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PTSD: National Center for PTSD

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Karen S. Mitchell, PhD

 

Karen S. Mitchell, PhD

Portrait of Karen Mitchell, PhD

Clinical Research Psychologist

Women's Health Sciences Division

See staff directory for contact information.

Academic Affiliation

  • Boston University School of Medicine, Associate Professor of Psychiatry

Education

  • Louis Stokes Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Predoctoral Internship, 2009
  • Virginia Commonwealth University, Counseling Psychology, PhD, 2009
  • Virginia Commonwealth University, Counseling Psychology, MS, 2005
  • Virginia Commonwealth University, Psychology, BS, 2002

Expertise and Interests

  • Comorbidity of eating disorders, obesity, and PTSD
  • Etiology and prevention of eating disorders, obesity, and PTSD
  • Quantitative methodology, including structural equation modeling, hierarchical linear modeling, and statistical genetics
  • Treatment approaches to comorbid PTSD and eating disorders

Membership in Professional Societies

  • Academy for Eating Disorders
  • Eating Disorders Research Society

Awards and Honors

  • Academy for Eating Disorders Fellow, 2019
  • Kenneth S. Kendler Award for Excellence in Predoctoral Studies, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics

Selected Publications

Mitchell, K. S., Smith, B. N., Masheb, R., & Vogt, D. (2023). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on eating disorders in U.S. military Veterans. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 56(1), 108-117. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23822

Zelkowitz, R. L., Sienkiewicz, M. E., Vogt, D. S., Smith, B. N., & Mitchell, K. S. (2022). Gender differences in direct and indirect associations of trauma types with disordered eating in a national US Veteran sample. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001353

Mitchell, K. S., Sienkiewicz, M., Smith, B. N., Vogt, D., Kehle-Forbes, S., & Cooper, Z. (2022). Associations between probable eating disorders and healthcare use among post-9/11 Veteran men and women. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2022.110811

Mitchell, K. S., Masheb, R., Smith, B. N., Kehle-Forbes, S., Hardin, S., & Vogt, D. (2021). Eating disorders in a sample of military Veterans: A focus on gender, age, and race/ethnicity. Psychological Assessment, 33(12), 1226-1238. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0001050

Mitchell, K. S., Singh, S., Hardin, S., & Thompson-Brenner, H. (2021). The impact of comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder on eating disorder treatment outcomes: Investigating the Unified Treatment Model. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 54(7),1260-1269. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23515

Mitchell, K. S., Scioli, E. R., Galovski, T., Belfer, P. L., & Cooper, Z. (2021). Posttraumatic stress disorder and eating disorders: Maintaining mechanisms and treatment targets. Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention, 29(3), 292-306. https://doi.org/10.1080/10640266.2020.1869369

Members of the press interested in scheduling an interview please see the contact for the media page.

PTSD Information Voice Mail: (802) 296-6300
Email: ncptsd@va.gov
Also see: VA Mental Health