Department of Veterans Affairs
Substance & Anxiety Intervention Laboratory
Professional info
Dr. Heinz is interested in understanding cognitive and emotional factors that help explain why some individuals experiment with substances but eventually quit or moderate their use, while others go on to develop substance use disorders (SUD) that negatively impact quality of life. On the other end of the spectrum, she aims to understand how these mechanisms influence addiction treatment outcomes so as to help improve existing empirically supported treatments.
Specifically, Dr. Heinz's research examines how impulsivity and disruptions in higher order cognitive functions (executive functions; self-regulation; emotion regulation) predispose individuals to problematic substance use and associated risk behaviors (e.g., aggression and violence) as well as impede recovery. She is also interested in biopsychosocial factors (e.g., social support, cognitive style) that promote resilient responses to adversity in this population.
As a clinical psychologist (licensed), Dr. Heinz has also developed a deep appreciation for the complex constellation of struggles that populations with problematic substance use may experience. Along this line, her work focuses on the co-occurrence of SUD and posttraumatic stress - primarily because this subpopulation experiences significantly worse treatment and quality of life outcomes despite a higher utilization of services. Dr. Heinz is committed to understanding common "transdiagnostic" processes and malleable risk and protective factors that underlie and perpetuate different addictive behaviors and common co-occurring mental health conditions. This information can then be used to translate research findings into targeted, high-yield clinical interventions (e.g., computerized neuroscience-based cognitive training programs). The overarching goal is to examine the commonalities that transcend any one particular mental health condition, at multiple levels of analysis, so as to enhance scientific progress among all the conditions in which they operate.
Education
Postdoctoral Fellowship
Center for Health Care Evaluation
VA Palo Alto Health Care System & Stanford University School of Medicine
2012-2014
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology
University of Illinois at Chicago
2012
Clinical Internship
San Francisco VA Medical Center
2011-2012
M.A. in Clinical Psychology
University of Illinois at Chicago
2007
B.A. in Psychology (Cognitive Science Minor)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2004
Representative Publications
Heinz, A. J., Makin-Byrd, K., Blonigen, D. M., Reilly, P., & Timko, C. (2015). Aggressive behavior among military Veterans in substance use disorder treatment: The roles of posttraumatic stress and impulsivity. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 50, 59-66.
Heinz, A. J., Bui, L., Thomas, K. M., & Blonigen, D. M. (2015). Distinct facets of impulsivity exhibit differential associations with substance use disorder treatment processes: A cross-sectional and prospective investigation among military veterans. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 55, 21-28.
Heinz, A. J., Peters, E. N., Boden, M. T. & Bonn-Miller, M. O. (2013). A comprehensive examination
of delay discounting in a clinical sample of cannabis-dependent military veterans making a self-guided quit attempt. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 21, 55-65.
Heinz, A. J., Beck, A., Meyer-Lindenberg P., Sterzer, P., Heinz, A. (2011). Cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms of alcohol-related aggression. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 12, 400-413.
Address
National Center for PTSD
VA Palo Alto Health Care System
795 Willow Road (152-MPD)
Menlo Park, CA 94025