Katherine T. Fortenberry,
PhD
Languages Spoken: English
Katherine Fortenberry, Ph.D., graduated from the University of Alabama with a bachelor's in Psychology, then received her Master's and Ph.D. in Psychology with a focus in Clinical Health from the University of Utah. She completed her internship training at the Memphis VA, and a postdoctoral fellowship in Primary Care Psychology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She is currently an Associate Professor (Clinical) in the University of Utah Division of Family Medicine, where she serves as the Behavioral Science Education Director and sees patients at the Madsen and Sugarhouse Family Clinics. Her overall goal is to promote effective treatment of mental and behavioral health concerns in primary care settings by: 1) educating family physicians and other healthcare professionals to effectively utilize behavior change principles and maintain their own self-care; 2) training psychology and medical trainees to effectively work in an interdisciplinary environment; 3) increasing access to high quality care through improving behavioral health services and reducing barriers to care.
Specialties
Board Certification and Academic Information
| Academic Departments | Family & Preventive Medicine
-
Associate Professor (Clinical) Psychology - Adjunct Assistant Professor |
| Academic Divisions | Family Medicine |
Katherine Fortenberry, Ph.D., graduated from the University of Alabama with a bachelor's in Psychology, then received her Master's and Ph.D. in Psychology with a focus in Clinical Health from the University of Utah. She completed her internship training at the Memphis VA, and a postdoctoral fellowship in Primary Care Psychology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She is currently an Associate Professor (Clinical) in the University of Utah Division of Family Medicine, where she serves as the Behavioral Science Education Director and sees patients at the Madsen and Sugarhouse Family Clinics. Her overall goal is to promote effective treatment of mental and behavioral health concerns in primary care settings by: 1) educating family physicians and other healthcare professionals to effectively utilize behavior change principles and maintain their own self-care; 2) training psychology and medical trainees to effectively work in an interdisciplinary environment; 3) increasing access to high quality care through improving behavioral health services and reducing barriers to care.
Academic Locations
801-581-2000
Research Statement
Over my career, Dr. Fortenberry has sought to better understand the social and cognitive factors impacting individual and family adjustment to chronic illness, particularly diabetes. She has maintained collaborative involvement with an interdisciplinary research group through the Department of Psychology and the Diabetes Center at the University of Utah. She is currently focusing on translating research to improving care for individuals with comorbid diabetes and mental health conditions, including substance use disorders, in the primary setting.
Additionally, she guides Family Medicine residents in developing and disseminating clinic quality improvement (CQI) projects. The CQI projects improve quality of care by our Family Medicine residents, enhance resident research and leadership skills, and provide residents with the knowledge base and experience to develop CQI cycles in their future practice.
Board Certification and Academic Information
| Academic Departments | Family & Preventive Medicine
-
Associate Professor (Clinical) Psychology - Adjunct Assistant Professor |
| Academic Divisions | Family Medicine |
Education History
| Postdoctoral Fellowship | University of Mississippi Medical Center, Department of Family Medicine Primary Care Psychology Postdoctoral Fellow |
| Internship | Memphis VA Medical Center Clinical Health Psychology Intern |
| Doctoral Training | University of Utah Clinical Psychology Ph.D. |
| Graduate Training | University of Utah Clinical Psychology M.S. |
| Undergraduate | The University of Alabama Psychology, French B.S. |