Researchers' Profiles

Kate Wolitzky-Taylor, Ph.D.

Kate Wolitzky-Taylor, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator

Dr. Kate 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 obtained 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, F31) from by NIMH 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 Anxiety Disorders Research Center 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 has been the Principal Investigator for several NIDA- and NIAAA-funded studies that aim to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive and behavioral therapies for comorbid substance use disorders and anxiety (and related) disorders, including a K23 and multiple R34s. She is currently a Principal Investigator on an NIMH-funded P50 ALACRITY Center which aims to improve the effectiveness, implementation, and sustainability of a model of care for the treatment of anxiety and depression. She is also a Principal Investigator on an NIDA-funded R21 that aims to reduce benzodiazepine use among primary care patients who are co-prescribed benzodiazepines and opioids. She is a co-Investigator on the Greater Southern California Node of the NIDA Clinical Trials Network. Her primary research interests include understanding the nature of comorbid anxiety and substance use disorders, developing and evaluating treatments for comorbid anxiety and substance use disorders, and improving access to evidence-based treatment for anxiety and substance use disorders in community settings. In addition to her research, Dr. Wolitzky-Taylor treats patients in the Faculty Practice Adult Outpatient Clinic in the Department of Psychiatry and the Biobehavioral Sciences. She has extensive experience in training and supervising clinical psychology doctoral students and psychiatry residents in delivering CBT and in research methods. updated: 02/14/22

  • Undergraduate: Emory University, B.A. (summa cum laude, psychology, 2002
  • Graduate School: University of Texas at Austin, Ph.D. (clinical psychology), 2009
  • Internship: Charleston Consortium: Medical University of South Carolina/Charleston VA, Traumatic Stress Track, 2008-2009
  • Post-Doctoral Fellowship: University of California-Los Angeles, 2009-2012
  • License: California Board of Psychology, PSY 23995
  • Anxiety disorders
  • Comorbidity of anxiety and substance use disorders
  • Cognitive behavioral therapy
  1. Wolitzky-Taylor, K., Zimmermann, M., Arch, J.J., de Guzman, E., & Lagomasino, I. (2015). Has evidence-based psychosocial treatment for anxiety disorders permeated usual care in community mental health settings? Behaviour Research and Therapy, 72, 9-17.
  2. Wolitzky-Taylor, K., Guillot, C., Pang, R., Kirkpatrick, M., Buckner, J.D., Zvolensky, M. & Leventhal, A. (2015). Examination of anxiety sensitivity and distress tolerance as transdiagnostic mediators explaining the associations between anxiety and alcohol use in adolescents. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 39, 532-539.
  3. Wolitzky-Taylor, K., Brown, L.A., Roy-Byrne, P., Sherbourne, C., Sullivan, G., Stein, M. & Craske, M.G. (2015). The impact of alcohol use severity on anxiety treatment outcomes in a large effectiveness trial in primary care. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 30, 88-93.
  4. Wolitzky-Taylor, K.B., Dour, H., Zinbarg, R., Mineka, S., Vrshek-Schallhorn, S., Epstein, A., Bobova, L., Griffith, J., Waters, A., Nazarian, M., Rose, R.  & Craske, M.G. (2014). Experiencing core symptoms of anxiety and unipolar mood disorders in late adolescence predicts disorder onset in early adulthood. Depression & Anxiety, 31, 207-213.
  5. Wolitzky-Taylor, K., Vrshek-Schallhorn, S., Waters, A., Mineka, S., Zinbarg, R., Ornitz, E., Naliboff, B. & Craske, M. (2014). Adversity in early and midadolescence is associated with elevated startle responses to safety cues in late adolescence. Clinical Psychological Science, 2, 202-213.
  6. Wolitzky-Taylor, K.B., Arch, J.J, Rosenfield, D. & Craske, M.G. (2012). Moderators and non-specific predictors of treatment outcome for anxiety disorders: A comparison of cognitive behavioral therapy to acceptance and commitment therapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 80, 786-799.
  7. Arch, J. J., Wolitzky-Taylor, K. B., Eifert, G. H., & Craske, M. G. (2012). Longitudinal treatment mediation of traditional cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy for anxiety disorders. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 50, 469-478.
  8. Wolitzky-Taylor, K.B., Bobova, L., Mineka, S., Zinbarg, R. & Craske, M.G. (2012) Understanding the impact of anxiety and mood disorders on subsequent substance use disorder onset and vice versa: Evidence from a longitudinal investigation. Addictive Behaviors, 37, 982-985.
  9. Craske, M., Wolitzky-Taylor, K.B., Mineka, S., Zinbarg, R., Waters, A., Vrshek-Shallhorn, S., Epstein, A., Naliboff, B. & Ornitz, E. (2012). Context modulated startle as a risk factor for anxiety versus depressive disorders: Evidence from a longitudinal investigation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 121, 315-324.
  10. Wolitzky-Taylor, K.B., Operskalski, J.T., Ries, R., Craske, M.G. & Roy-Byrne, P. (2011). Psychological and pharmacological treatment of comorbid anxiety disorders in substance users: Review and future directions. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 233-247.
  11. Olatunji, B.O. & Wolitzky-Taylor, K.B. (2009). Anxiety sensitivity across the anxiety disorders: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 135, 974-999.
  12. Wolitzky, K.B. & Telch, M.J. (2009). Augmenting in vivo exposure with fear antagonistic strategies: A preliminary test. Behavior Therapy, 40, 57-71.
  13. Wolitzky-Taylor, K.B., Ruggiero, K.J., Danielson, C.K., Resnick, H.S., Hanson, R.F., Smith, D.W., Saunders, B.E. & Kilpatrick, D.G. (2008). Prevalence and correlates of serious dating violence in a national sample of adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 47, 755-762.