Dr. Delishia Pittman

Associate Professor, Counseling

School: Graduate School of Education and Human Development

Department: Counseling and Human Development

Contact:

Office Phone: (202) 994-0780

Dr. Delishia Pittman’s research centers on racial and ethnic disparities in health behaviors and outcomes. Areas of particular emphasis include substance use, coping behavior, and stress (chronic and traumatic) with the intent to further understanding of how these factors, independently and collectively, affect behavioral health outcomes among African Americans. She employs life course epidemiological frameworks to study behavioral and psychosocial processes that link adult health and disease risk to physical or social exposures during emerging adulthood.

Dr. Pittman’s current projects extend this work to focus on sexual health vulnerabilities, including STI and HIV infection risk behaviors in heterosexual Black women. This project seeks to model the complex relationships between psycho-socio-cultural contextual factors in STI and HIV infection risk among Black college women.

Dr. Pittman is a practicing licensed psychologist in the District of Columbia.

Prior to joining the faculty of the George Washington University, Dr. Pittman worked as an Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR.

Education

Ph.D., University of Georgia

M.A., Lewis & Clark College

B.A., Concordia University

Programs

Doctorate in Counseling

Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Expertise

Health Disparities
African American Mental Health
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Education and Counseling

Publications

Pittman, DM, Rush, CR, Hurley, K, & Minges, ML. (2020). Double Jeopardy: Understanding Intimate Partner Violence Vulnerability Among Emerging Adult Women in College Through Lenses of Race and Sexual Orientation. Journal of American College Health. doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2020.1740710.

Pittman, D. M., Quayson, A. A., Rush, C. R., & Minges, M. L. (2019). Revisiting resilience: Examining the relationships between stress, social support, and drinking behavior among black college students with parental substance use disorder histories. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 21(1), 90–111. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332640.2019.1707142

Pittman, DM, Kaur, P, & Eyler, LT. (2019). Hidden in Plain Sight: Making a Case for Heterosexual Black College Women being Identified as a High-Risk Population for HIV infection. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 25(1), 104-112. doi: 10.1037/cdp0000225.

Pittman, DM & Kaur, P. (2018). Examining the Role Racism Plays in the Drinking Behaviors of Black College Women. Journal of American College Health, 66(4), 310-316. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2018.1440581.

Zhang, H, Watson-Singleton, NA, Pollard, SE, Pittman, DM, Lamis, D, Fischer, N, Patterson, B, & Kaslow, NJ. (2017). Self-Criticism and Depressive Symptoms: Mediating Role of Self-Compassion. Journal of Death and Dying. doi: 10.1177/0030222817729609.

Pittman, DM, Brooks, JJ, Kaur, P, & Obasi, EM. (2017). The Cost of Minority Stress: Risky Drinking Behavior and Coping Motivated Alcohol Use in Black College Students. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse. doi: 10.1080/15332640.2017.1336958.

Pittman, DM, Cho Kim, S, Hunter, CD, & Obasi, EM. (2017). The Role of Minority Stress in Second-Generation Black Emerging Adults’ High-Risk Drinking Behaviors. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 23(3), 445-455. doi: 10.1037/cdp0000135.

Obasi, EM, Shirtcliff, EA, Cavanagh, L, Ratliff, KL, Pittman, DM, & Brooks, JJ. (2017). Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Reactivity to Acute Stress: An investigation into the Roles of Perceived Stress and Family Resources, 18(8), 923-931. Prevention Science. doi: 10.1007/s11121-017-0759-3.

Obasi, EM, Cavanagh, L, Pittman, DM & Brooks, JJ. (2016). Effects of evaluative context in implicit cognitions associated with alcohol and violent behaviors. Addictive Behaviors Reports, 3, 48-55. dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2016.04.003

Zhang, H, Pittman, DM, Lamis, DA, Fischer, NL, Schwenke, TJ, Carr, ER, Shah, S, & Kaslow, NJ (2015). Childhood maltreatment and PTSD: Spiritual well-being and intimate partner violence as mediators. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma, 24, 501-519. doi: 10.1080/10926771.2015.1029182.

Obasi EM, Shirtcliff EA, Brody GH, MacKillop J, Pittman DM, Cavanagh L & Philibert RA (2015). The relationship between alcohol consumption, perceived stress, and CRHR1 genotype on the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis in rural African Americans. Front. Psychol.6:832. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00832

Pittman, DM (2014). African American: An ethnic rather than racial distinction. In S. Thompson (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of diversity and social justice. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Zhang, H, Neelarambam, K, Schwenke, TJ, Rhodes, MN, Pittman, DM, & Kaslow, NJ. (2013). Mediators of a culturally-sensitive intervention for suicidal African American women. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 20(4), 401-41.

Obasi, EM, Richards, JL, Pittman, DM, Ingram, JA. (2013). The roles of race and sex in addiction research. In J. MacKillop and H. de Wit (Eds.) The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Addiction Psychopharmacology. New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell Press.

Warner, CB, Phelps, RE, Pittman, DM, & Moore, CS. (2012). Anticipating and working with controversy in diversity and social justice topics. In D. S. Dunn, J. C. Wilson, R. A.R Gurung, & K. Naufel (Eds.) Controversy in the psychology classroom: Using hot topics to foster critical thinking. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Pittman, DM (2012). Blame it on the Stress: An Exploration of Coping Motivated Substance Use Behavior in African Americans (Doctoral dissertation), University of Georgia.

Obasi, EM, Brooks, JJ, Pittman, DM, Richards, JL, & Mrnak, J. (2009). Contextual variability of implicit alcohol-related cognitions and their relationship to personality. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 33 (8). DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2009.00957.x

News and Media Mentions

May 2024 - Dr. Delishia Pittman has been voted as President-Elect of the Society of Counseling Psychology, a division of the American Psychological Association. The Society of Counseling Psychology brings together psychologists, students, professional and international affiliates who are dedicated to promoting education and training, scientific investigation, practice, and diversity and public interest in professional psychology.
July 2023 - Congratulations to Dr. Delishia Pittman, who was named to her doctoral alma mater's, University of Georgia, "40 Under 40 Class of 2023."
February 2023 - Dr. Delishia Pittman was interviewed for the GW Today article, "What to Consider before Watching Videos of Police Brutality." In the article, Dr. Pittman recommends evaluating and filtering the content we consume, and also discusses the short- and long-term impacts of watching violent videos of police brutality.
October 2022 - Dr. Delishia Pittman co-authored an article titled, "A Thunderbolt Strikes Psychology: The Inspirational Life of Laura Brown," with Dr. Jasmine Mena (Bucknell University) for a special issue of the journal Women & Therapy, entitled “BIPOC and LGBTQ Feminist Visionaries: Special Issue Dedicated to the Memory of Jean Lau Chin," which Dr. Pittman and Dr. Mena co-edited.
July 2022 - Dr. Delishia Pittman has been awarded the Early Career Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Counseling Psychology by the Society of Counseling Psychology (Division 17) of the American Psychological Association (APA). This award, along with the previously announced Distinguished Professional Contributions to Independent Practice Award, will be presented at the 2022 Annual Convention of the APA in Minneapolis, MN on August 6, 2022. The Distinguished Professional Contributions to Independent Practice Award was first given to Carl Rogers in 1972, and until 1989 had only been awarded to men. Dr. Pittman is the 11th woman and first Black woman to receive this award in its 50 year history!