Jessica A. Wojtalik, PhD

Assistant Professor
Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences

Dr. Wojtalik’s research interests surround advancing the evidence-base of psychosocial interventions that target community functioning for people experiencing schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses (SMIs). Dr. Wojtalik’s goal is to increase access to anti-stigmatizing, strengths-based, and recovery-oriented SMI interventions in communities. Her research challenges deficit-based narratives of SMI, promoting hope and acknowledging the meaningful contributions to society and our greater good that people with SMI make every day. 

Dr. Wojtalik has a particular interest in cognitive remediation interventions for people with early course schizophrenia. She has over a decade of experience researching and providing Cognitive Enhancement Therapy (CET), a social work-developed cognitive remediation intervention, for people with schizophrenia and Autism. Beyond cognitive remediation, Dr. Wojtalik has recently started a collaborative research effort to examine the effectiveness of trauma-focused interventions for individuals with severe mental illness.

Much of Dr. Wojtalik’s research in these areas is informed by the integration of social work and cognitive neuroscience. She considers such an integration a novel direction to advance direct mental health practice for people experiencing conditions with a strong neurobiological basis, such as schizophrenia and Autism.

Biosketch
Curriculum Vitae
Google Scholar

Teaching Information

Courses Taught

SASS 514 Mental Health Policy & Service Delivery
SASS 549 Theory & Practice Approaches in Direct Practice Social Work

Publications

Selected Publications 

Brown, W.J., Saulnier, K.G., Allan, N.P., Wojtalik, J.A., Zampogna, A.M., Grubaugh, A.L. (2022). Dropout from Prolonged Exposure among individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder and comorbid severe mental illness. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, 10. doi: 10.1016/j.jadr.2022.100405

Wojtalik, J.A., *Flores, A.T., Keshavan, M.S., Eack, S.M. (2022). Premorbid sociality moderates social adjustment change during Cognitive Enhancement Therapy for adults with early schizophrenia. [Invited manuscript for special issue: Experimental Therapeutics in Child Clinical Psychology: Identifying Mechanisms and Moving the Needle]. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 51(3) 312-322. doi: 10.1080/15374416.2022.2025599

Wojtalik, J.A., Mesholam-Gately, R.I., Hogarty, S.S., Greenwald, D.P., Litschge, M.Y.,Sandoval, L.R., Shashidhar, G., Guimond, S., Keshavan, M.S., Eack, S.M. (2022). Confirmatory efficacy of Cognitive Enhancement Therapy for early schizophrenia: Results from a multi-site trial. Psychiatric Services 75(3), 501-509. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.202000552

Grubaugh, A.L., Brown, W.J., Wojtalik, J.A., Myers, U.S., Eack, S.M. (2021). Meta-analysis of the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in adults with comorbid severe mental illness. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 82(3), 20r13584, e1-e11. doi: 10.4088/JCP.20r13584

Wojtalik, J.A., Eack, S.M. (2019). Cognitive Enhancement Therapy improves social relationships quality of life among individuals with schizophrenia misusing substances. Social Work Research, 43(1), 59-64. doi: 10.1093/swr/svy032

 Wojtalik, J.A., Eack, S.M., Smith, M.J. Keshavan, M.S. (2018). Using cognitive neuroscience to improve mental health treatment: A comprehensive review. [Special Section on Social Work and Neuroscience]. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 9(2), 223-260. doi: 10.1086/697566

Wojtalik, J.A., Smith, M.J., Keshavan, M.S., Eack, S.M. (2017). A systematic and meta-analytic review of neural correlates of functional outcome in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 43(6), 1329-1347. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbx008

Education

Doctor of Philosophy
University of Pittsburgh
Master of Social Work
University of Pittsburgh
Bachelor of Science
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

Residencies, Internships and Fellowships

Social Work
University of Michigan
2019
Social Work and Cognitive Neuroscience
University of Pittsburgh
2018