Ruth C. White, Ph.D.

Ruth C. White, Ph.D., M.S.W., and M.P.H., is the author of 2 books: Bipolar 101 and Global Case Studies in Maternal and Child Health and is a mental health activist against stigma. She is currently writing a follow-up to Bipolar 101 called Preventing Bipolar Relapse. 

Dr. White 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 (UC), Berkeley and her MSW and BSW from MCGill University in Montreal, Canada. She has worked in mental health for many years, and for the last 10 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. She has also taught at UC Berkeley and at McGill University.

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 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 for Columbia, NYU and Yale Law Schools as well as for major law firms and human rights organizations on issues related to gay and HIV/AIDS stigma. In addition to academic outlets, she has been quoted, mentioned or featured in New York Times, Marie Claire, Woman's Day, Black Enterprise, the Seattle Post Intelligencer, Seattle Times, Jezebel.com, Shine on Yahoo, Colorlines.com and DailyMail.co.uk.