Michele Bratina

Michele Bratina
  • Associate Professor
  • Practicum Coordinator
  • Department: Criminal Justice
  • Institution: West Chester University of Pennsylvania
  • Email: MBRATINA@wcupa.edu

Education

  • Ph.D. Criminology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
  • M.A. Criminal Justice, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
  • B.S. Applied Behavioral Science, Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg

Research Interests

mental healthcriminal justice system

Opportunities

Work Study Positions Available: No

Grant Funded Positions Available: No

Course-Credit Research Opportunities Available: No

Volunteer Research Positions Available: No

Biography

Dr. Bratina has been teaching in the Department of Criminal Justice since 2016. She has served as President of the Northeastern Association of Criminal Justice Sciences (NEACJS) (2017-2018) and has held positions of Executive Counselor for the International and Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Sections of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS). Currently, she is serving as the Region 1 Trustee (Northeast U.S. and Eastern Canadian Provinces) for ACJS and also serves as Board Liaison to the Representative to the United Nations and Membership Committees for that organization. At WCU, Dr. Bratina has served as Adviser for Nu Beta, the WCU Chapter of Alpha Phi Sigma, a nationally recognized criminal justice honor society, and continues in her role as Adviser for the campus chapter of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI on Campus), an organization she co-founded with two former students in 2020. Additionally, she is currently serving as the Practicum Coordinator for the Department of Criminal Justice. Before entering academia, Dr. Bratina held several positions in the State of Florida, including Forensic and Children's Mental Health Coordinator for the Florida Department of Children and Families (FL-DCF) in the 19th Judicial Circuit, Systems Integrator for the Southeastern Florida Behavioral Health Network (SEBHN), and Criminal Justice Program Director for a small university in West Palm Beach. Dr. Bratina endeavors to advance mental health awareness and advocacy in the criminal justice system and in the community. In her spare time, Dr. Bratina enjoys playing acoustic guitar and traveling.

Contact Information

Phone: 610-436-2647

List of Publications

  • Michele Bratina, Timothy L. Chesnik & Michael E. Antonio. Experiential Learning with Criminal Justice Students: Demonstrating Knowledge and Showing Empathy toward Persons with Serious Mental Illness. 05/2023 Sami Abdel-Salam, Michael E. Antonio, Michele Bratina & Ashley Kilmer. Rapport and Relationship Building in a Therapeutic Community: Examining the Dynamic Between Correctional Officers and Incarcerated Persons. 10/2022 Kelly M. Carrero, Michele Bratina. Intercept Zero. 07/2022 Alida Merlo, Michele Bratina. Trauma and Approaches to Trauma-Informed Care. 07/2022 J. S. Zortman, Michael E. Antonio, Meghan Kozlowski & Michele Bratina. Intercept Two. 07/2022 Michele Bratina. Forensic Mental Health: Framing Integrated Solutions. 07/2022 Michele Bratina, Jacqueline Carsello, Kelly M. Carrero & Michael E. Antonio. An Examination of Crisis Intervention Teams in Rural Jurisdictions. 10/2021 Michele Bratina, Jacqueline Carsello, Kelly M. Carrero & Michael E. Antonio. Correction to: An Examination of Crisis Intervention Teams in Rural Jurisdictions. 10/2021 Sami Abdel-Salam, Mary Brewster, Michele Bratina & Jule Perone. Generation Rx: A Preliminary Study of College Students and Prescription Drug Abuse. 10/2020 Charlene Lane, Michele Bratina & Michael E Antonio. Inmates' Self-Reported Physical and Mental Health Problems: A Comparison by Sex and Age. 09/2020 Michele Bratina, Kelly M. Carrero, Bitna Kim & Alida Merlo. Crisis intervention team training: when police encounter persons with mental illness. 06/2020 Michele Bratina, Michael E. Antonio & Jacqueline Carsello. One hundred years of bad treatment: A media content analysis related to the stigmatisation and abuse of PwMI and LGBTQIA+ persons. 04/2020 Michele Bratina. Management and Care of Older Offenders with Mental Illness (OOMI) in the Criminal Justice System. 03/2018 Michele Bratina. Forensic Mental Health: Framing Integrated Solutions. 02/2017 Michele Bratina, Amanda K Cox & Matthew D. Fetzer. Racism and white death penalty support: A test of the racist punitive bias hypothesis. 05/2016 Michele Bratina, Kelly M. Carrero. Domestic and International Sex Trafficking. 08/2015 Michele Bratina. Latino Attitudes Toward Violence: The Effect of Americanization. 01/2015 Michele Bratina. Sex Offender Residency Requirements: An Effective Crime Prevention Strategy or a False Sense of Security?. 11/2013 Jeffery T Walker, Ronald Gregory Burns, Jeff Bumgarner & Michele Bratina. Federal Law Enforcement Careers: Laying the Groundwork. 03/2008