For a full list of publications see:
Key Publications by Topic Area:
Interventions for Traumatic Stress
Cenkner, D.P., Burgess, H.J., Huizenga, B., Duval, E.R., Kim, H.M., Phan, K.L., Liberzon, I., Klumpp, H., Abelson, J., Horwitz, A., Mooney, A., Raglan, G.B., Zalta, A.K. (2022). Morning light treatment for traumatic stress: The role of amygdala reactivity study protocol. PLoS ONE, 17(6): e0269502.
Zalta, A.K., Bravo, K., Valdespino-Hayden, Z., Pollack, M.H., Burgess, H.J. (2019). A placebo-controlled pilot study of a wearable morning bright light treatment for probable PTSD. Depression and Anxiety, 36, 617-624. doi: 10.1002/da.22897
Held, P., Klassen, B.J., Small, C.S., Brennan, M.B., Van Horn, R., Karnik, N.S., Pollack, M.H., Zalta, A.K. (2019). A case report of Cognitive Processing Therapy delivered over a single week. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice.
Held, P., Klassen, B.J., Boley, R.A., Wiltsey Stirman, S., Smith, D.L., Brennan, M.B., Van Horn, R., Pollack, M.H., Karnik, N.S., Zalta, A.K. (2019). Feasibility of a three-week intensive treatment program for service members and veterans with PTSD. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.
Glover, A.C., Schueller, S.M., Winiarski, D.A., Smith, D.L., Karnik, N.S., Zalta, A.K. (2019). Automated mobile phone-based mental health resource for homeless youth: A pilot study assessing feasibility and acceptability. JMIR Mental Health, 6(10): e15144. doi: 2196/15144
Schueller, S.M., Glover, A.C., Rufa, A.K., Dowdle, C.L., Gross, G.D., Karnik, N.S., Zalta, A.K. (2019). A mobile phone-based intervention to improve mental health among homeless young adults: Pilot feasibility trial. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 7(7): e12347. doi: 10.2196/12347
Zalta, A.K., Held, P., Smith, D.L., Klassen, B.J., Lofgreen, A.M., Normand, P.S., Brennan, M.B., Rydberg, T.S., Boley, R.A., Pollack, M.H., Karnik, N.S. (2018). Evaluating patterns and predictors of symptom change during a three-week intensive outpatient treatment for veterans with PTSD. BMC Psychiatry, 18: 242.
Zalta, A.K., Tirone, V., Siedjak, J., Boley, R., Vechiu, C., Pollack, M.H., Hobfoll, S.E. (2016). A pilot study of tailored cognitive-behavioral resilience training for trauma survivors with subthreshold distress. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 29, 268-272.
Predictors of PTSD Symptoms
Zalta, A.K., Vanderboll, K., Dent, A.L., Contreras, I.M., Malek, N., Lascano, X.N., Zellner, K.L., Grandhi, J., Araujo, P.J., Straka, K., Liang, C.Z., Czarny, J.E., Martinez, J., & Burgess, H.J. (2023). Sleep timing, chronotype, and PTSD: An individual participant data meta-analysis. Psychiatry Research, 115061.
Zalta, A.K., Tirone, V., Orlowska, D., Blais, R.K., Lofgreen, A., Klassen, B., Held, P., Stevens, N.R., Adkins, E., Dent, A.L. (2021). Examining moderators of the relationship between social support and self-reported PTSD symptoms: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 147, 33-54.
Zalta, A.K., Pinkerton, L.M., Valdespino-Hayden, Z., Burgess, H.J., Held, P., Boley, R.A., Karnik, N.S., Pollack, M.H. (2020). Examining insomnia during intensive treatment for veterans with PTSD: Does it improve and does it predict treatment outcomes? Journal of Traumatic Stress, 33, 521-527.
Blais, R.K., Tirone, V., Orlowska, D., Lofgreen, A., Klassen, B., Held, P., Stevens, N., Zalta, A.K. Self-reported PTSD symptoms and social support in U.S. military service members and veterans: A meta-analysis. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, in press.
Straud, C.L., Siev, J., Messer, S., & Zalta, A.K. (2019). Examining military population and trauma type as moderators of treatment outcome for first-line psychotherapies for PTSD: A meta-analysis. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 67: 102133.
Alisic, E. Zalta, A.K., van Wesel, F., Larsen, S., Hafstad, G.S., Hassanpour, K., Smid, G.E. (2014). Rates of post-traumatic stress disorder in trauma-exposed children and adolescents: meta-analysis. British Journal of Psychiatry, 204, 335-340.
Moral Injury
Burton, C.W., Jenkins, D.K., Chan, G.K., Zellner, K.L., & Zalta, A.K. (2024). A mixed-methods study of moral distress among frontline nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 16, 568-575.
DeCaro, J.B., Straka, K., Malek, N., Zalta, A.K. (2024). Sentenced to shame: Moral injury exposure in former lifers. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 16, 722-730.
Zalta, A.K. & Held, P. (2020). Commentary on the special issue on moral injury: Leveraging existing constructs to test the heuristic model of moral injury. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 33, 598-599.
Held, P., Klassen, B.J., Hall, J., Friese, T., Bertsch-Gout, M., Zalta, A.K., Pollack, M.H. (2019). “I knew it was wrong the moment I got the order”: A narrative thematic analysis of moral injury in combat veterans. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 11, 396-405.
Held, P., Klassen, B.J., Brennan, M.B., Zalta, A.K. (2018). Using prolonged exposure and cognitive processing therapy to treat veterans with moral injury-based PTSD: Two case examples. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 25, 377-390.
Held, P., Klassen, B. J., Zou, D. S., Schroedter, B. S., Karnik, N. S., Pollack, M. H., & Zalta, A. K. (2017). Negative posttrauma cognitions mediate the relationship between morally injurious events and trauma-related psychopathology in treatment-seeking veterans. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 30, 698-703.
Post-Traumatic Cognitions
Horwitz, A.G., Held, P., Klassen, B.J., Karnik, N.S., Pollack, M.H., Zalta, A.K. (2018). Posttraumatic cognitions and suicidal ideation among veterans receiving PTSD treatment. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 42, 711-719. PMCID: 6261529
Carroll, K.K., Lofgreen, A.M., Weaver, D.C., Held, P., Klassen, B.J., Karnik, N.S., Pollack, M.H., Zalta, A.K. (2018). Negative posttraumatic cognitions among military sexual trauma survivors. Journal of Affective Disorders, 238, 88-93. PMCID: 6063798
Held, P., Klassen, B. J., Zou, D. S., Schroedter, B. S., Karnik, N. S., Pollack, M. H., & Zalta, A. K. (2017). Negative posttrauma cognitions mediate the relationship between morally injurious events and trauma-related psychopathology in treatment-seeking veterans. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 30, 698-703. PMCID: PMC5765395
Zalta, A.K. (2015). Psychological mechanisms of effective cognitive-behavioral treatments for PTSD. Current Psychiatry Reports, 17: 23.
Zalta, A.K., Gillihan, S.J., Fisher, A.J., Mintz, J., Cahill, S.P., Yehuda, R., Foa, E.B. (2014). Change in negative cognitions associated with PTSD causes symptom reduction in Prolonged Exposure. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 82, 171-175.