Departments & Divisions
Institutes & Centers
Katherine A. Dondanville, PsyD, ABPP
Associate Professor-Research
Director, STRONG STAR Training Initiative
Face the Fight Chief Scientific Advisor
Currently not seeking mentees
Subspecialties: post traumatic stress disorder, suicide prevention, measurement-based care, training, implementation, clinical trials
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.
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Professional Background
Education
- 2010 - PsyD - Clinical Psychology - Illinois School of Professional Psychology* APA Accredited
- 2010 - Postdoctoral Fellowship - Trauma Recovery Services/PTSD - Jerry L. Pettis Memorial VA Medical Center
- 2009 - MA - Clinical Psychology - Illinois School of Professional Psychology* APA Accredited
- 2009 - Internship - Clinical Psychology - Jerry L. Pettis Memorial VA Medical Center
- 2004 - BS - Psychology - University of Illinois
Highlights
In 2016, Dr. Dondanville was awarded the UT Health Science Center Presidential Award for Clinical Service for her work with service members and veterans with PTSD. In 2017, she was awarded the Arthur W. Melton Early Achievement Award from the Society of Military Psychology (Division 19) of the American Psychological Association.
Appointments
- 9/2017 - Associate Professor/Research - The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Psychiatry, San Antonio
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Instruction & Training
- 10/2014 - Present, Pre-Doctoral Student Supervision, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
- 9/2011 - Present, Post-Doctoral Student Supervision, UTHSCSA
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Research & Grants
NIMH study Telehealth 2.0: Evaluating Effectiveness and Engagement Strategies for CPT-Text for PTSD
Brief Summary:There is a pressing need to increase capacity to treat PTSD. Texting-based therapy holds promise to increase capacity and reduce barriers t, but ongoing engagement in digital mental health interventions is low. This study will compare CPT for PTSD delivered via text to culturally-informed texting-based treatment for PTSD as usual, and it will also compare a unique incentive strategy to typical platform reminders aimed to prevent early discontinuation in therapy.
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Service
Department
2018- Present Director, Continuing Education Program, Division of Behavioral Medicine, UT Health San Antonio, TX
Institutional
2024-2025 Past Chair, Council of Principal Investigators, UT Health San Antonio, TX
2023-2024 Chair, Council of Principal Investigators, UT Health San Antonio, TX
2022-2023 Vice Chair, Council of Principal Investigators, UT Health San Antonio, TX
2021-2025 Member, Council of Principal Investigators, UT Health San Antonio, TX
2021-Present Scholar, Center for Research to Advance Community Health (ReACH)
2017- 2020 Chair, San Antonio Combat PTSD Conference, UT Health San Antonio, TX
Service to the Profession
2021-Present Senior Program Consultant, Gavin Farrell Foundation
2018- Present Mentor, Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology, American Board of Professional Psychology
2015- Present Member, Oral Examination Board, Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology, American Board of Professional Psychology
2021-2022 Advisor, Concurrent Treatment of PTSD and Substance Use Disorders (COPE) Training and Dissemination Model
2020-2022 Advisor, Home Base Veteran and Family Care at Massachusetts General Hospital
2019-2020 Advisor, Cognitive Behavioral Conjoint Therapy for PTSD (CBCT) Training and Dissemination Model
2017-2021 Advisor, Humana Military
2017-2022 Advisor, Optum Behavioral Health
2016-2017 Past Chair, Early Career Psychology Committee, Division 19: Society for Military Psychology, American Psychological Association
2015-2020 Member, Strategic Planning Committee, Division 19: Society for Military Psychology, American Psychological Association
National
2023-Present Chair, Face the Fight Scientific Advisory Committee
2020-2021 Member, Health and Well-Being Task Force, Stand-To 2020: A National Veterans Convening, George W. Bush Presidential Center