Anka Vujanovic
  • Director of Clinical Training
  • Professor
Google Scholar Profile
Research Areas
  • Clinical

Research Interests

 

Dr. Anka Vujanovic is Professor and Director of Clinical Training in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Texas A&M University, and she is Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the Texas A&M College of Medicine. A licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Vujanovic is Director of the Trauma and Stress Studies Center and the First Responder Consortium. She maintains a faculty appointment as Research Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Houston. Dr. Vujanovic received a doctoral degree (Ph.D.) in clinical psychology from the University of Vermont and completed the pre-doctoral clinical psychology internship program at the Brown University Clinical Psychology Training Consortium.

Dr. Vujanovic’s research program is focused on understanding the complexity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and some of its most prevalent and high-risk correlates, including substance use disorders (SUD) and suicide risk, through the study of underlying psychological mechanisms relevant to treatment development. Her work is comprised of interrelated lines of inquiry: (1) investigation of psychological and behavioral processes relevant to the etiology and maintenance of PTSD and PTSD/SUD; and (2) development of novel interventions for PTSD and co-occurring conditions that target the psychological mechanisms isolated in more basic research. She has utilized various methodological approaches, including clinical trials, longitudinal methods, ecological momentary assessment, and experimental laboratory paradigms. Her studies have been conducted in academic clinical research centers, first responder departments, medical and mental health clinics, and acute-care psychiatric inpatient hospitals. Dr. Vujanovic’s work encompasses populations exposed to diverse types of trauma, including sexual trauma survivors, military veterans, first responders, and human trafficking survivors. She has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and private foundations, and she is currently PI on two NIH-funded multi-site clinical trials. She is Editor-in-Chief (North America) of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Editor of StressPoints, a quarterly newsletter of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. In addition, Dr. Vujanovic currently serves as Associate Editor for Contemporary Clinical Trials, European Journal of Psychotraumatology, Journal of Psychology and AI, and Mindfulness, and she is on the editorial boards of six additional journals. Dr. Vujanovic has authored over 270 publications, including journal articles, books, and book chapters. In 2025, she received the Outstanding Contributions to the Science of Trauma Psychology Award from the American Psychological Association, Division 56 (Trauma Psychology).

Office Hours, Spring 2026:
Wednesdays 9:00-11:00 am or by appointment

Accepting Students for 2026-2027?: Yes

Selected Publications

    • Zegel, M., Derrick, J. L., Gallagher, M. W., Kaysen, D. L., Zvolensky, M. J., & Vujanovic, A. A. (in press). Daily state distress tolerance and alcohol use motivation among individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms who endorse hazardous alcohol use. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.

    • Lebeaut, A., Pedersen, E. R., Francis, D. J., Zvolensky, M. J., & Vujanovic, A. A. (2026). An integrated personalized feedback intervention for community adults with hazardous alcohol use, elevated anxiety sensitivity, and subclinical PTSD symptoms. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 196, 104935. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2025.104935

    • Vujanovic, A. A., Jarnecke, A. M., Ruiz, F., Hall, K. E., Roberts, K., Saraiya, T. C., & Back, S. E. (2025). Integrated Cognitive Processing Therapy and Relapse Prevention for co-occurring PTSD and alcohol use disorder: A case series examining acceptability and initial efficacy. Behavioral Sciences, 15, 1000. doi: 10.3390/bs15081000

    • Olff, M., Hein, I., Amstadter, A. B., Armour, C.,  Birkeland, M. S., Bui, E., Cloitre, M., Ehlers, A., Ford, J. D., Greene, T., Hansen, M., Harnett, N. G., Kaminer, D., Lewis, C., Minelli, A., Niles, B., Nugent, N. R., Roberts, N., Price, M., Reffi, A. N., Seedat, S., Seligowski, A. V., & Vujanovic, A. A. (2025). The impact of trauma and how to intervene: A narrative review of psychotraumatology over the past 15 years. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 16. doi: 10.1080/20008066.2025.2458406

    • Weathers-Meyer, A. J., Lowe, A., McGrew, S. J., Sutherland, N., Beyl, R., & Vujanovic, A. A. (2024). A pilot feasibility trial of Mind-Body Tactical Training for firefighters: Evaluation of a yoga-based transdiagnostic program for wellness. Mindfulness, 15, 1972-1986.

    • Vujanovic, A. A., Back, S. E., Leonard, S. J., Zoller, L., Kaysen, D. L., Norman, S. B., Flanagan, J. C., Schmitz, J. M., & Resick, P. (2023). Mental health clinician practices and perspectives on treating adults with co-occurring posttraumatic stress and substance use disorders. Journal of Dual Diagnosis, 19, 189-198. doi: 10.1080/15504263.2023.2260338
    • Lebeaut, A., Zegel, M., Steinberg, L., Zvolensky, M. J., & Vujanovic, A. A. (2023). The development and initial validation of the Trauma-Related Alcohol Use Coping Measure (TRAC). Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. doi: 10.1037/adb0000974

    • Stanley, I. H., Lebeaut, A., Betz, M. E., Wright, A., & Vujanovic, A. A. (2023). Firearm ownership and storage practices among US firefighters and emergency medical services personnel. Psychological Services. doi: 10.1037/ser0000780

    • Brooks Stephens, J. R., Lebeaut, A., Jewell, R. D., Zegel, M., Walker, R. L., & Vujanovic, A. A. (2023). Living in the present moment: The role of mindfulness in the association between impulsivity and suicidality among Black adults. Mindfulness. doi: 10.1007/s12671-023-02180-x

    • Vujanovic, A. A., Lebeaut, A., Zegel, M., & Buser, S. J. (2022). Mindful attention training workshop for firefighters: Design and methodology of a pilot randomized clinical trial. Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 27, 100905. doi: 10.1016/j.conctc.2022.100905

    • Zemestani, M., Mohammed, A. F., Ismail, A. A., & Vujanovic, A. A. (2022). A pilot randomized clinical of a novel, culturally adapted, trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral intervention for war-related PTSD in Iraqi women. Behavior Therapy, 53, 656-672. doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2022.01.009

    • Vujanovic, A. A., Webber, H., Wardle, M. C., Green, C. E., Lane, S. D., & Schmitz, J. M. (2022). Nonjudgmental acceptance: Associations with substance-related cue reactivity in adults with substance use disorders and posttraumatic stress. Addictive Behaviors, 126, 107211. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.107211

    • Vujanovic, A. A., Gordon, M., Coverdale, J., & Nguyen, P. (2022). Applying telemental health services for adults experiencing human trafficking. Public Health Reports, 137, 17S-22S. doi: 10.1177/00333549221085243

    • Vujanovic, A. A., Webber, H., McGrew, S. J., Green, C. E., Lane, S. D., & Schmitz, J. M. (2022). Distress tolerance: Prospective associations with cognitive-behavioral therapy outcomes in adults with posttraumatic stress and substance use disorders. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 51, 326-342. doi: 10.1080/16506073.2021.2007995

    • Vujanovic, A. A., McGrew, S. J., Walton, J. L., & Raines, A. M. (2022). Posttraumatic stress and substance use among military veterans: Associations with distress intolerance and anxiety sensitivity. Addictive Behaviors, 126, 107177. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.107177

    • Vujanovic, A. A., & Tran, J. K. (2021). Providing psychological services to firefighters. Journal of Health Service Psychology, 47, 137-148. doi: 10.1007/s42843-021-00041-6

Google Scholar Profile