Shadi Beshai

Dr. Shadi Beshai is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological Science, Kennesaw State University. He is also the director of the Mindfulness Engagement and Cultural Adaptation (MECA) Lab. Dr. Beshai’s research is focused on improving access to and promotion of evidenced-based psychological treatments for adult depression and anxiety. Specifically, Dr. Beshai has published several peer-reviewed scientific articles on the cultural adaptation of cognitive-behavioral and mindfulness-based interventions. He has also published extensively on improving public literacy about such interventions and ways to disseminate them more widely. His work highlights his commitment to bridging the gap in unmet mental health needs.  Dr. Beshai has spearheaded and collaborated on numerous large-scale randomized trials that assess the effectiveness of adapted and online MBIs across diverse demographics, including educators, law enforcement officers, and Indigenous communities. These pivotal trials have been carried out in varied international contexts, including Canada, the UK, and Iran. Dr. Beshai’s research was funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), and the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF). Dr. Beshai is an Associate Editor of the leading journal Mindfulness (Springer, 2019) and the International Journal of Cognitive Therapy (2023).