Vitalis Im, Ph.D., LMSW
Teaching Areas:
Clinical Social Work, Sociocultural AnthropologyResearch Areas:
Artmaking Practices, Mass Incarceration, Psychoanalysis, ViolenceBiography and Education
Vitalis Im is an assistant professor in the Department of Health and Human Services at the University of Michigan–Dearborn.
As a sociocultural anthropologist, his ethnographic research concerns the politics of artmaking practices in prisons. It is informed by six years of facilitating improvisational theatre, music, and creative writing workshops in Michigan prisons with the Prison Creative Arts Project, as well as three years of curatorial work with the Annual Exhibition of Artists in Michigan Prisons, one of the largest and longest-running exhibitions in the world that features works of art created by incarcerated artists.
In his roles as a psychotherapist and social worker, Dr. Im is the founder and co-director of Compass, a program at FairSky Foundation that offers low- to no-cost psychotherapeutic services—including counseling and psychological assessments—to individuals formerly incarcerated in the state of Michigan.
Dr. Im earned his PhD in Anthropology and Social Work from the University of Michigan. He also holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan School of Social Work, a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Anthropology from Bard College, and an Associate of Science in Music from Ulster County Community College.