Dr. Kehle-Forbes is a Core Investigator in the Center for Care Delivery & Outcomes Research (CCDOR) at the Minneapolis VA, an Investigator with the Women’s Health Sciences Division of the National Center for PTSD, and an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota. Her research program focuses on understanding and treating the sequelae of psychological trauma. Specifically, her interests and expertise are in the areas of clinical effectiveness and implementation of best practices for PTSD, the impact of PTSD comorbidities on treatment and functioning (with a focus on substance use disorders), and treatment seeking and access. She is the Principal Investigator (PI) of a PCORI-funded multisite study to examine the comparative effectiveness of trauma-focused therapy and non-trauma-focused therapy for Veterans with co-occurring PTSD and substance use disorders (COMPASS). She is also co-PI of a study that will evaluate the impact of a case formulation enhanced version of Cognitive Processing Therapy on Veterans’ engagement, PTSD, and functional outcomes. Dr. Kehle-Forbes was also the PI of a grant that explored providers’ and Veterans’ perceived causes of early termination from trauma-focused psychotherapies. In addition to her clinical trial and treatment development experience, Dr. Kehle-Forbes has implementation science expertise; she was the Associate Research Director of VA’s Polytrauma/Blast-Related Injury Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI). Finally, she is a licensed Clinical Psychologist with expertise in the delivery of evidence-based psychotherapies for PTSD. When she is not at work, she helps run a sanctuary for rescued farm animals and relaxes by watching scary movies.
