., Barrera, A.Z., & Ramphos, E. (2016). Are pregnant and postpartum women interested in health-related apps? Implications for the prevention of perinatal depression. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 19(6), 412-415. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2015.0549
Kelman, A.R., Stanley, M.L., Barrera, A.Z., Cree, M., Heineberg, Y., & Gilbert, P. (2016). Comparing brief Internet-based compassionate mind training and cognitive-behavioral therapy for perinatal women: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 5(2), e65. https://www.researchprotocols.org/2016/2/e65
Barrera, A.Z., Wickham, R., & Muñoz, R.F. (2015). Online prevention of postpartum depression for Spanish- and English-speaking pregnant women: A pilot randomized controlled trial. Internet Interventions, 2(3), 257-265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2015.06.002
Barrera, A.Z., & Nichols, A.D. (2015). Depression help-seeking attitudes and behaviors among a web-based sample of perinatal women in Latin America. Pan American Journal of Public Health, 37(3), 148-153. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25988251/
Barrera, A.Z., Kelman, A., & Muñoz, R.F. (2014). Keywords to recruit Spanish- and English-speaking participants: Evidence from an online postpartum depression randomized controlled trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 16(1), e6, 1-13. https://www.jmir.org/2014/1/e6
Websites and Other Relevant Links:
Maternal And Digital Research for Equitable Solutions (MADRES) Lab