VISN 1 MIRECC Staff: Megan M. Kelly, Ph.D.
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Megan M. Kelly, Ph.D.
Dr. Megan Kelly is an Investigator with the VISN 1 New England MIRECC, and Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Implementation Science and Practice Advances Research Center (iSPARC) at UMASS Chan Medical School. She obtained her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University at Albany, State University of New York and she completed her research fellowship at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Her current research involves VA- and NIH-funded studies of novel psychosocial and digital interventions for people with co-occurring tobacco use and mental health disorders and interventions to improve the social reintegration of veterans with PTSD. She also specializes in targeted acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) manualized treatments for addiction and PTSD, with an emphasis on quality of life, social functioning, and suicide prevention. Dr. Kelly is also involved in organizational change efforts for addressing tobacco use in the Veterans Health Administration.
Education
- B.A., Behavioral Biology, Johns Hopkins University, 2000
- M.A., Clinical Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York, 2002
- Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York, 2005
- Clinical Psychology Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 2005-2007
Areas of Research Interest
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Tobacco cessation
- Digital interventions
- Social reintegration of Veterans with mental health disorders
Projects & Grants
- ACTsocial: An mHealth Intervention to Improve Social Support for Veterans with PTSD (PI)
Funded by the VISN 1 MIRECC. The focus of this study is to develop and evaluate a mobile health app designed to improve the social support and relationships of Veterans with PTSD. 2021-2023. - Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Improve Social Support for Veterans with PTSD (PI)
Funded by VA RR&D. The primary aim of this project is to evaluate the efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Improve Social Support for Veterans with PTSD (n=75) compared to Present-Centered Therapy (n=75) in a randomized controlled trial at two sites. 2020-2024. - A Scalable e-Health Smoking Cessation Intervention for Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Veterans (mPI)
Funded by NIH/NCI. This project will adapt an existing web-based ACT tobacco program (Flexiquit) for socioeconomically disadvantaged US veterans, refine it via iterative usability testing, and conduct a pilot feasibility trial (n=50) comparing Vet Flexiquit to the SmokefreeVET web site. The primary goals of the pilot study are to compare Vet Flexiquit to SmokefreeVET on acceptability and efficacy for impacting theory-based change processes and promoting smoking cessation. 2019-2022. - A Web-Based Tobacco Cessation Treatment for Veterans with Mental Health Disorders (PI)
Funded by VA RR&D. The goal of this project was to develop and evaluate an existing and effective Acceptance and Commitment Therapy web-based tobacco cessation program for Veterans with mental health disorders, Vet WebQuit. 2018-2021. - Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Improving Social Support in Veterans with PTSD (PI)
Funded by the VA-funded REAP, the Social and Community Reintegration Research Program (SoCRR). The primary aim of this pilot project was to develop and evaluate Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Improving Social Support for Veterans with PTSD (ACT-SS), which is a treatment to help Veterans with PTSD increase social support in family relationships, partners, and peers. 2015-2019. - Web-Delivered Acceptance & Commitment Therapy for Smokers with Bipolar Disorder (Site PI)
Funded by NIH/NIDA. The primary aim of the proposed project was to develop and pilot test a targeted, web-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) intervention for smokers with bipolar disorder (WebQuit Plus). The project included field-based usability testing (n=12) and a pilot randomized, controlled trial at three sites within the National Network of Depression Centers (NNDC), comparing WebQuit Plus (n=30) to Smokefree.gov (n=30). 2015-2019. - A Mindfulness and Acceptance-Based Smoking Cessation Treatment for Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PI)
Funded by a VISN 1 Career Development Award. The goal of this career development award and study was to develop and evaluate an acceptance-based smoking cessation treatment for Veterans with PTSD. 2010-2012.
