Fenan Samson Rassu, PhD
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Psychology
Highlights
Johns Hopkins Affiliations:
- Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Faculty
About Fenan Samson Rassu
Primary Academic Title
Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Johns Hopkins Clinician
Background
Fenan Rassu, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist specializing in pain psychology and behavioral medicine. He treats patients who experience chronic pain, adjustment to illness or disability and other mental health concerns. Dr. Rassu is passionate about patient education and helping patients find the best strategies to cope with pain or chronic illness.
After he obtained his master’s and doctorate degrees in clinical psychology from Texas A&M University, Dr. Rassu completed his residency in behavioral medicine and geropsychology research at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He continued his training as a postdoctoral fellow in research and clinical pain psychology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Dr. Rassu’s research focuses on using psychotherapeutic treatments to improve the mental health and function of patients with chronic health conditions. He has presented his research nationally and internationally, and held teaching and mentoring positions during his time at Texas A&M University.
Research Interests
expanding access to mental health care for those living with pain, increasing initiation, engagement, and completion of psychological treatments for chronic pain, understanding patients’ perspectives on the mental health care they receive
Selected Publications
Rassu, F.S., Luedke, J.C, Nanavaty, N., Mathur, V.A., Meagher, M.W. Greater mechanical temporal summation of pain in Latinx-americans and the role of adverse life experiences. Pain Reports, 2020; 5(5): e842.
Rassu, F.S., McFadden, M., Aaron, R.V., Wegener, S.T., Ephraim, P.L, Lane, E., Brennan, G., Minick, K.I., Fritz, J.M., Skolasky, R.L. The relationship between neighborhood deprivation and perceived changes for pain-related experiences among U.S. patients with chronic low back pain during the COVID19 pandemic. Pain Med., 2021; 22(11): 2550-2565.
Rassu, F.S., Sansgiry, S., Hundt, N.E., Kunik, M.E., & Cully, J.A. Presence of PTSD is associated with clinical and functional impact in Veterans with depression treated in community-based clinics. J. Clin. Psychol. Med. Settings, 2021; 1-10.
Fritz, J.M., Lane, E., Minick, K.I., Bardsley, T., Brennan, G., Rassu, F.S., Wegener, S.T., Skolasky, R.L. Perceptions of telehealth physical therapy among patients with chronic low back pain. Telemed. Reports, 2021; 2(1): 258-263.
You, D.S., Rassu, F.S., Meagher, M.W. Emotion regulation strategies moderate the impact of negative affect induction on alcohol craving in college drinkers: an experimental paradigm. J. Am. Coll. Heal., 2021; 1-9.
Honors
- Ungerleider/Zimbardo Travel Scholarship, American Psychological Association Science Directorate & American Psychological Foundation
- Research Award, American Psychological Association, 1/1/19
- 1st Place Research Award, Society for Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Science (Division 3), American Psychological Association, 1/1/18
- Young Investigator Travel Award, American Pain Society, 1/1/16
- Graduate Student Travel Awards, Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, 1/1/14
Memberships
- American Psychological Association,
Clinical Psychology, Division 12, Sections 6 and 10; Health Psychology, Division 38; Rehabilitation Psychology, Division 22
- International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP)
- United States Association for the Study of Pain (USASP)
Locations
- The Johns Hopkins Hospital
- 1800 Orleans Street, Meyer 1-163, Baltimore, MD 21287
- phone: 443-997-5476
- fax: 443-769-1243
Expertise
Education
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Fellowship, Psychology, 2022Texas A&M Health College of Medicine
Graduate School, PhD, 2020Insurance
- Aetna
- CareFirst
- Cigna
- First Health
- Geisinger Health Plan
- HealthSmart/Accel
- Humana
- Johns Hopkins Health Plans
- MultiPlan
- Pennsylvania's Preferred Health Networks (PPHN)
- Point Comfort Underwriters
- Private Healthcare Systems (PHCS)
- UnitedHealthcare
- Veteran Affairs Community Care Network (Optum-VACCN)