Lisa M. Najavits, PhD
Voluntary Professor, Psychiatry
Biography
Lisa M. Najavits, PhD is director of Treatment Innovations and adjunct professor, University of Massachusetts Medical School. She was on the faculty of Harvard Medical School for 25 years and was a research psychologist at Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, Boston for 12 years. Her major clinical and research interests are substance abuse, trauma, co-morbidity, behavioral addictions, veterans’ mental health, community-based care, development of new psychotherapies, and outcome research. She is author of over 190 professional publications, as well as the books Seeking Safety: A Treatment Manual for PTSD and Substance Abuse; A Woman’s Addiction Workbook; and the self-help book, Recovery from Trauma, Addiction or Both: FInding Your Best Self, and the upcoming treatment manual, Creating Change: A Past-Focused Treatment Manual for Trauma and Addiction. She has served as president of the Society of Addiction Psychology of the American Psychological Association; and is on various advisory boards including the Journal of Traumatic Stress; the Journal of Gambling Studies; the Journal of Dual Diagnosis, and Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. She has received various awards, including the 1997 Young Professional Award of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies; the 1998 Early Career Contribution Award of the Society for Psychotherapy Research; the 2004 Emerging Leadership Award of the American Psychological Association Committee on Women; and the 2009 Betty Ford Award of the Addiction Medical Education and Research Association. She is a licensed psychologist in Massachusetts and conducts a psychotherapy practice. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from Vanderbilt University and her bachelor’s degree with honors from Barnard College of Columbia University.
Other Positions
- VA Boston Healthcare System
Education
- Vanderbilt University, PhD
- Barnard College, BA
Publications
- Published on 4/24/2021
Anderson ML, Glickman NS, Wolf Craig KS, Sortwell Crane AK, Wilkins AM, Najavits LM. Developing Signs of Safety: A Deaf-accessible counselling toolkit for trauma and addiction. Clin Psychol Psychother. 2021 Nov; 28(6):1562-1573. PMID: 33847426.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/24/2020
Najavits LM, Clark HW, DiClemente CC, Potenza MN, Shaffer HJ, Sorensen JL, Tull MT, Zweben A, Zweben JE. PTSD / substance use disorder comorbidity: Treatment options and public health needs. Curr Treat Options Psychiatry. 2020 Dec; 7(4):544-558. PMID: 35444925.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 12/1/2019
Najavits LM. Concerns About Potential Bias in a Randomized Clinical Trial of Integrated Prolonged Exposure Therapy vs Seeking Safety Integrated Coping Skills Therapy. JAMA Psychiatry. 2019 12 01; 76(12):1316. PMID: 31411650.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 4/1/2018
Najavits LM, Enggasser J, Brief D, Federman E. A randomized controlled trial of a gender-focused addiction model versus 12-step facilitation for women veterans. Am J Addict. 2018 04; 27(3):210-216. PMID: 29596724.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 2/20/2018
Najavits LM, Krinsley K, Waring ME, Gallagher MW, Skidmore C. A Randomized Controlled Trial for Veterans with PTSD and Substance Use Disorder: Creating Change versus Seeking Safety. Subst Use Misuse. 2018 09 19; 53(11):1788-1800. PMID: 29461920.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 8/1/2016
Najavits LM, Lande RG, Gragnani C, Isenstein D, Schmitz M. Seeking Safety Pilot Outcome Study at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Mil Med. 2016 08; 181(8):740-6. PMID: 27483508.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 11/25/2015
Najavits LM, de Haan H, Kok T. How Do Females With PTSD and Substance Abuse View 12-Step Groups? An Empirical Study of Attitudes and Attendance Patterns. Subst Use Misuse. 2015; 50(14):1786-94. PMID: 26606541.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 10/29/2015
Kaiser D, Grundmann J, Schulze C, Stubenvoll M, Kosar M, Junker M, Najavits LM, Schäfer I. A Pilot Study of Seeking Safety in a Sample of German Women Outpatients with Substance Dependence and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. J Psychoactive Drugs. 2015 Nov-Dec; 47(5):401-8. PMID: 26514284.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/16/2015
Mundon CR, Anderson ML, Najavits LM. Attitudes toward Substance Abuse Clients: An Empirical Study of Clinical Psychology Trainees. J Psychoactive Drugs. 2015 Sep-Oct; 47(4):293-300. PMID: 26375324.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 5/20/2015
Marsh TN, Coholic D, Cote-Meek S, Najavits LM. Blending Aboriginal and Western healing methods to treat intergenerational trauma with substance use disorder in Aboriginal peoples who live in northeastern Ontario, Canada. Harm Reduct J. 2015 May 20; 12:14. PMID: 25989833.
Read at: PubMed
View 82 more publications: View full profile at BUMC