MIRECC / CoE

VISN 1 MIRECC Staff: Victoria Ameral, Ph.D.

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Victoria Ameral, Ph.D.

Dr. Vicki Ameral is a Clinical Research Psychologist with the VISN 1 New England MIRECC at VA Bedford Healthcare System and Assistant Professor in the University of Massachusetts Medical School Department of Psychiatry. She is Co-Director of the Advanced Fellowship Program in Mental Illness Research & Treatment and a faculty member of the Addiction & Recovery Rotation at VA Bedford Healthcare System. Dr. Ameral’s research draws on the principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to better understand and treat substance use and co-occurring disorders, with a particular emphasis on recovery-oriented outcomes during early medication treatment for opioid use disorder. She also conducts research examining Veteran experiences of care and addiction treatment continuity. Dr. Ameral completed her doctorate under the mentorship of Dr. Kathleen Palm Reed in 2018. She is a graduate of the VA Boston Psychology Internship Program’s Addictions and Co-Occurring Disorders rotation (secondary rotation with Women’s Trauma and Recovery Team) and the Interprofessional Advanced Addiction Fellowship at VA Boston. Her VA Rehabilitation R&D Career Development Award Proposal is a five-year project focused on developing and piloting a values-based intervention to improve functioning during early buprenorphine treatment.

Education

• B.A., Psychology, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 2008
• M.A. Clinical Psychology, Clark University, 2015
• Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, Clark University, 2018

Areas of Research Interest

• Opioid Use Disorder
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
• Brief Intervention Development
• Addiction treatment experiences and care continuity

Projects & Grants

• Development of A Brief Values Intervention to Support Veterans in Early Buprenorphine Treatment (PI)
  A Rehabilitation Research and Development (R&D) CDA-2 project which aims to develop and pilot a brief intervention to support Veteran’s personal, functional recovery goals during early buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder. 2022-2027.
• Veteran Perspectives on Valued Recovery Goals in Addiction Treatment (PI)
  A VISN 1 MIRECC Pilot Project to improve our understanding of the role of recovery-oriented goals among Veterans receiving addiction treatment. 2021-2023.
• Online Survey of Veterans’ Addiction Treatment Experiences During COVID-19 (PI)
  The goal of this locally supported online study is to better understand Veterans’ experiences with addiction treatment formats before and after pandemic related changes, and to explore changes in substance use and substance use disorder symptoms among those who have engaged in care over the last year. 2020-2021.
• Envisioning a Future: Values Clarification and Delay Discounting in Early Recovery from Opioid Use Disorder (PI)
  Supported by the Society of Addiction Psychology, this study used an experimental paradigm to evaluate the short-term impact of a brief values clarification task on choice impulsivity and motivation and self-efficacy during early treatment for Opioid Use Disorder. 2016-2017.

Dr. Ameral's Google Scholar Profile