A UNM professor has been awarded a Presidential Citation from the American Psychological Association for her early career accomplishments in research.
Katie Witkiewitz, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology and a scientist at the Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Addictions, was recognized for her dedication to advancing the science and treatment of addictive behaviors, as well as services to the field, according to a press release.
APA President Nadine Kaslow presented the award to Witkiewitz at a Society of Addiction Psychology conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
Out of 60 total awardees, Witkiewitz was one of only two who received honors in two categories: the early career award and substance abuse, according to APA’s website.
“My students and colleagues have been critical to my success at UNM. I am very fortunate to be surrounded by highly intelligent and hard-working individuals,” Witkiewitz said.
The award is given to scientists at varying levels of their career. She was nominated for the award by leaders in the field of addiction and was selected by a peer committee who reviewed the nominations, according to the website.
“Witkiewitz is a trailblazer in the study of addiction. In 2004, she proposed a dynamical systems model of relapse which has since been supported by empirical studies and lauded by clinicians,” the release stated.
Witkiewitz has challenged conventions in the analysis of alcohol treatment outcomes by incorporating newer quantitative methodology to better understand mechanisms of behavior change, according to the press release.
“Witkiewitz has emerged as an enthusiastic leader, mentor and colleague, with exemplary service to the American Psychological Association as the program chair/co-chair for Divisions 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology), 28 (Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse) and 50 (Society of Addiction Psychology), and as an associate editor for Psychology of Addictive Behaviors,” APA’s statement read.
Witkiewitz said the award is important for providing national recognition to the hard work that is being done by herself, her collaborators and her students at UNM.
“To receive recognition for this work at such an early stage of my career validates my work in the area of addiction,” she said. “Also, from the APA it is really meaningful because addiction is often considered a medical disease, but psychological and behavioral treatments are often very effective in helping people struggling with addictive behaviors.”
Witkiewitz’s research largely centered on studying the process of addictive behavior relapse and empirically supported treatments for addiction, she said.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Her efforts have led to several experiments on successful addiction treatment outcomes as well as the development of techniques to prevent addictive behavior relapse, including mindfulness-based and group-based relapse prevention interventions, she said.
“My future goals are to continue to study the mechanisms of change in mindfulness-based interventions for substance use disorders, addiction and healthy adult functioning,” Witkiewitz said. “I’m particularly interested in examining neurobiological and behavioral mechanisms of change following training in mindfulness-meditation techniques.”
Working with UNM associate professor Kevin Vowles, Witkiewitz recieved a $654,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to create an integrated acceptance and mindfulness-based treatment for veterans with chronic pain and opiate misuse, according to UNM’s website.
Sayyed Shah is the assistant news editor at the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at assistant-news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @mianfawadshah.
