Katherine A. Dondanville, PsyD, ABPP

Katherine "Katy" Dondanville, Psy.D., ABPP, is an Associate Professor and a Licensed Clinical Psychologist within the Division of Behavioral Medicine and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Dr. Dondanville is the Director for the STRONG STAR Training Initiative which is a grant funded implementation and dissemination program for evidence-based psychological treatments.The STRONG STAR Training Initiative has been supported by funding from the Texas Health and Human Services Texas Veteran + Family Alliance Grant Program, the Bob Woodruff Foundation, the Boeing Corporation, the USAA Foundation, the Gavin Farrell Foundation, and the Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation.  Since 2017, Training Initiative has trained more than 4500 mental health clinicians across 49 states, Canada, Columbia, England, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, South Korea, Syria, and Ukraine disseminating evidence-based treatments to thousands of individuals with PTSD, suicide, insomnia, and nightmares. Dr. Dondanville is a Trainer and Consultant in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for PTSD, and has trained over a thousand menal health clinicians in CPT. She has consulted with numerous community organizations and clinicians regarding the successful implementation of evidence-based treatments. 

Dr. Dondanville is the Chief Scientific Advisor to the USAA founded Face the Fight social impact effort aimed to reduce veteran suicide. She leads efforts to support organizations implementing new suicide prevention practices through training, technical assistance, and evaluation. She is the Co-Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee, guiding Face the Fight's strategy by analyzing emerging research, policies, and new opportunities for veteran suicide prevention efforts.  

From 20214-2021, Dr. Dondanville served as the Director of Research for the Fort Cavazos (previously known as Fort Hood) Site of the STRONG STAR Consortium and the Consortium to Alleviate Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (CAP). The STRONG STAR Consortium at Fort Hood is the largest center for clinical trials in the Department of Defense (DoD) targeting PTSD and related conditions. The Health Science Center's STRONG STAR Clinic at Fort Cavazos is embedded within the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, which provides comprehensive care to approximately 140,000 beneficiaries, including active duty military, their family members, and retirees. Dr. Dondanville oversaw a large team of faculty and staff in the delivery and evaluation of clinical intervention research for combat-related PTSD and related conditions in collaboration with some of the world's leading clinical experts. Dr. Dondanville and her clinical team have delivered cutting edge treatment and assessment for thousands of service members in the STRONG STAR clinic at Ft Cavazos. 

Dr. Dondanville focuses on making mental health care better and easier to access. Her research, supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Defense (DoD), focuses on PTSD treatments like Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). She's committed to using research to help real people by finding quicker ways to train therapists and making sure more people can access the right treatments. She believes using virtual platforms and mobile health tech can make therapy more available and cheaper for therapists to learn. In addition to her research and leadership roles, Dr. Dondanville mentors junior faculty and postdoctoral fellows. She's published over 100 scientific papers and given over 150 presentations at research conferences.