Catherine D’Avanzato is a Clinical Psychologist with expertise in trauma/PTSD, anxiety and mood concerns. She provides evidence-based psychotherapies to adults with a broad range of concerns.
Dr. D’Avanzato completed her undergraduate degree at Northwestern University, following which she served as a Project Coordinator on the Northwestern-UCLA Youth Emotion Project, a multi-site study investigating risk factors in the development of mood and anxiety disorders during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Her graduate work focused on the role of difficulties with emotion regulation, memory and attention processes, in mood and anxiety disorders. After graduating with her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Miami in 2012, she completed her residency and postdoctoral training at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
She served as a staff psychologist on the team which established the Rhode Island Hospital Adult Partial Hospitalization Program in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in 2013. From 2015 - 2023, she worked within the Trauma and PTSD Specialty Track, where she worked with individuals with a broad range of trauma types using Prolonged Exposure (PE) and ACT approaches. As Assistant Director of the Adult Partial Program from 2020 - 2023, she co-led a large multidisciplinary team. She facilitated the transition of the Adult PHP to a telehealth program during the COVID pandemic and led the further development of the Trauma Track, integrating Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and DBT - Prolonged Exposure (DBT-PE) principles to enhance treatment outcomes of patients with co-occurring PTSD and significant emotion regulation concerns.
Dr. D'Avanzato serves as Assistant Clinical Professor at Brown Medical School, conducting research and clinical supervision. She trains clinical psychology graduate students, residents and fellows, as well as psychiatry residents, in the evidence-based treatment of trauma and PTSD, anxiety and mood concerns. She is the author of scientific publications on PTSD/trauma, interpersonal violence, mood and anxiety disorders, improving diagnosis and assessment, as well as treatment outcomes.
