Ruth C. White, Ph.D.

Ruth C. White, Ph.D., M.S.W., and M.P.H., is the author of Bipolar 101 and is an associate professor of social work at Seattle University.Ruth C. White, Ph.D., MPH, MSW, is associate professor of social work at Seattle University in Seattle, WA. She received her doctorate in social welfare and masters in public health (maternal and child health) from the University of California, Berkeley and her MSW from MCGill University in Montreal, Canada. She has worked in mental health for many years, and for the last 9 years has taught and trained social workers as a member of the faculty in the social work program at Seattle University. Prior to that, she taught as adjunct faculty in the department of social work at San Francisco State University for three years.

The guiding principles of Dr. White's scholarship are that it is to be rigorous, relevant, useful, and integrated into the other aspects of Dr. White's career. During Dr. White's almost 20-year career as a scholar and practitioner, her research has focused on social determinants of health and well-being, HIV/AIDS, community development, international social work and maternal and child health. Dr. White's research is community-driven with the community as equal partners throughout the research process.

Dr. White has also begun to create a body of work that expands her study of stigma into the mental health arena which grew out of her own experience with mental illness. The goal of this aspect of her work is to use her multiple positions as social work educator, researcher, author and person with mental illness to reduce the stigma of mental illness, empower those with mental illnesses to strive for mental well-being and advocate on their own behalf, and, to improve the quality and accessibility of services to the mentally ill.

Dr. White's expertise has been called upon by her colleagues to review work in the area of HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health for organizations such as the American Public Health Association, the American Journal of Health Behavior, AIDS Care, and the National Science Foundation. She has served as expert witness on stigma related to sexuality and HIV/AIDS.

She is the co-author of Bipolar 101 (New Harbinger Publications, 2009).