I have extensive training in the treatment of anxiety, depression, trauma, and other stress- and adjustment-related problems of living and extensive clinical experience providing evidence-based psychotherapy to individuals experiencing these problems. I have also been an Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and have published research on the effectiveness of psychotherapies and experience training other providers.

Training & Experience

I earned my PhD at the University of Pennsylvania where I studied under Robert DeRubeis, PhD, a leader in the field of depression treatment and cognitive therapy. I also trained at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety (CTSA), whose director, Edna Foa, PhD, is a leader in the field of anxiety and PTSD treatment and inventor of Prolonged Exposure, a prominent empirically supported psychotherapy for PTSD. While at the CTSA, I was trained in evidence-based interventions for various anxiety and related disorders including Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Social Anxiety, Phobias, Trichotillomania and PTSD. I completed my predoctoral internship at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System and my postdoctoral fellowship at the VA Palo Alto and Stanford University School of Medicine. I worked for many years at the VA Palo Alto Trauma Recovery Programs treating men and women veterans with PTSD, depression, anxiety, substance use, and other trauma-related problems. I enjoy teaching and have extensive experience providing clinical training and supervision to psychologists and psychologists in training. I also served as an Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 2017-2022.

Selected Publications:

Boden, M. T., Bernstein, A., Walser, R. D., Bui, L., Alvarez, J., & Bonn-Miller, M. O. (2012). Changes in facets of mindfulness and posttraumatic stress disorder treatment outcome. Psychiatry Research, 200, 609-613.

Alvarez, J., McLean, C., Harris, A. H. S., Rosen, C. S., Ruzek, J. I., & Kimerling, R. (2011). The comparative effectiveness of cognitive processing therapy for male veterans treated in a VHA posttraumatic stress disorder residential rehabilitation program. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 79, 590-599. doi: 10.1037/a0024466

Strunk, D. R., DeRubeis, R. J., Chiu, A. W., & Alvarez, J. (2007). Patients’ competence in and performance of cognitive therapy skills: Relation to the reduction of relapse risk following treatment for depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75(4), 523-530.

Alvarez, J. & Hunt, M. (2005). Risk and resilience in canine search and rescue handlers after 9/11. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 18(5), 497-505.

Alvarez, J., Zoellner, L. A., & Foa, E. B. (2001). Linguistic predictors of trauma pathology and perceived health status. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 15, S159-S170.