Katie Witkiewitz, Ph.D
Distinguished Professor, Department of Psychology Director, Center on Alcohol, Substance use, And Addictions
katiew@unm.edu
(505) 585-1686
Ph.D., University of Washington, 2005
Areas of Expertise
Empirically supported treatments
Lab Website
Download full curriulum vitae
Primary Research Area
To date, my research has largely centered on the examination and treatment of substance use disorder, with an emphasis on harm reduction, recovery processes, and applying advanced quantitative research methods to better understand changes in alcohol and drug use behavior over time. I am also a licensed clinical psychologist and I have worked extensively on the development, evaluation, and dissemination of mindfulness-based relapse prevention for substance use disorder. I train clinicians in the delivery of mindfulness-based interventions for substance use disorders in New Mexico, nationally, and internationally. My recent research has focused on integrated behavioral treatments for comorbid chronic pain and opioid use disorder.
- Current Projects
- Completed Projects
- Graduate Students
- Post-doc Fellows
- Awards & Activities
- Selected Publications
- Alcohol Research Training: Methods and Mechanisms of Change (NIAAA, K. Witkiewitz Principal Investigator)
- Integrated Treatment for Veterans with Co-Occurring Chronic Pain and Opioid Use Disorder (NIDA, K. Witkiewitz & K. Vowles MPIs)
- Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention as Video Conferencing Continuing Care to Promote Long Term Recovery from Alcohol Use Disorder (NIAAA, K. Witkiewitz, Principal Investigator)
- Integrative Treatment for Achieving Holistic Recovery from Comorbid Chronic Pain and Opioid Use Disorder (NIDA, K. Witkiewitz & M. Pearson Principal Investigators)
- Using supportive text messages to improve outcomes for adolescents in alcohol and other drug treatment (NIDA, F. Schwebel, Principal Investigator)
- Understanding recovery from alcohol use disorder: Longitudinal observation of two voluntary temporary abstinence periods (NIAAA, D. Richards, Principal Investigator)
- Measurement and Multimethod Validation of Alcohol Use Disorder Etiologic Mechanisms (NIAAA, C. Boness, Principal Investigator)
- Predicting individual responses to treatment for alcohol use disorder (NIAAA, L. Van Horn, Principal Investigator)
- A unified protocol to address sexual minority women’s minority stress, mental health and hazardous drinking (NIAAA, J. Pachankis & T. Hughes Principal Investigators)
- Patient-Centered Team-Based Primary Care to Treat Opioid Use Disorder, Depression, and Other Conditions (NIMH, L. DeBar & K. A. Bradley MPIs)
- Substance Use Disorder Grand Challenge (UNM, K. Witkiewitz & B. Fink, Co-Lead Conveners)
- Alcohol and Addiction Research Domain Criteria and Alcohol Use Disorder Recovery (NIAAA, K. Witkiewitz Principal Investigator)
- Mindfulness-Based Resilience Training for Aggression, Stress, and Health in Law Enforcement Officers (NCCIH, S. Bowen & M. Christopher MPIs)
- Nexus of Risk: Sexual Assault, Alcohol Use, and Risky Sex among College Women (NIAAA, E. Yeater Principal Investigator)
- Neurobiological Bases of Behavior Change in Psychosocial Alcohol Treatments (NIAAA, B. McCrady & E. Claus MPIs)
- Development of a Mindfulness-Based Treatment for the Reduction of Alcohol Use and Smoking Cessation (NCCIH, C. Vinci Principal Investigator)
- Mechanisms of Behavior Change In Alcohol Use Disorder Treatment (NIAAA, Principal Investigator)
- Services for Creating a Toolkit for Learning and Predicting Alcohol Use Patterns (NIAAA, J. Baurley, Principal Investigator)
- Reducing Alcohol-Related Sexual Risk Behavior (NIAAA, W. Corbin & T. Treat, Principal Investigators)
- Neural Mechanisms of Behavior Change in a Community Sample of Drinkers (NIAAA 1 R01AA023665-01; E. Claus & K. Witkiewitz, MPIs)
- Randomized Controlled Trial of CRAFT with American Indians (NIDA, K. Venner PI)
- Mindfulness-Based Intervention and Transcranial Direct Current Brain Stimulation to Reduce Heavy Drinking: Efficacy and Mechanisms of Change (NIAAA, Principal Investigator)
- Toward Identifying Clinically Useful Definitions of Treatment Success (NIAAA M. Kirouac, PI)
- Robust Person Centered Longitudinal Data Analyses for Clinical Alcohol Research (NIAAA, Douglas Steinley PI), Co-Investigator
- Psychological and Neural Mechanisms of Mindfulness and Cognitive Retraining (NIAAA 1R21AA023661-01, M. Pearson PI)
- Pilot Study of Combined Treatment for Veterans with Chronic Pain and Opiate Misuse (NCCIH 5R34AT008398-02, K Vowles PI)
- Integrative Data Analysis to Predict Alcohol Clinical Course and Inform Practice (NIAAA, R01AA022328), Principal Investigator
- Accelerating Smoking Relapse Research Using Longitudinal Models of EMA Data (NIDA, R01DA033303, D. McCarthy & S. Shiffman, Co-PIs), Co-Investigator
- Alcohol Use Trajectories and Prevention: A US-Sweden Comparison (NIAAA, U01 AA018276 , Mary Larimer, PI). Co-Investigator
- Mindfulness Based Relapse Prevention for Problem Gambling (National Council on Responsible Gaming) , Principal Investigator
- Evaluation of Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention for Women in Residential Treatment for Substance Use Disorders following a Criminal Offense (Washington State University-Vancouver, Mini-Grant), Principal Investigator
- Relationships among Interpersonal Stress, Affect Regulation, and Alcohol Lapse (NIAAA, R01 AA017701, Steve Maisto, PI) , Co-Investigator
- Emergence of Adolescent Substance Use Problems from the Externalizing Spectrum (NIDA, RC1 DA028248, Robert McMahon, PI), Co-Investigator
- Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention: Efficacy and Mechanisms (NIDA, R01 DA025764-01A1, , G. Alan Marlatt, PI), Co-Investigator
- BASICS-ED: A Momentary Intervention for Concurrent Smoking and Heavy Drinking (NIAAA, R21 AA018336), Principal Investigator
- Evaluation of Smoking Trajectories during Telephone Counseling (University of Washington Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute Small Grant, ADAI-0309), Principal Investigagor
- Drinking Trajectories and Mechanisms of Behavior change During and One Year Following a Behavioral Intervention for Alcohol Dependence (NIAAA, R21 AA017137-01), Principal Investigator
- Modeling Individual Heterogeneity in the Alcohol Relapse Process (NIAAA, R03 AA016322-02), Principal Investigator
- Editor, Psychology of Addictive Behaviors
- Council Member, National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
- Board of Scientific Counselors, National Institute on Drug Abuse
- Past President, Society of Addiction Psychology
- Field Editor, Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research
- Consulting Editor, Substance Use and Misuse
- Consulting Editor, Alcohol and Alcoholism
- Outstanding Leadership in Addiction Psychology, American Psychological Association Division 50 Society of Addiction Psychology
- Fellow, American Psychological Association Division 50 Society of Addiction Psychology
- G. Alan Marlatt Mid-Career Award, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
- Marlatt Mentorship Award, Research Society on Alcohol
- NIH/HEAL Director's Award for Mentorship
- NIDA Service Award
- Bowles Lecture Award, UNC Chapel Hill
- Witkiewitz, K., Anton, R. F., O’Malley, S. S., Hasin, D. S., Silverman, B. L., Aldridge, A., & Mann, K. (2025). Reductions in World Health Organization risk drinking levels as a primary efficacy endpoint for alcohol clinical trials: A review. JAMA Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2025.2508
- Witkiewitz, K. & Tucker, J. A. (2025). Whole person recovery from substance use disorder: A call for research examining a dynamic behavioral ecological model of contexts supportive of recovery. Addiction Research & Theory, 33, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2024.2329580
- Carlon, H. A., Hurlocker, M. C., Hoeppner, B. B., & Witkiewitz, K. (2025). Positive psychological interventions for substance use, addiction and recovery: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 120(7), 1295–1324. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70019
- Lee, B. P., Witkiewitz, K., Mellinger, J., Anania, F. A., Bataller, R., Cotter, T. G., Curtis, B., Dasarathy, S., DeMartini, K. S., Diamond, I., Diazgranados, N., DiMartini, A. F., Falk, D. E., Fernandez, A. C., German, M. N., Kamath, P. S., Kidwell, K. M., Leggio, L., Litten, R., Louvet, A., … Mitchell, M. C. (2024). Designing clinical trials to address alcohol use and alcohol-associated liver disease: an expert panel Consensus Statement. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 21(9), 626–645. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-024-00936-x
- Moniz-Lewis, D. I., Votaw, V. R., & Witkiewitz, K. (2024). Adapting mindfulness-based interventions for substance use and comorbid conditions for diverse clients and diverse contexts. Journal of Health Service Psychology, 50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42843-024-00100-8
- Witkiewitz, K., Fernandez, A. C., Green, E. W., & Mellinger, J. L. (2024). Diagnosis of Alcohol Use Disorder and Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease. Clinics in Liver Disease, 28(4), 699–713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cld.2024.06.009
- Boness, C. L., & Witkiewitz, K. (2023). Precision medicine in alcohol use disorder: Mapping etiologic and maintenance mechanisms to mechanisms of behavior change to improve patient outcomes. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 31(4), 769–779. https://doi.org/10.1037/pha0000613
- Hallgren, K A., Galloway, G., Witkiewitz, K., Linde, P., Nix, B., & Mendelson, J. (2023). Treatment retention and reductions in blood alcohol concentration (BAC) during the first 90 days of a telehealth program for alcohol use disorder. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 49(2), 249–259. https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2023.2175322
- Witkiewitz, K., Garcia, C. C., & Muthén, B. O. (2023). Subjective stress and any drinking during alcohol treatment: Disentangling within and between person autoregressive effects. Neurobiology of Stress, 29, 100602. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ynstr.2023.100602
- Witkiewitz, K., Stein, E. R., Votaw, V. R., Hallgren, K. A., Gibson, B. C., Boness, C. L., Pearson, M. R., & Maisto, S. A. (2023). Constructs derived from the addiction cycle predict alcohol use disorder treatment outcomes and recovery three years following treatment. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 37(3), 376–389. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000871
- Witkiewitz, K. & Vowles, K. E. (2023). Everybody hurts: Intersecting and colliding epidemics and the need for integrated behavioral treatment of chronic pain and substance use. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 32, 228–235. https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214231162366
- Aldridge, A. P., Zarkin, G. A., Dowd, W. N., Witkiewitz, K., Hasin, D. S., O’Malley, S. S., Isenberg, K., & Anton, R. F. (2022). The relationship between reductions in WHO risk drinking levels during treatment and subsequent healthcare costs. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 16(4), 425–432. https://doi.org/10.1097/ADM.0000000000000925
- Witkiewitz, K., Pfund, R. A, & Tucker, J. A. (2022). Mechanisms of behavior change in substance use disorders with and without formal treatment. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 18, 497–525. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-072720-014802
- Pearson, M. R., Wilson, A. D., Richards, D. K., & Witkiewitz, K. (2021). Reconsidering alcohol treatment non-responders: Psychosocial functioning among heavy drinkers three years following treatment. Addiction, 116(5), 1262–1280. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.15280
- Swan, J. E., Aldridge, A., Joseph, V., Tucker, J. A., & Witkiewitz, K. (2021). Individual and community social determinants of health and recovery from alcohol use disorder three years following treatment. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 53, 394–403. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2021.1986243
- Venner, K. L., Serier, K., Sarafin, R., Greenfield, B. L., Hirchak, K., Smith, J. E., & Witkiewitz, K. (2021). Culturally tailored evidence-based substance use disorder treatments are efficacious with an American Indian Southwest Tribe: An open-label pilot feasibility randomized controlled trial. Addiction, 116, 949–960. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.15191
- Votaw, V. R., Stein, E. R., & Witkiewitz, K. (2021). A longitudinal mediation model of negative emotionality, coping motives, and drinking intensity among individuals receiving community treatment for alcohol use disorder. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 56(5), 573–580. https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agab012
- Votaw, V. R., & Witkiewitz, K. (2021). Motives for substance use in daily life: A systematic review of ecological momentary assessment studies. Clinical Psychological Science, 9, 535–562. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702620978614
- Witkiewitz, K., Kranzler, H. R., Hallgren, K. A., Hasin, D. S., Aldridge, A. P., Zarkin, G. A., Mann, K. F., O’Malley, S. S., & Anton, R. F. (2021). Stability of drinking reductions and long-term functioning among patients with alcohol use disorder. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 36, 404–412. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-020-06331-x
- Witkiewitz, K., Wilson, A. D., Roos, C. R., Swan, J. E., Votaw, V. R., Stein, E. R., Pearson, M. R., Edwards, K. A., Tonigan, J. S., Hallgren, K. A., Montes, K. S., Maisto, S. A., & Tucker, J. A. (2021). Can individuals with alcohol use disorder sustain non-abstinent recovery? Non-abstinent outcomes 10 years after alcohol use disorder treatment. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 15, 303–310. https://doi.org/10.1097/ADM.0000000000000760
- Witkiewitz, K., Montes, K. S., Schwebel, F. J., & Tucker, J. A. (2020). What is recovery? A narrative review of definitions of recovery from alcohol use disorder. Alcohol Research: Current Reviews, 40. https://doi.org/10.35946/arcr.v40.3.01
- Witkiewitz, K., Pearson, M. R., Wilson, A. D., Stein, E. R., Votaw, V. R., Hallgren, K. A., Maisto, S. A., Swan, J. E., Schwebel, F. J., Aldridge, A., Zarkin, G. A., & Tucker, J. A. (2020). Can alcohol use disorder recovery include some heavy drinking? A replication and extension up to nine years following treatment. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 44, 1862-1874. doi: 10.1111/acer.14413
- Witkiewitz, K., Falk, D. E., Litten, R. Z., Hasin, D. S., Kranzler, H. R., Mann, K. F., O'Malley, S. S., & Anton, R. F. (2019). Maintenance of World Health Organization risk drinking level reductions and post-treatment functioning following a large alcohol use disorder clinical trial. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 43, 979-987. doi: 10.1111/acer.14018
- Witkiewitz, K., Litten, R. Z., & Leggio, L. (2019). Advances in the science and treatment of alcohol use disorder. Science Advances, 5 (9), eaax4043.
- Witkiewitz, K., Hallgren, K. A., Kranzler, H. R., Mann, K. F., Hasin, D. S., Falk, D. E., Litten, R. Z., & Anton, R. F. (2017). Clinical validation of reduced alcohol consumption after treatment for alcohol dependence: Using the World Health Organization risk drinking levels. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 41 (1), 179-186. doi: 10.1111/acer.13272
- Witkiewitz, K., Roos, C. R., Pearson, M. R., Hallgren, K. A., Maisto, S. A., Kirouac, M. ? Heather, N. (2017). How much is too much? Patterns of drinking during alcohol treatment and associations with post-treatment outcomes across three alcohol clinical trials. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 78 (1), 59-69.
- Witkiewitz, K., Hallgren, K. A., O'Sickey, A. J., Roos, C. R., & Maisto, S. A. (2016). Reproducibility and differential item functioning of the alcohol dependence syndrome construct across four alcohol treatment outcome studies: An integrative data analysis. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 158, 86-93. doi: 10.1016/ j.drugalcdep.2015.11.001.
- Witkiewitz, K., Finney, J., Harris, A., Kivlahan, D., & Kranzler, H. (2015). Recommendations for the design and analysis of treatment trials for alcohol use disorders. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 39, 1557-1570.
- Witkiewitz, K., Vowles, K. E., McCallion, E., Frohe, T., Kirouac, M., & Maisto, S. A. (2015). Pain as a predictor of alcohol treatment outcomes in the COMBINE study and the United Kingdom Alcohol Treatment Trial. Addiction, 110, 1262-1271. doi: 10.1111/add/12964
- Witkiewitz, K., Falk, D. E., Kranzler, H. R., Litten, R. Z., Hallgren, K. A., O'Malley, S. S., & Anton, R. F. (2014). Methods to analyze treatment effects in the presence of missing data for a continuous heavy drinking outcome measure when participants drop out from treatment in alcohol clinical trials. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 38, 2826-2834.
- Witkiewitz, K., Warner, K., Sully, B., Barricks, A., Stauffer, C., Steckler, G., Thompson, B., & Luoma, J. (2014). Randomized trial comparing mindfulness based relapse prevention with relapse prevention for women offenders at a residential addiction treatment center. Substance Use and Misuse, 49, 536-546. doi: 10.3109/10826084.2013.856922
- Witkiewitz, K., Dearing, R. L., & Maisto, S. A. (2014). Alcohol use trajectories among non-treatment seeking heavy drinkers. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 75, 415-422.
- Witkiewitz, K., Desai, S. A., Bowen, S., Leigh, B. C., Kirouac, M., & Larimer, M. E. (2014). Development and evaluation of a mobile intervention for heavy drinking and smoking among college students. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 28, 639-650. doi: 10.1037/a0034747
- Witkiewitz, K. (2013). "Success" following alcohol treatment: Moving beyond abstinence. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 37 suppl1, E9-E13. doi: 10.1111/acer.12001.
- Witkiewitz, K. (2013). Temptation to drink as a predictor of drinking outcomes following psychosocial treatment for alcohol dependence. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 37, 529-537. doi: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2012.01950.x.
