A smiling man with medium-length hair wearing a dark suit and a light blue shirt with a tie featuring a colorful pattern.

Andrew J. Smith, PhD

Languages spoken: English

Academic Information

Departments Adjunct - Psychiatry

Divisions: Adult Psychiatry

Andrew J. Smith, PhD, Assistant Professor, joined the department of psychiatry faculty in 2018. He is founder and director of the Occupational Trauma Program, which applies a clinical science model to assess and treat occupationally traumatized populations (firefighters, first responders, law enforcement, medical professionals, military service members and veterans). He holds a joint appointment at the VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System as a health psychologist in Primary Care Mental Health Integration.

Dr. Smith’s current and prospective research focuses developing resilience-oriented interventions that target functional outcomes in a manner that is personalizable, accessible, and culturally palatable for patients. Ongoing studies are aimed at measuring and modeling how social functioning changes over time, and how to improve motivation towards social connectivity as a natural, renewable resource to promote resilience and health.

Research Statement

Dr. Smith joined the department of psychiatry faculty in 2018. He is founder and director of the Occupational Trauma Program, which applies a clinical science model to assess and treat occupationally traumatized populations (firefighters, first responders, law enforcement, medical professionals, military service members and veterans). He holds a joint appointment at the VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System as a health psychologist in Primary Care Mental Health Integration.

Dr. Smith’s current and prospective research focuses developing resilience-oriented interventions that target functional outcomes in a manner that is personalizable, accessible, and culturally palatable for patients. Ongoing studies are aimed at measuring and modeling how social functioning changes over time, and how to improve motivation towards social connectivity as a natural, renewable resource to promote resilience and health.

Education History

Undergraduate Pennsylvania State University
 BS
Graduate Training University of Colorado Colorado Springs
 MA
Doctoral Training Virginia Tech
 PhD
Internship VA Salt Lake City Health Care System
 Intern
Fellowship University of Utah School of Medicine/VA Salt Lake City Health Care System
 Postdoctoral Research Associate

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Smith AJ, Layne CM, Coyle P, Kaplow JB, Brymer MJ, Pynoos RS, Jones R (2017). Predicting Grief Reactions One Year Following a Mass University Shooting: Evaluating Dose-Response and Contextual Predictors. Violence and victims, 32(6), 1024-1043. (Read full article)
  2. Shoji K, Smith AJ (co-first authors), Sano R, Samuelson K, Benight C (2020). Social engagement, self-efficacy, and posttraumatic stress symptoms across 6 months of psychotherapy. . Journal of clinical psychology,
  3. Griffin, B. J., Pyne, J. M., Smith, A. J., Usset, T., Harris, I. J., Cooney, N., Messias, E., Cucciare, M. A., & Maguen, S Moral injury among first responders during the coronavirus pandemic. Manuscript under editorial review. Journal of clinical psychology,
  4. *Ehman, A., Smith, A. J., *Wright, H., Benight, C. C., Maguen, S., Pyne, J. M., Cooney, N., & Griffin, B. J Exposure to potentially morally injurious events and mental health outcomes among frontline workers affected by COVID-19. Journal of clinical psychology,
  5. Wusik M, Smith AJ, Jones RT, Hughes (2015). Dynamics among posttraumatic stress symptoms, forgiveness for the perpetrator, and posttraumatic growth following collective trauma. Journal of community psychology, 43, 389-94.
  6. Wright H, Griffin BJ, Shoji K, Love TM, Langenecker SA, Benight CC, Smith A (2020). Pandemic-related mental health risk among front line personnel. Journal of psychiatric research,
  7. Smith AJ, Felix ED, Benight CC, Jones R (2017). Protective Factors, Coping Appraisals, and Social Barriers Predict Mental Health Following Community Violence: A Prospective Test of Social Cognitive Theory. Journal of traumatic stress, 30(3), 245-253. (Read full article)
  8. Smith AJ, Campbell RW, Harrison PK, Harrison D (2016). Functional cerebral space theory: Towards an integration of theory and mechanisms of left hemineglect, anosognosia, and anosodiaphoria. NeuroRehabilitation,
  9. Smith AJ, Benight CC, Cieslak (2013). Social support and post-deployment coping self-efficacy as predictors of posttraumatic distress among combat veterans. Military psychology, 25(5), 452-61.
  10. Marzalek D, Martinson A, Smith AJ, Marchand W, Sweeney C, Carney J, Lowery T, Clint-Lont (2020). Examining the effect of a whole health primary care pain education and opioid monitoring program on implementation of VA/DoD-recommended guidelines for long-term opioid therapy in a primary care chronic pain population. Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.),
  11. Turner KA, Smith AJ, Jones RT, Harrison D (2018). Adapting cognitive processing therapy to treat co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder and mild traumatic brain injury: A case study. Cognitive and behavioral practice,
  12. Smith AJ, Donlon K, Anderson SR, Hughes M, Jones R (2015). When seeking influences believing and promotes posttraumatic adaptation. Anxiety, stress, and coping,
  13. Sullivan C, Smith AJ, Lewis M, Hughes M, Jones R (2016). A network analysis of PTSD symptoms after a mass shooting. Psychological trauma, 10(1), 58-66.
  14. Smith AJ, Abeyta A, Hughes M, Jones R (2015). Persistent grief in the aftermath of mass violence: The predictive roles of posttraumatic stress symptoms, self-efficacy, and disrupted worldview. Psychological trauma,
  15. Smith AJ, Weisenbach SL, Jones R (2017). Cynicism among veterans who struggle to adapt in post-combat contexts: Towards an understanding of adaptive functions and maladaptive consequences. Traumatology,
  16. Smith AJ, Holohan D, Jones R (2019). Emotion regulation difficulties and social cognitions predict PTSD severity and quality of life among treatment seeking combat veterans. . Military behavioral health,
  17. Canada KE, Smith AJ, Peters (2020). Mental health, social support, and coping among military veterans: The moderating role of arrests. Military behavioral health,
  18. Smith, A. J., Wright, H., Griffin, B., Ehman, A., Shoji, K., Love, T. M., Morrow. E., Locke, A., Call, M., Kerig, P. K., Olff, M., Benight, C. C., & Langenecker, S. A (2021). Mental health risks differentially associated with immunocompromised status among healthcare workers and family members at the pandemic outset. 15,

Book Chapter

  1. Smith AJ, Hughes (2016). Challenges to the empirical investigation of mass shootings. 3-19.