Rate My Professor Derek Szafranski

Derek Szafranski serves as Adjunct Faculty in the Psychology department at the University of Houston. He earned a Bachelor of Science from Western Michigan University in 2007, a Master of Science in psychology from the University of the Pacific in 2010, a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Houston in 2014, and a Master of Business Administration with a healthcare emphasis in 2020. His doctoral training included a clinical internship at the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder at the Boston VA Medical Center, along with fellowships at Harvard Medical School and Boston University School of Medicine. At the University of Houston, he has taught courses such as Introduction to Clinical Psychology (PSYC 3339), Abnormal Psychology (PSYC 3301), and others.

Szafranski's professional career focuses on clinical psychology and healthcare leadership within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He joined the Ralph H. Johnson VA Health Care System in Charleston, SC, as a staff psychologist in 2014, advancing to Section Chief of General Mental Health in 2017, Division Chief of Outpatient Mental Health Services, and Acting Assistant Director. He completed the Health Care Leadership Development Program in 2021 and became a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE). In 2022, he moved to the Orlando VA Healthcare System, serving as Assistant Director, Associate Director, and Interim Deputy Director, before taking the role of Interim Director and CEO of the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System. He is currently affiliated with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina. His research specializations include PTSD treatment outcomes and dropout predictors, comorbid substance use disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, and transdiagnostic behavior therapy for affective disorders in veterans. Key publications include "High Rates of PTSD Treatment Dropout: A Possible Red Herring?" (Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 2017), "Integrated, Exposure-Based Treatment for PTSD and Comorbid Substance Use Disorders: Predictors of Treatment Dropout" (Addictive Behaviors, 2017), "Heterogeneity of Treatment Dropout: PTSD, Depression, and Alcohol Use Disorder Reductions in PTSD and AUD/SUD Treatment Noncompleters" (Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 2019), "Test Anxiety Inventory: 30 Years Later" (Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 2012), and "Application of Transdiagnostic Behavior Therapy (TBT) for Diagnostic Comorbidity" (Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 2022). His scholarship has garnered over 1,000 citations.