Dr. Alex Ajayi joined the Augsburg University psychology faculty in fall 2018. He is a licensed psychologist in the state of Minnesota. He received his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and completed his APA-accredited doctoral internship in Health Service Psychology at the Hennepin County Medical Center. Alex teaches Counseling Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Research Methods and Statistics, Personality Psychology, Cultural Psychology, and Contemporary Issues Seminar at Augsburg.
Alex’s primary research program focuses on social identity development and the experiences of socially marginalized populations. He is intrigued by how people come to understand their social identities and the intersections among them, and how this understanding relates to socio-cultural contexts, psychosocial functioning, and mental health. Alex is also interested in health psychology and how psychological disorders interact with various physical health concerns and medical outcomes. His research integrates different sub-disciplines of psychology (clinical-counseling, cultural, social-personality, developmental). As a mixed-methods researcher, he enjoys designing and conducting quantitative and qualitative research studies with students.
Trained as a scientist-practitioner, Alex places a high value on research, clinical practice, and the integration of the two. He continues to work with clients on a limited basis as a behavioral health consultant at the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute. In this role and as part of an NIH-funded randomized controlled trial, he provides integrated psychological interventions to individuals with comorbid mental and physical health concerns. He also maintains a small private practice in Uptown Minneapolis, where he provides individual and couples psychotherapy and psychological assessment services.
EDUCATION
B.A. Lawrence University
Ph.D. University of Minnesota
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Grier-Reed, T., Ajayi, A. A., Cotton, D., & Wilson, R. J. (in press, 2020). Foundational curriculum for the African American student network: Synthesis of discussion topics and themes. Journal of Adolescent and Family Health.
Busch, A. M., Louie, M. E., Santabarbara, N. J., Ajayi, A. A., Gleason, N., Dunsiger, S, Ciccolo, J. T. (2019). Effects of resistance training on depression and cardiovascular disease risk in Black/African American men: A randomized controlled trial protocol. Mental Health & Physical Activity, 17, 1-9.
Grier-Reed, T. & Ajayi, A. A. (2019). Incorporating humanistic values and techniques in a culturally-responsive therapeutic intervention for African American college students. Journal of Humanistic Counseling. 58(1),17-33.
Grier-Reed, T., Gagner, N., & Ajayi, A. A. (2018). (En)countering a White racial frame at a predominantly White institution: The case of the African American student network. Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity, 4, 65-89
Syed, M. & Ajayi, A. A. (2018). Promises and pitfalls in the integration of intersectionality with development science. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, (161), 109-117
Mitchell, L. L., Kathawalla, U. K., Ajayi, A. A., Fish, J., Nelson, S. C., Peissig, L. H. M., & Syed, M. (2018). Racial/ethnic typicality and its relation to ethnic identity and psychological functioning. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 24(3), 400-413.
Ajayi A. A & Syed, M. (2016). How stigma gets under the skin: Internalized oppression and dual minority stress among Black sexual minorities. In J. M. Sullivan and W. E. Cross (Eds.), Meaning-Making, Internalized Racism, and African American Identity (pp. 211-229). Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
Ajayi, A. A. & Syed, M. (2014). Links between patterns of ethnic-racial socialization and discrimination experiences and psychological adjustment: A cluster analysis. Journal of Adolescence, 37(7), 1011-1020.
Haines, B. A., Ajayi, A. A., & Boyd, H. (2014). Making trans parents visible: Challenges in the intersections of trans and parenting identities. Feminism & Psychology, 24, 238-247.