Dr. Kate Wolitzky-Taylor is an Associate Professor in the UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences. Her primary research appointment is in the Integrated Substance Use and Addiction Programs, with an additional role as Associate Director of the Anxiety and Depression Research Center (ADRC) within the UCLA Department of Psychology. She is also a PI and Co-Director of the UCLA STAND ALACRITY Center, an NIMH-funded Center (P50) run through the UCLA Depression Grand Challenge that aims to improve the effectiveness, implementation, and sustainability of a system of care for anxiety and depression in under-resourced community colleges.
Dr. Wolitzky-Taylor obtained her B.A. summa cum laude in psychology from Emory University, where she completed her undergraduate research assistantship in the Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, obtaining clinical and research training in the Laboratory for the Study of Anxiety Disorders. Dr. Wolitzky-Taylor received a predoctoral National Research Service Award (NRSA, NIMH-funded F31) in order to examine self-administered behavioral treatments for pathological worry. Dr. Wolitzky-Taylor completed her predoctoral internship at the Medical University of South Carolina in the Traumatic Stress Track, where she was on an NIMH-funded trauma-related training grant (T32). She completed a 3-year postdoctoral research fellowship at UCLA in the ADRC (2009-2012) where she was the Project Director of the Youth Emotion Project, an NIMH-funded R01 examining common and specific risk factors for anxiety and depression. Dr. Wolitzky-Taylor completed a Career Development Award in Patient-Oriented Research (K23; funded by NIDA), the focus of which was to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a brief CBT program to be delivered in community substance use disorder (SUD) specialty care clinics for individuals with comorbid anxiety disorders and SUD. Since then, she has received continuous NIH funding as Principal Investigator for her program of work in the development and evaluation of treatments for comorbid emotional disorders (anxiety and depression) and SUD.
In additional to her research, Dr. Wolitzky-Taylor treats patients with anxiety, depression, and related disorders in the UCLA Faculty Practice Outpatient Clinic and in the Behavioral Health Services. She has extensive experience in training and supervising clinical psychology doctoral students and psychiatry residents in delivering CBT and in research methods. Dr. Wolitzky-Taylor provides clinical supervision, statistical consultation, and research mentorship to doctoral students and research staff. Her research interests include investigating mechanisms of change during behavioral treatment for anxiety disorders, increasing access to CBT for anxiety and depressive disorders in community settings, and understanding and treating comorbid anxiety and SUDs.
Previous Chairs Include:
Michelle G. Craske, Ph.D. (05/01/2019 – 04/30/2022)
Carrie Bearden, Ph.D. (05/01/2015 – 04/30/2018)
David Krantz, M.D., Ph.D. (05/01/2012 – 04/30/2015)
Ian Cooke, M.D. (06/16/2008 – 06/15/2011)