Dr. Weisberg's research interests are anxiety disorders, mental and behavioral health treatment in general medical settings, cognitive-behavioral therapy, dissemination and implementation of evidence-based care, and sexual and reproductive health. Her current work focuses on developing cognitive-behavioral treatments specifically for application in general medical settings, and on examining the nature and course of anxiety disorders in various populations.

Biography

Risa B. Weisberg, PhD, is an Assistant Professor (Research) in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior and the Department of Family Medicine at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. She is also Co-Director of the Brown University Program for Anxiety Research and Co-Director of Behavioral Health Research at the Center for Primary Care and Prevention. Dr. Weisberg is a graduate of Tufts University (BA) and the University at Albany, State University of New York (PhD in clinical psychology). She completed a predoctoral internship and a postdoctoral fellowship at Brown University. Dr. Weisberg is a past recipient of an NIH Career Development Award which sought to adapt efficacious, cognitive-behavioral treatments for anxiety disorders to primary care settings. Currently, she is PI on an NIH-funded project developing a behavioral treatment for depression in primary care patients with chronic low back pain. She is Co-PI of the Harvard-Brown Anxiety Research Project (HARP - NIH-funded) and of the Primary Care Anxiety Project (PCAP - industry-funded) both of which are longitudinal, naturalistic follow-up studies of patients with anxiety disorders. HARP has a focus on cross-cultural representations and course of anxiety, and PCAP examines course and treatment of anxiety in primary care patients. Her primary areas of research interest are the integration of mental and behavioral health care in primary care settings and dissemination and implementation of evidence-based mental health treatments.

Institutions

Bh

Research Description

My research interests are anxiety disorders, mental and behavioral health treatment in general medical settings, dissemination and implementation of evidence based care, and sexual and reproductive health. Currently, I am the principal investigator (MPI) of an National Institute of Mental Health funded project to develop a behavioral treatment for primary care patients with chronic low back pain and depression. I am also Co-investigator of the Harvard/Brown Anxiety Research Project (HARP) and the Primary Care Anxiety Project (PCAP). Both are longitudinal, observational studies, examining the nature and course of anxiety disorders. HARP currently focuses on anxiety in ethnic minorities and older adults. PCAP focuses on anxiety in primary care patients.

I have recently completed a K-23 Career Development Award that developed a cognitive-behavioral therapy for primary care patients with anxiety disorders. I have also conducted research and published on the etiology and treatment of sexual dysfunction and on anxiety disorders in ob-gyn patients.

Awards

Young Investigator Award, Association for Clinical Psychosocial Research, October, 2001

Fellow, NIH Summer Institute for Randomized Clinical Trials Involving Behavioral Interventions, July 2002

New Investigator Award, NIH Complexities of Co-occurring Conditions Conference, June 2004

Affiliations

American Psychological Association (APA)
Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT)
Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA)
North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG)

Funded Research

Ongoing Funded Research

Principle Investigator
Psychosocial Treatment Development for Depression with Comorbid 7/10 – 3/13
Chronic Pain
1R34MH085762-01A2
Funding Source: NIMH

Co-Investigator 7/01 - 3/14
Harvard/Brown Anxiety Research Project (HARP)
R01MH051415
Funding Source: NIH
Principal Investigator: Martin B. Keller, M.D.

Co-Investigator 8/98 - 12/11
Primary Care Anxiety Project (PCAP)
Funding Source: Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. Unrestricted Grant
Principal Investigator: Martin B. Keller, M.D.


Co-Investigator 1/08-12/11
Spanish speaking Anxiety Outcomes Study (SANOS)
Funding Source: Pfizer, Inc. Unrestricted Grant
Principal Investigator: Martin B. Keller, M.D.

Co-Investigator 9/09 -9/14
DEX/CRH Response: Mood / Anxiety Disorder Endophenotype?
R01MH068767
Funding Source: NIH
Principal Investigator: Linda Carpenter, M.D.

Consultant 3/10 – 2/13
Development of a Yoga Intervention for Antenatal Depression
1R34MH085053-01A1
Funding Source: NIH
Principal Investigator: Cynthia Battle, PhD.

Teaching Experience

I do not currently teach any formal courses. However, I serve as an academic mentor and supervisor to clinical psychology pre-doctoral interns and post-doctoral fellows, and find this to be one of the most rewarding aspects of my work. Additionally, I frequently teach seminars on reproductive and sexual health to family medicine and psychiatry residents.

Selected Publications

• Ramsawh, H.J., Weisberg, R.B., Dyck, I., Stout, R.L., & Keller, M.B. (2011). Age of onset, clinical characteristics, and 15-year course of anxiety disorders in a prospective, longitudinal, observational study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 132, 260-264.(2011)
• Beard, C., Weisberg, R.B., & Keller, M.B. (2010). Characteristics and predictors of social anxiety disorder course in a longitudinal study of primary care patients. Depression and Anxiety, 27, 839-45.(2010)
• Weisberg, R.B., Beard, C., Pagano, M.E., Maki, K.M., Culpepper, L. & Keller, M.B. (2010). Impairment and functioning in a sample of primary care patients with generalized anxiety disorder. The Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 12, e1-8(2010)
• Marcks, B.A., Weisberg, R.B., & Keller, M.B. (2009). Psychiatric treatment received by primary care patients with panic disorder with and without agoraphobia. Psychiatric Services, 60, 823-830(2009)
• Uebelacker, L.B., Weisberg, R.B., Haggerty, R. & Miller, I.W. (2009). Adapted behavior therapy for persistently depressed primary care patients: An open trial. Behavior Modification 33, 374-395.(2009)
• Weisberg, R.B. (2009). Overview of generalized anxiety disorder: epidemiology, presentation, and course. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 70, Suppl 2, 4-9.(2009)
• Weisberg, R.B., Dyck, I., Culpepper, L. & Keller, M.B. (2007). Psychiatric treatment in primary care patients with anxiety disorders: A comparison of care received from primary care providers and psychiatrists. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 276-282.(2007)
• Francis, J.L., Weisberg, R.B., Dyck, I., Culpepper, L., Smith, K., Edelen, M.O., & Keller, M.B. (2007). Characteristics and course of panic disorder and panic disorder with agoraphobia in primary care patients. The Primary Care Companion of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 9, 173-179.(2007)
• Coles, M.E., Phillips, K.A., Menard, W., Pagano, M.E., Fay, C., Weisberg, R.B., & Stout, R.L. (2006). Body dysmorphic disorder and social phobia: Cross-sectional and prospecitve data. Depression and Anxiety, 23, 26-33.(2006)
• Rodriguez, B.F., Weisberg, R.B., Pagano, M.E., Bruce, S.E., Spencer, M.A., Culpepper, L., & Keller, M.B. (2006). Characteristics and predicators of full and partial recovery from generalized anxiety disorder in primary care patients. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 194, 91-97.(2006)
• Bruce, S.E., Yonkers, K.A., Otto, M.W., Eisen, J.L., Weisberg,R.B., Shea, M.T., Pagano, M.E., & Keller, M.B. (2005). The long-term clinical course of panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and social phobia: Psychiatric comorbidity as predictors of recovery and recurrence. American Journal of Psychiatry, 162, 1179-1187/(2005)
• Phillips, K.A., Coles, M., Menard., W., Yen, S., Facy, C., & Weisberg, R.B. (2005). Suicidal ideation and attempts in body dysmorphic disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 66, 717-725.(2005)
• Weisberg, R.B., Maki, K.M., Culpepper, L., & Keller, M.B. (2005). Is anyone really M.A.D.? The occurrence and course of mixed anxiety-depressive disorder in a sample of primary care patients. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 193, 223-230.(2005)
• Zlotnick, C., Rodriguez, B.F., Weisberg, R.B., Bruce, S.E., Spencer, M.A., Culpepper, L. & Keller, M.B. (2004). Chronicity in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and predictors of course of PTSD among primary care patients. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 192,153-159.(2004)
• Rodriguez, B.F., Weisberg, R.B., Pagano, M.E., Machan, J.T., Culpepper, L. & Keller, M.B. (2004). Frequency and patterns of psychiatric comorbidity in a sample of primary care patients with anxiety disorders. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 45, 129-139.(2004)
• Scepkowski, L.A., Wiegel, M., Bach, A.K., Weisberg, R.B., Brown, T.A., & Barlow, D.H. (2004). Attributions for sexual situations in men with and without erectile disorder: Evidence from a sex-specific attributional style measure. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 33, 559-569.(2004)
• Rodriguez, B.F., Weisberg, R.B., Pagano, M.E., Machan, J.T., Culpepper, L. & Keller, M.B. (2003). Mental health treatment received by primary care patients with PTSD. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 64: 1230-6(2003)
• Zlotnick, C., Bruce, S.E., Weisberg, R.B., Shea, M.T., Machan, J., & Keller, M.B. (2003). Social and health functioning in female primary care patients with PTSD with and without comorbid substance abuse. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 44, 177-183.(2003)
• Weisberg, R.B., Bruce, S.,E., Machan, J., Dolan, R.T., Culpepper, L., & Keller, M.B. (2002). Non-psychiatric medical illness in primary care patients with trauma histories and posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychiatric Services, 53, 848-854.(2002)
• Weisberg, R.B., Machan, J.T., Dyck, I.R., & Keller, M.B. (2002). Do panic symptoms during periods of remission predict relapse of panic disorder? Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 190, 190-197.(2002)
• Bruce, S.E., Weisberg, R.B., Dolan, R.T., Machan, J.T., Kessler, R.C., Manchester, G., Culpepper, L., & Keller, M.B. (2001). Trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in primary care patients. Primary Care Companion of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 3, 211-217.(2001)
• Weisberg, R.B., Brown, T.A., Wincze, J.P., & Barlow, D.H. (2001). Causal attributions and male sexual arousal: The impact of attributions for a bogus erectile difficulty on sexual arousal, cognitions, and affect, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 110, 324-334.(2001)