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Abha Rai, Ph.D., MSW

Assistant Professor

Dr. Abha Rai is an internationally recognized community-based scholar with over 15 years of experience advancing social work practice and research across global contexts. Guided by Jesuit values of cura personalis (care for the whole person), her work centers on promoting mental health outcomes & well-being for excluded groups, with a particular focus on addressing gender-based violence. As an interventionist and implementation science researcher, she is dedicated to translating rigorous scholarship into meaningful, real-world change that uplifts individuals and communities, including new arrivals. 

Dr. Rai’s recent projects integrate wearable technologies and artificial intelligence into mental health & well-being interventions, underscoring her commitment to interdisciplinary and innovative solutions that meet people where they are. She brings deep methodological expertise in both quantitative and qualitative research, including intervention design, survey development, and community-engaged approaches—reflecting the Ignatian call to walk alongside those at the margins. Currently, she is leading a mental health, well-being and healthy relationships intervention tailored to low-income communities in Chicago.

Her leadership and contributions have been recognized nationally and internationally—most recently through her induction as a Fellow of the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR), where she also serves on the board. Beyond academia, Dr. Rai lends her expertise to Sanjeevani, a Chicago-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting underserved communities, embodying the Jesuit mission of service grounded in justice and compassion.

Research Interests

  • The well-being of excluded communities
  • Policy research
  • Technology and artificial intelligence
  • Gender-based violence (dating, domestic and intimate partner violence, intimate partner stalking in diverse populations
  • Culturally responsive research
  • International/global social work
  • Survey development and instrument design

Courses Taught

Undergraduate:

  • SOWK 303: Social work practice with groups

  • SOWK 390: Research and evaluation in social work practice

Graduate:

  • SOWK 505: Social work practice with groups

  • SOWK 506: Research and evaluation in social work practice

  • SOWK 814: Seminar on the Integration of Research, Practice, and Theory in Social Work Scholarship