Katie Witkiewitz, PhD

Dr. Katie Witkiewitz is a Professor of Psychology at the University of New Mexico with a joint appointment at the Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions.  The underlying theme of her research is the development of empirically-based models of alcohol use disorder, with an emphasis on harm reduction and the application of person-centered models to better understand individual changes in alcohol use over time.  Her recent work has focused on novel definitions of alcohol use disorder treatment outcomes that focus on reductions in drinking, as an alternative to an abstinence-only model of alcohol recovery.

Dr. Witkiewitz is also a licensed clinical psychologist and has worked extensively on the development of a theoretical model of biopsychosocial influences on alcohol use and relapse.  This research has led to her collaborative work on the development and evaluation of mindfulness-based interventions for alcohol and drug use disorders.  She has conducted numerous empirical studies on the prediction of alcohol and drug relapse following treatment, mechanisms of successful alcohol treatment outcomes, as well as the development of behavioral interventions to treat addiction.  Her research has been supported by grants from the National Institute on Mental Health, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Cancer Institute, totaling over $22 million in research funding since 2004.   

Dr. Witkiewitz was born in Rochester New York and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the State University of New York at Potsdam in 1999. She completed a Masters of Arts degree at the University of Montana in 2000 and her doctoral degree at the University of Washington in 2005 under the direction of Dr. G. Alan Marlatt. To date, she has authored 5 books, over 185 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, and she has given over 75 presentations and invited talks.