Karen S. Mitchell, PhD
Associate Professor, Psychiatry
Biography
Dr. Mitchell is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. In addition, she has been a staff psychologist at the Women’s Health Sciences Division of the National Center for PTSD at VA Boston Healthcare System since 2009. She completed her PhD in Counseling Psychology (sub-speciality in Quantitative Methodology) at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2009. While in graduate school, she completed a pre-doctoral fellowship on an NIMH T32 in Psychiatric and Statistical Genetics at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics (Richmond, VA). Dr. Mitchell completed her pre-doctoral internship in Health Psychology at the Cleveland VA Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Her research interests include eating disorders, obesity, behavior genetics, PTSD, and complementary and alternative medicine (particularly yoga). Methodologies used include twin modeling, network science, epigenetic mechanisms, hierarchical linear modeling, and structural equation modeling. As a licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Mitchell’s clinical interests include eating disorders, PTSD, and health psychology, including obesity and metabolic disorders.
Other Positions
- Researcher, VA Boston Healthcare System
Education
- Virginia Commonwealth University, PhD
- Virginia Commonwealth University, MS
- Virginia Commonwealth University, BS
Publications
- Published on 2/1/2025
Taverna E, Iverson KM, Kumar SA, Vogt D, Mitchell KS. Beyond Physical and Mental Health: The Broader Impacts of Intimate Partner Violence on Psychosocial Well-Being Among Women and Men Veterans. Stress Health. 2025 Feb; 41(1):e3526. PMID: 39760934.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 1/23/2025
Kumar SA, Vogt D, Miller AN, Mitchell KS, Brock RL, DiLillo D. Posttraumatic resilience and growth: A network analysis of character strengths among sexual assault survivors. Psychol Trauma. 2025 Jan 23. PMID: 39847016.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 1/7/2025
Kumar SA, Taverna E, Mitchell KS, Smith BN, Vogt D. Purpose in life and posttraumatic stress symptoms among military veterans: A network analysis. Mil Psychol. 2025 Jan 07; 1-13. PMID: 39772860.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 12/12/2024
Serier KN, Knutson EK, Vogt D, Smith BN, Kehle-Forbes S, Mitchell KS. Examining the factor structure of the nine-item Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder Screen in a national U.S. military veteran sample. Psychol Assess. 2025 Mar; 37(3):123-128. PMID: 39666477.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 12/8/2024
Cooper Z, Smith BN, Kehle-Forbes S, Dorset J, Mitchell KS. Eating Disorders, Co-Morbid Disorders and Early Risk Factors Amongst Post-9/11 Veteran Men and Women. J Clin Psychol. 2025 Mar; 81(3):133-144. PMID: 39648640.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 10/18/2024
Zelkowitz RL, Livingston WS, Knutson EK, Kehle-Forbes S, Vogt DS, Smith BN, Mitchell KS. Associations of military sexual harassment and assault with nonsuicidal self-injury: Examining gender and sexual orientation as moderators. J Psychiatr Res. 2024 Dec; 180:243-250. PMID: 39454491.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/15/2024
Serier KN, Livingston WS, Zelkowitz RL, Kehle-Forbes S, Smith BN, Mitchell KS. Examining posttraumatic cognitions as a pathway linking trauma exposure and eating disorder symptoms in veteran men and women: A replication and extension study. Eat Disord. 2024 Sep 15; 1-16. PMID: 39277845.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/12/2024
Mitchell KS, Serier KN, Smith BN, Vogt D. Associations between avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder profiles and trauma exposure in veteran men and women. J Clin Psychol. 2024 Dec; 80(12):2344-2356. PMID: 39264021.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 6/28/2024
Huckins LM, Signer R, Johnson J, Wu YK, Mitchell KS, Bulik CM. What Next for Eating Disorder Genetics? Replacing Myths With Facts to Sharpen Our Understanding. Focus (Am Psychiatr Publ). 2024 Jul; 22(3):418-429. PMID: 38988461.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 4/15/2024
Zelkowitz RL, Serier KN, Smith BN, Kehle-Forbes S, Vogt DS, Mitchell KS. Identifying candidate mechanisms of comorbidity in disordered eating and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among U.S. veterans: A network analytic approach. Psychol Trauma. 2025 Mar; 17(3):631-638. PMID: 38619481.
Read at: PubMed
View 82 more publications: View full profile at BUMC