Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior

Kate Shirley graduated with a B.A. in psychology and gender and sexuality studies from the University of North Carolina Asheville and a M.A. in counseling psychology from Lewis & Clark College. Following graduation, Kate worked as a licensed counselor in residential substance use treatment for women involved in the criminal justice system and as the study clinician on a VA-funded multi-site randomized control trial of a cognitive rehabilitation intervention. In 2020, Kate joined the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at Oregon Health & Science University. Under the mentorship of Drs. Maya O’Neil and Jennifer Loftis, Kate’s research has focused on the development and evaluation of multimodal behavioral interventions to improve cognition and overall health in individuals with conditions characterized by cognitive complaints/impairments (dementia, substance use disorders, chronic diseases). Her research was supported by APA Division 19’s Society for Military Psychology, which funded her dissertation project: a pilot feasibility trial of a cognitive rehabilitation intervention for Veterans with alcohol use disorders. During her clinical psychology pre-doctoral internship at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Kate extended her research in intervention development and evaluation to include Veterans with comorbid substance use and mood disorders under the mentorship of Drs. Brandon Gaudiano and Jane Metrik. She is excited to continue her training at Brown as a postdoctoral fellow in the Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Center and Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team at the Providence VA. She is extremely grateful for the support of her family, friends, mentors, and supervisors throughout her training.