Anna Alkozei, PhD

Dr. Anna Alkozei is a clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of adolescents, transitional-aged youth, and adults with anxiety, OCD, depression, and related disorders. Dr. Alkozei takes a strength-based approach to therapy and incorporates evidence-based treatment strategies, including acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as well as mindfulness and self-compassion techniques.

Dr. Alkozei also currently serves as a clinical assistant professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. She earned a PhD in Developmental Psychopathology from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom and obtained a Re-Specialization in Clinical Psychology from the University of Arizona. She completed her Clinical Psychology Internship and postdoctoral work at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior.

In her spare time, Dr. Alkozei likes to watercolor and explore nature by hiking and riding her bike!

Dr. Alkozei is licensed to practice in California, Arizona, and Florida.

Selected Publications: 

Smith, R., Alkozei, A., & Killgore, W.D.S (2017). How Do Emotions Work? Frontiers for Young Minds. Access for free at: https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2017.00055

Alkozei, A, Smith, R., & Killgore, W.D.S (2017). Grateful People are Happy and Healthy – But Why? Frontiers for Young Minds. Access for free at: https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2017.00069

Lawrence, A., Alkozei, A., Irgens, M., Acevedo-Molina, M., Brener, S., Chandler, A., Chau, R., Doyle, C., McKinney A., Price, S., Shanholtz, C., Van Etten, E., Ver Hoeve, E., Sbarra, D., & O’Connor, M. (2020). Think Again: Adaptive Repetitive Thought as a Transdiagnostic Treatment for Individuals Predisposed to Repetitive Thinking Styles. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration.

Vanuk, J.R., Alkozei, A., Raikes, A., Allen, J.J.B., & Killgore, W.D.S. (2019). Ability-Based Emotional Intelligence Is Associated With Greater Cardiac Vagal Control and Reactivity. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 

Alkozei, A., Smith, R., Waugaman, D., Kotzin, M., Bajaj, S. & Killgore, W.D.S. (2019). The mediating role of interpretation bias on the relationship between trait gratitude and depressive symptoms. International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology.

Alkozei, A., Smith, R., & Killgore, W.D.S.(2018). Implicit self-esteem is associated with higher levels of trait gratitude in women but not men. Journal of Positive Psychology. 

Alkozei, A., Smith, R., Weber, M., Demers, L., Berryhill, S., & Killgore, W.D.S (2018). Increases in Emotional Intelligence after an Online Training Program are Associated with Better Decision-Making on the Iowa Gambling Task. Psychological Reports.

Smith, R., Killgore, Alkozei, A., & Lane, R. (2018). A Neuro-Cognitive Process Model of Emotional Intelligence. Biological Psychology. 

Smith, R., Quinlan, D., Schwartz, G.E., Sanova, A., Alkozei A., & Lane, R.D. (2018). 

Developmental contributions to Emotional Awareness. Journal of Personality Assessment, 1-9.

Pearcey, S., Alkozei, A., Chakrabarti, B., Dodd, H., Murayama, K., Ravenscroft, S., & Creswell, C. (2018). Do clinically anxious children cluster according to their expression of factors that maintain child anxiety? Journal of Affective Disorders, 299, 469-476.

Alkozei, A., Smith, R. & Killgore, W.D.S. (2017). Gratitude and Subjective Wellbeing: A Proposal of Two Causal Frameworks. Journal of Happiness Studies, 19(5), 1519-1542. 

Smith R, Alkozei A., Killgore W.D.S., Lane R (2017). Nested Positive Feedback Loops in Major Depression: An integration and extension of previous models. Neuroscience & Biobehavoral Reviews, 67, 374-397.

Smith R, Lane R, Alkozei A, Bao J, Smith C, Sanova A, Nettles M, Killgore W (2017). Maintaining the feelings of others in working memory is associated with activation of the left anterior insula and left frontal-parietal control network. Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience, 12(5), 848-860.

Smith, R., Alkozei, A., Bao, J., Smith, C., Lane, R.D., & Killgore, W.D.S (2017). Resting state functional connectivity correlates of emotional awareness. NeuroImage, 159, 99-106. 

Alkozei, A., Smith, R.S., Pisner, D., Vanuk, J.R., Berryhill, S., Fridman, A., Shane, B.R., Knight, S.A., & Killgore, W.D.S. (2016). Exposure to Blue Light Increases Subsequent Functional Activation of the Prefrontal Cortex During Performance of a Working Memory Task. SLEEP, 39 (9), 1671-80.

Alkozei, A., Smith, R., & Killgore, W.D.S. (2016). Exposure to blue wavelength light modulates anterior cingulate cortex activation in response ‘uncertain’ versus ‘certain’ anticipation of positive stimuli. Neuroscience Letters, 616 (11), 5-10.

Smith, R., Alkozei, A., Lane, R., & Killgore, W.D.S. (2016).  Unwanted reminders: The effects of emotional memory suppression on subsequent neuro-cognitive processing. Consciousness and Cognition, 44, 103-113.

Alkozei, A., & Killgore, W.D.S. (2015). Emotional intelligence is associated with reduced insula responses to masked angry faces. Neuroreport, 26 (10), 567-571. 

Alkozei, A., Creswell, C., Cooper, P.J., & Allen, J.J.B (2015). Autonomic arousal in childhood anxiety disorders: Association with state anxiety and social anxiety disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 175, 25-33. 

Alkozei, A., McMahon, E., & Lahav, A. (2014). Stress levels and depressive symptoms in NICU mothers in the early postpartum period. Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine, 27 (17), 1738-1743.

Alkozei, A., Cooper, P.J. & Creswell, C. (2014). Emotional Reasoning and Anxiety Sensitivity: Specific Associations with Social Anxiety Disorder in Childhood. Journal of Affective Disorders, 152, 219-228. 

Awards

Psychology Postgraduate Affairs Group (PsychPag) Conference Travel Award - 2012