Elizabeth Alpert, PhD

Assistant Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

I am an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and a Clinical Research Psychologist in the Women's Health Sciences Division of the National Center for PTSD at VA Boston Healthcare System. My research focuses on understanding and targeting key processes of therapeutic change and engagement in cognitive behavioral therapies for PTSD to optimize treatment outcomes. The focus of my current K23 award, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, is to refine and test an adjunctive intervention that aims to improve PTSD treatment outcomes by improving patient-provider communication about patients' experiences during treatment.

Publications

  • Published 10/10/2025

    Meis LA, Alpert E, Peterson ZD, Livingston WS, Blain L, Galovski TE. Change in sexual distress during cognitive processing therapy: Characterization and baseline predictors. J Affect Disord. 2026 Jan 15; 393(Pt B):120389. PMID: 41076157.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 5/14/2025

    Alpert E, Fox AB, Galovski TE. Who defines improvement? Patients' global reports of improvement compared to standardized measures of improvement in cognitive processing therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder. J Anxiety Disord. 2025 Jul; 113:103027. PMID: 40381493.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 12/12/2024

    Shayani DR, Alpert E, Barnes JB, Sloan DM, Hayes AM. Identifying predictors of long-term treatment outcomes using narratives from written exposure therapy and cognitive processing therapy for PTSD. Psychol Trauma. 2025 Nov; 17(8):1808-1817. PMID: 39666474.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 6/6/2024

    Alpert E, Kaplan A, Nelson D, Oslin DW, Polusny MA, Ingram EP, Kehle-Forbes SM. Clusters Based on Within-Treatment Symptom Trajectories as Predictors of Dropout in Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Substance Use Disorder. J Dual Diagn. 2024 Jun 06; 1-21. PMID: 38843038.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/1/2024

    Alpert E, Gowdy-Jaehnig A, Galovski TE, Meis LA, Polusny MA, Ackland PE, Spoont M, Valenstein-Mah H, Orazem RJ, Schnurr PP, Chard KM, Kehle-Forbes SM. Treatment-related beliefs and reactions among trauma-focused therapy completers and discontinuers: A qualitative examination. Psychol Serv. 2024 Nov; 21(4):859-870. PMID: 38166295.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 28 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Other Positions

  • Clinical Research Psychologist, National Center for PTSD
    VA Boston Healthcare System

Websites

Education

  • University of Delaware, PhD
  • University of Delaware, MA
  • Harverford College, BA

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