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About Me

I am a licensed psychologist in California (PSY26136) with over 12 years of clinical experience and with a passion for applying psychological principles and research strategies to improving the experiences of individuals seeking mental health care, treating clinicians and/or employees working for large organizations, and others with a desire to improve their life course. 

My clinical approach is integrative, collaborative, evidence-based and flexible to the needs and goals of the individuals with whom I work. I believe the therapeutic relationship is the key vehicle that can help people explore their innermost selves more freely and openly in order to make important shifts in their approach to life.

Clinical Specialties: personality, attachment and lifespan development, wellness, self-care, team-care, culture, trauma, clinical diagnostic systems

Applied Specialties: team development and functioning, diversity training, outreach and community engagement, interdisciplinary collaboration, communication studies, research design and strategies, use of technology (apps, web programs, etc.) to increase access to care 

In addition to my clinical and training expertise, I have ongoing interests in team development, organizational functioning, and consulting. Given my experience and expertise in personality and group process, I plan to incorporate consulting and other applied experience into my practice in the future.

Education

Fellowships – San Francisco VA Medical Center
Stephen Rao Fellowship in Interprofessional LGBT Health Care (2013-2014)
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder & Substance Use  (2012-2013)

Internship – VA Palo Alto Health Care System (2011-2012)

PhD in Clinical Psychology – Emory University (2012)                                                 

Graduate Affiliate in Studies in Sexuality
Dissertation: Attachment, Personality & Lifespan Development: Empirical & Theoretical Applications of Attachment Theory to Pathological and Optimal Adult Development
Co-Chairs:  Drew Westen, PhD, & Bekh Bradley, PhD; Passed:  April 2011


MA in Clinical Psychology – Emory University (2007)
Master’s Thesis: Personality Subtypes of Suicidal Adults
Chair:  Drew Westen, PhD; Passed: August 2007

BA in Psychology with Communication minor – University of Arkansas (2006)

First-Ranked Senior Scholar (Valedictorian-equivalent)
Summa Cum Laude
Four-Years Honors Scholar of the Honors College

Honors Thesis: Just Personality?: The Five-Factor Model of Personality & Reactions to Injustice

Chair:  David Schroeder, PhD; Passed:  April 2006


Noted Awards

Awards

Early Career Psychologist Scholarship Award - National Register (March 2014)

Heilbrun Award for Outstanding Published Research, Emory University, 2010—awarded for Personality subtypes of suicidal adults & An empirically based prototype diagnostic system for the DSM-V and ICD-11

Knopf Award for Outstanding Research Presentation, Emory University, 2008—awarded for Attachment, personality, and posttraumatic stress symptoms in a traumatized urban population.

Studies in Sexuality Graduate Essay Contest, First Place Award, Emory University, 2009—awarded for Toward an ethical and sophisticated study of sexuality. 

First-Ranked Senior Scholar, University of Arkansas, 2006, for having highest grade-point average in Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences

Harold D. Hantz Award, University of Arkansas, 2006, for being "the most outstanding Four-Year Honors Scholar graduate of Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences"

E. P. Trapp Award, University of Arkansas, 2006, for being "the most outstanding student in psychology"

Marie Wilson Howells Scholar, University of Arkansas, 2006, for "outstanding achievement in study and research in psychology"

Fellowships

George W. Woodruff Fellowship, Emory University, 2006-2011, highest 5-year fellowship award for graduate study
Honors College Fellowship, University of Arkansas, 2002-2006
Governor’s Distinguished Scholar, University of Arkansas, 2004-2006

Honor Societies

Phi Beta Kappa, 2006 – present
Psi Chi National Honor Society in Psychology, 2003 – present (President, 2004 – 2006; Vice President, 2003 – 2004)
Golden Key International Honour Society, 2004 – present (Treasurer, 2005)
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, 2006 – present
Gamma Beta Phi honor and service society, 2003 – 2006

Media Appearances

Let’s Get to Work San Francisco, interviewed by local CBS News for a blog about local, interesting jobs Bay Area residents hold (November 2015). http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/11/02/sf-area-licensed-psychologist-enjoys-the-variety-in-his-career/

Al Jazeera America, represented the VA and its efforts to provide outreach and competent clinical care to LGBT veterans (November 2013).

Emory Department of Psychology Fundraiser Outreach, helped create a video to publicize the research and clinical activities at Emory University in efforts to gain support and funding. I was interviewed because of my research and personal background as a first-generation college student (2008)

Publications

Books

Cloitre, M. Cohen, L. R., Ortigo, K. M., Jackson, C., & Koenen, K. (in press, 2019). Treating survivors of childhood abuse and interpersonal trauma: STAIR Narrative Therapy for the interrupted life. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Peer-reviewed Journals

Armstrong, C. M., Ortigo, K. M., Avery-Leaf, S., & Hoyt, T. (2018, in press). Cultural considerations in using mobile health in clinical care with military and veteran populations. Psychological Services.

Kauth, M. R., Shipherd, J. C., Barrera, T. L., Ortigo, K. M., & Jones, K. R. (2016). Trainees’ perceptions of the Veterans Health Administration interprofessional psychology fellowships in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender health. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 10, 361-368.

Ortigo, K. M., Westen, D., DeFife, J., & Bradley, B. (2013). Attachment, social cognition, and posttraumatic stress symptoms in a traumatized, urban population: Evidence for the mediating role of object relations. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 26, 361–368.

Gapen, M., Cross, D., Ortigo, K. M., Graham, A., Johnson, E., Evces, M., Ressler, K. J., & Bradley, B. (2011). Perceived neighborhood disorder, community cohesion, and PTSD symptoms among low-income African Americans in an urban health setting. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 81, 31-37.

Ortigo, K. M., Bradley, B., & Westen, D. (2009). Personality subtypes of suicidal adults. The Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, 197, 687-694.

Ortigo, K. M. (2007). “I’m a stranger here myself:” Forced individuation in Alien Resurrection. Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, 17, para. 1-67.


Invited Book Chapters

Ortigo, K. M., Bauer, A., & Cloitre, M. (in press, 2019). Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR) Narrative Therapy: Making meaning while learning skills. In M. Tull (Ed.), PTSD and Emotion (pp. TBD). Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier.

McCaslin, S., Ortigo, K. M., Simon, E., & Ruzek, J. (2018). Understanding and treating Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Veterans. In N. Roberts (Ed.), Military and Veteran Mental Health (pp. 225-243). New York, NY: Springer. 

Ortigo, K. M., & Weiss, B. (2016). Silence harms: Professional training issues in the clinical assessment of sexuality and gender. Invited book chapter in V. Brabender & J. Mihura (Eds.), Handbook of gender, sex, & psychological assessment (pp. 605-626). New York, NY: Routledge.

Ortigo, K. M., Westen, D., & Bradley, B. (2010). An empirically based prototype diagnostic system for the DSM-V and ICD-11. In T. Millon, R. F. Krueger, & E. Simonsen (Eds.), Contemporary directions in psychopathology: Scientific foundations of the DSM-V and ICD-11 (pp. 374-390). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Westen, D., Gabbard, G., & Ortigo, K. M. (2008). Psychoanalytic approaches to personality. In O. P. John, R. W. Robins, & L. A. Pervin, Handbook of personality: Theory and research (3rd Edition) (pp. 61-113). New York, NY: The Guilford Press. 


Encyclopedia Entries

Ortigo, K. M., & Blagov, P. (2017). Avoidant Personality Disorder and gender. In K. L. Nadal (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of psychology and gender (pp. 117-120). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Ortigo, K. M., & Blagov, P. (2017). Dependent Personality Disorder and gender. In K. L. Nadal (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of psychology and gender (pp. 428-431). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Blagov, P., & Ortigo, K. M. (2017). Schizoid Personality Disorder and gender. In K. L. Nadal (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of psychology and gender (pp. 1442-1444). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. 


Treatment Manuals

​Cloitre, M., Ortigo, K. M., & Gupta, C. (2018). Skills Training in Affective & Interpersonal Regulation for Primary Care (STAIR-PC) - Version 1.6. VA manual. 

Cloitre, M., Kulkarni, M., Ortigo, K. M., Jackson, C., Weiss, B., & Gupta, C. (2018). Skills Training in Affective & Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR) Essentials (Version 1.2). Unpublished VA manual.

Cloitre, M., Kulkarni, M., Ortigo, K. M., Jackson, C., Weiss, B., & Gupta, C. (2018). Skills Training in Affective & Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR) Group Essentials (Version 1.3.3). Unpublished VA manual.


Websites, Applications, Online Trainings, & Other Technology Products

Ortigo, K. M., Owen, J., Vigil Dombeck, M. J., Hoffman, J. E., Ramsey, K. M., Jaworski, B. K., Weiss, B., & Cloitre, M. [Final authorship order TBD] (2019, in development). STAIR Coach (Version 2.0, Android). [Mobile application software]. Retrieved from http://myvaapps.com.

Wolfe, J., Shipherd, J., Kauth, M., & Ortigo, K. M. [Final authorship order TBD].  (2018). At ease: Working with  LGBT Veterans. [Online web-based training course]. Retrieved from https://www.tms.va.gov/. 

Cloitre, M., Ortigo, K. M., Jackson, C., Weiss, B., & Schmidt, J. (2017). webSTAIR: Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation [Online website]. Retrieved from https://www.webSTAIR.org

Vigil Dombeck, M. J., Hoffman, J. E., Ramsey, K. M., Jaworski, B. K., Ortigo, K. M., Weiss, B., & Cloitre, M. (2017). STAIR Coach (Version 1.0). [Mobile application software]. Retrieved from http://myvaapps.com.

Ortigo, K. M., & Glynn, S. (2016). Couples therapy with LGBT Veterans. [Online web-based training course]. Retrieved from https://www.tms.va.gov/.

Ortigo, K. M., Simon, E., Regala, S., Coleman, J., Marceau, L., Wilkinson, A., Ruzek, J., Rosen, R., & Wilks, J. (2016). PTSD Clinicians Exchange. [Online website]. Retrieved from http://www.PTSDExchange.com.

Ortigo, K. M. (2015, March). How faith & religion affect the LGBT community’s mental health. Anxiety.org. Retrieved from https://www.anxiety.org/lgbt-religion-faith-anxiety

Owen, J., Ortigo, K. M., McCaslin, S., Ramsey, K. M., Jaworski, B. K., & Hoffman, J. [Final authorship order TBD]. (2016, in development). PTSD Family Coach (Version 2.0, iOS & Android). [Mobile application software]. Retrieved from http://myvaapps.com.

Owen, J., Walser, R., Bantum, E., Ortigo, K. M., Ramsey, K. M., Jaworski, B. K., & Hoffman, J. (2016, in development). Mindfulness Coach (Version 2.0, Android). [Mobile application software]. Retrieved from http://myvaapps.com.

The journey starts where you are


Hours

Mon & Wed: 4pm - 9pm

Telephone

650-636-7979

Email

Kile.Ortigo@gmail.com