Kate Taylor

Dr. Kate Wolitzky-Taylor is a licensed clinical psychologist and Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, with a primary affiliation as a Principal Investigator at the Integrated Substance Abuse Programs (ISAP). Dr. Wolitzky-Taylor received her PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, completed clinical internship at the Medical University of South Carolina, and postdoctoral fellowship at the UCLA Department of Psychology’s Anxiety and Depression Research Center.  Dr. Wolitzky-Taylor’s area of expertise is in development and evaluation of behavioral interventions for comorbid anxiety and substance use disorders, with a focus on transdiagnostic treatment targets. Dr. Wolitzky-Taylor is the Principal Investigator of several NIH-funded studies, including a NIDA-funded study aimed at developing and evaluating a novel behavioral treatment for young adults with cannabis use disorder who use cannabis as a way of coping with negative affect (e.g., anxiety, depression). The intervention targets processes reflecting maladaptive ways of reacting to negative affect that are thought to account for the link between anxiety/depression and cannabis misuse (e.g., emotion dysregulation, cognitive misappraisals about negative affective symptoms, and difficulty tolerating distress). Cannabis is the most commonly used drug among young adults and when used in this way to cope with symptoms of anxiety and depression, can lead to significant impairment.